Metalink wget download script

Looking for a simpler way to download from the new Metalink?  Oracle has replaced the ftp site with http downloads using wget.  If you’re looking for a simple way to use wget without all of that cutting-and-pasting from the web site, you can use a simple script like this:

#!/bin/bash
# Program:  download.sh
# Description:  Download Oracle patches from Metalink<!--more-->

PROGRAM=`basename $0`
USAGE="Usage:  $PROGRAM [ patch file ]"

[ $# -lt 1 ] &amp;&amp; echo $USAGE &amp;&amp; exit 1

patch=$1
username=$METAUSER
password=$METAPASS
URL="http://updates.oracle.com/Orion/Download/download_patch/$patch"

while [ -z $username ]; do
   echo -n "Enter metalink username: "
   read username
done

while [ -z $password ]; do
   echo -n "Enter metalink password: "
   stty -echo
   read password
   stty echo
done

wget --http-user=$username 
--http-password=$password 
--no-check-certificate  
--output-document=$patch $URL

exit

It’s pretty basic, so you can add error checking or more sophisticated wget options as you like.  The only thing you need is the full name of the patch zip file and your Metalink credentials:

$ download.sh <zip file>;

You can export your Metalink username and password to the variables $METAUSER and $METAPASS, respectively, or the script will prompt you for both.

Let me know how this works for you, or if you have a better option – I’m sure there are plenty out there.

Related posts:

1. 9 reasons why the new Metalink sucks
2. Disable Flash for Oracle Metalink
3. Use Autoconfig for common system administrator tasks