{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-blog-post-jsx","path":"/blog/using-aria2c-to-automate-batch-downloads/","result":{"data":{"site":{"siteMetadata":{"name":"Huzaifa Rasheed","title":"Huzaifa Rasheed","description":"Software Engineer","about":"\n      Hey, I'm Huzaifa.\n      <br/><br/>\n      Engineer by trade, builder by instinct - I believe in owning my stack, shipping fast, and occasionally running on chai (tea) and stubbornness. I work best in that sweet spot between deep focus and fast feedback - solo or in sync with a good team.\n      <br/><br/>\n      This site's my little corner of the internet - part portfolio, part lab - where I document what I build, break, or learn.\n      <br/><br/>\n      Outside work, I'm into long walks, pixel-perfect headshots in FPS games (eventually... maybe), plants I probably overwater, and the occasional \"classified\" hobby to stay curious.\n      <br/><br/>\n      Reach out anytime - my digital door's always open. 👋\n    ","twitter":"https://twitter.com/huzRasheed","github":"https://github.com/huzaifa-99","linkedin":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/huzaifa-rasheed/","devto":"https://dev.to/huzaifa99","stackoverflow":"https://stackoverflow.com/users/12579290/huzaifa","leetcode":"https://leetcode.com/rhuzaifa","discord":"https://discordapp.com/users/rhuzaifa","email":"dev@rhuzaifa.com","projects":[{"name":"FFMpeg Web","description":"An experimental browser-based terminal that runs FFmpeg using WebAssembly, enabling media processing directly in the browser.","link":"https://ffmpeg-web.rhuzaifa.com/","github":"https://github.com/huzaifa-99/ffmpeg-web"},{"name":"Feed base 2","description":"A mini browser game where players manipulate 4-bit binary blocks to match target BCD values - part puzzle, part binary logic trainer.","link":"https://feedbase2.rhuzaifa.com/","github":"https://github.com/huzaifa-99/feed-base-2"},{"name":"Fabric browser extension","description":"A Chrome extension that injects engineered Fabric prompts directly into the ChatGPT interface for enhanced workflow automation.","link":"https://github.com/huzaifa-99/fabric-browser-extension","github":"https://github.com/huzaifa-99/fabric-browser-extension"},{"name":"Pure Cinema","description":"An experimental, tongue-in-cheek text-to-video generator that stitches together footage, synthesized voiceovers, and background music with a Node.js + ffmpeg pipeline. Not quite Hollywood, but it renders.","link":"https://cinema.rhuzaifa.com","github":null},{"name":"Aria2c Packload","description":"A Bash script for bulk downloading magnet links or torrents using aria2c - optimized for series or list-based transfers.","link":"https://github.com/huzaifa-99/aria2c-packload","github":"https://github.com/huzaifa-99/aria2c-packload"},{"name":"RSS Watchdog","description":"A lightweight Bash script that watches RSS/Atom feeds and compiles a Markdown-based reading checklist for Unix systems.","link":"https://github.com/huzaifa-99/rss-watchdog","github":"https://github.com/huzaifa-99/rss-watchdog"},{"name":"QuoteGen","description":"A quote graphic generator that produces stylized quote images with random selection and a built-in editor for customization.","link":"https://quotegen.rhuzaifa.com/","github":null},{"name":"WebRTC Video Chat","description":"A basic WebRTC-powered app enabling peer-to-peer video and audio calls between two users.","link":"https://webrtc-video-chat.rhuzaifa.com/","github":null}],"experience":null,"skills":[{"name":"Languages & Frameworks","description":"JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Bash - Frameworks include Node.js, React, Next.js, Vue, React Native, FastAPI."},{"name":"Databases & Storage","description":"PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB - Experience with schema design, indexing, query optimization, and migrations."},{"name":"Cloud & Infrastructure","description":"AWS (EC2, RDS, S3, Lambda), Vercel, Netlify, Heroku - Comfortable with serverless, autoscaling, and cost optimization."},{"name":"DevOps & Tooling","description":"Docker, Git, CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI) - Experience with observability, containerization, and release workflows."},{"name":"Testing & QA Automation","description":"Jest, Playwright, Puppeteer, Selenium - Focus on E2E testing, mocking APIs, and maintaining test coverage."}]}},"markdownRemark":{"id":"edd279c0-7f36-5a74-9d93-aef5097afb78","excerpt":"Backstory: I kept finding myself drowning in terminal tabs - each running separate  download sessions, with no clean way to track progress or failures. The…","html":"<p><strong>Backstory:</strong><br>\nI kept finding myself drowning in terminal tabs - each running separate <code class=\"language-text\">aria2c</code> download sessions, with no clean way to track progress or failures. The existing batch download solutions I found were either too bloated or didn’t handle the edge cases I cared about.</p>\n<p>This runs on my homelab - I needed something headless.</p>\n<p>So… I built my own script using <code class=\"language-text\">aria2c</code> to do exactly what I wanted.</p>\n<hr>\n<h3>But <em>why</em>?</h3>\n<p>First of all: minimal footprint. I can integrate it once and forget about it - and that’s already enough reason for me.</p>\n<p>But it’s also:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Portable:</strong> Works anywhere Bash runs (local machines, remote servers via SSH)</li>\n<li><strong>Self-cleaning:</strong> Removes completed and failed links from the list. Failed ones? I usually ignore - if they were important, they’d still be alive.</li>\n<li><strong>Resource-aware:</strong> Enforces storage limits to prevent disk overload</li>\n</ul>\n<hr>\n<h3>The Solution</h3>\n<p>A <a href=\"https://github.com/huzaifa-99/aria2c-packload/blob/main/downloader.sh\">50-line Bash script</a> that:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>Reads download links from a simple text file</li>\n<li>Processes them sequentially with <code class=\"language-text\">aria2c</code></li>\n<li>Cleans up completed/failed links</li>\n<li>Logs everything for debugging</li>\n</ol>\n<hr>\n<h3>Why Not Use “X”?</h3>\n<p>Like I said - minimal footprint. That’s enough for me.</p>\n<p>But also, most alternatives failed my <strong>homelab test</strong>:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>GUI tools?</strong> Can’t run headless.</li>\n<li><strong>Other batch scripts?</strong> Ignored storage limits or edge cases I cared about.</li>\n<li><strong>Fancy download managers?</strong> Required 10x the config.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>This script passes: <strong>one file, zero fuss.</strong></p>\n<hr>\n<p>If you run headless setups or just want downloads to “just work” - check it out.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://github.com/huzaifa-99/aria2c-packload\">👉 aria2c-packload on GitHub</a></p>","frontmatter":{"title":"Using aria2c To Automate Batch Downloads","date":"June 05, 2024","description":"A no-fuss script for managing and automating batch downloads using aria2c - perfect for remote and low-overhead workflows"}}},"pageContext":{"slug":"/blog/using-aria2c-to-automate-batch-downloads/","previous":{"fields":{"slug":"/blog/xcode-caches-ate-my-ssd-how-i-got-80gb-back/"},"frontmatter":{"title":"Xcode Caches Ate My SSD - How I Got 80GB Back"}},"next":{"fields":{"slug":"/blog/enhancing-chatgpt-responses-with-fabric-ai-prompts/"},"frontmatter":{"title":"Enhancing ChatGPT Responses with Fabric's AI Prompts"}}}},"staticQueryHashes":["2276319502"]}