Help me download Wikipedia

GalacticStone · 2025-07-04 20:52:36

edit : Nevermind. I finally figgered it out. Is there a way to delete these posts or should I be more careful before posting?

Ok, I need help. Apparently I am dense because I am confused by trying to download the English text-only copy of Wikipedia. lol

Using Synaptic, I installed Kiwix like the interwebs said, but now I can't find the correct file to download. Going to the Wikipedia page is confusing and I just need a freaking link to the file to download. I can't find it. I've asked search engines and even asked Google's AI and couldn't get a straight answer.

Somebody puhleeze gimme a direct link.

Why is this so hard?

Installing a new OS from bare metal is easier. lol

Last edited by GalacticStone (2025-07-04 21:34:31)

PackRat · 2025-07-04 22:39:06

You after this ??

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia … e_download

You would get one of the dumps; but note:

All revisions, all pages: These files expand to multiple terabytes of text. Please only download these if you know you can cope with this quantity of data.

GalacticStone · 2025-07-04 22:59:37

I'm downloading the text-only dump which is about 52 gigs.

My desktop workstation has a lot more HDD storage than I'll ever need, I'm thinking of putting the full version with images on there (no videos, no talk, no revisions). That one runs about 100 gigs compressed.

I know Wikipedia is imperfect, but it's a valuable resource and I don't trust that it will always be there.

Given these uncertain times, owning a local offline copy seems like a good idea. I already have a large PDF library of reference books, so Wikipedia seems like a logical addition. Transferring these files from backup media to my new Boron installation was a priority. One of the first things I did after getting my installation completed was to copy those books over. I have a gas generator and a solar battery charger, so I'm loaded with knowledge even if the grid goes down.

johnraff · 2025-07-07 07:47:54

GalacticStone wrote:

edit : Nevermind. I finally figgered it out. Is there a way to delete these posts or should I be more careful before posting?

Neither of those. Please post how you solved your problem so others can benefit!

GalacticStone · 2025-07-07 12:12:24

I downloaded Kiwix from the repositories using Synaptic. It's an older version, but it works fine. Even the newer versions are not exactly feature-rich from what I have read, so expect a bare-bones reader experience.

Once Kiwix is installed, it will need ZIM files to open. I downloaded the text-only version of English Wikipedia and the English version of the Gutenberg project to their own local folders. I found the direct download links here - https://download.kiwix.org/zim/

They have a ton of stuff to download, including a lot of Linux-related material (mostly Ubuntu and Arch, but generic Linux/Unix stuff as well).

For the English Wikipedia with no images, this is the file you want - https://download.kiwix.org/zim/wikipedi … 024-06.zim

For English Wikipedia with images - https://download.kiwix.org/zim/wikipedi … 024-01.zim

The former is a 53 gig download and the latter is a hefty 102 gigs, so make sure you have a good connection.

I also downloaded the English version of the Gutenberg Project here (72 gigs) - https://download.kiwix.org/zim/gutenber … 023-08.zim

It feels kinda neat having this vast archive of knowledge available offline. It reminds me of what owning a room full of packed bookshelves is like.

Linux, Open Source, and Public Domain for the win!

johnraff · 2025-07-08 01:31:08

^Thanks!

GalacticStone · 2025-07-08 11:54:12

This turned into a minor project. I decided to set up a household Kiwix server so everyone else can access these books. My wife and daughter both read a lot of ebooks and my grandson is a student, so this might be useful.

So far, I have downloaded : Wikipedia (w/ images), Gutenberg Project, and "Survivor Library". The latter is 250+ gb of every possible prepper/survivalist text you might possibly need after a grid collapse : farming, civil engineering, animal husbandry, medical, cooking, navigation, weaponry, etc. All told, it's almost half a terabyte of books and the HDD is only half full. I am going to download more books and expand my offline data hoard.

Setting up a Kiwix server is easy from within the settings menu in the program. The server exposes port 8080 and allows direct access via a web browser, even if the outside internet is down.

I figure this is better than letting one terabyte of file storage go to waste.

Plus, the next time we have an extended power outage from a hurricane, we'll have plenty to read.

brontosaurusrex · 2025-07-09 07:08:22

Hard to imagine how big is actually 52 gigs of text.
I took my blog posts (from 2006 to today, 2629 relatively short text/markdown files) and tar.xz file is 569 KB and good old zip is 1,39 MB. Both would fit 1.44 MB (3.5" HD) floppy disk (Zip barely thought).

GalacticStone · 2025-07-11 15:13:08

brontosaurusrex wrote:

Hard to imagine how big is actually 52 gigs of text.
I took my blog posts (from 2006 to today, 2629 relatively short text/markdown files) and tar.xz file is 569 KB and good old zip is 1,39 MB. Both would fit 1.44 MB (3.5" HD) floppy disk (Zip barely thought).

I remember back in 2001 when my wife and I purchased our first brand new desktop PC directly from Dell. It came with Windows ME installed and came with two reference CDs - Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia and Microsoft Streets and Trips.

The former was a set of old-fashioned encyclopedias in digital format and the latter was a digital road atlas of north america. Before Wikipedia or Google Maps, this is what we had. It was an odd, transitionary period for software back then. Mobile internet didn't exist yet and Web 1.0 looked a lot like reference books. They were mostly offline, although I think later versions had clickable links to supplemental internet resources (??). We'd plan road trips by plotting out the route on Streets and Trips and then print out a custom map showing the directions, turns, stops, etc. Everything you'd do now with Open/Google/iOS maps now, but offline and printed to hard copy paper.

Having an offline Wikipedia is the modern equivalent to Encarta (but better).

I'm discovering that I might have a new sub-hobby of sorts - data hoarder. Filling up this old machine with knowledge is addictive. And thanks to cheap large-capacity storage media now, it's very easy to build a digital Library of Alexandria on one's laptop or desktop machine (hopefully this one is more fire-proof than the original namesake. lol) ...

After downloading everything I wanted from the Kiwix library (and archive), I now have roughly 500GB of available space to further expand my trove of data.

If anyone knows of any .ZIM archives or large book collections (open source or public domain) that I am overlooking, please share them here.

I will also share any new ones I find, for the record here, just in case anyone else is interested.

GalacticStone · 2025-07-16 20:41:28

The project continues to evolve. I now have almost 100,000 ebooks downloaded and stored on the machine in my office.

The materials that are .ZIM (Wikipedia, Gutenberg, etc) are now stored on a local Kiwix server.

Everything else that is not .ZIM (PDF, epub, mobi, txt, doc, etc) are now stored on a local Calibre server.

It has already come in handy around the house. I gave my wife her own Calibre tag so she can easily find her books in the library, and ditto for my daughter who is pursuing her masters in Library Science (coincidentally) and is already using it for textbooks. I'm going to show my grandson how to use it because there's a lot of books relevant to his passion (theatre arts) in the collection.

I didn't set out to be the house librarian, but here we are.

To this old retro-PC guy, it still feels nuts that I am hosting half-a-terrabyte of books on two virtual servers running on the same "obsolete" machine powered by Bunsenlabs. This same machine won't even run Windows at idle in a usuable fashion.

Again, Linux and Bunsenlabs for the win.

#1 2025-07-04 20:52:36

Help me download Wikipedia

#2 2025-07-04 22:39:06

Re: Help me download Wikipedia

#3 2025-07-04 22:59:37

Re: Help me download Wikipedia

#4 2025-07-07 07:47:54

Re: Help me download Wikipedia

#5 2025-07-07 12:12:24

Re: Help me download Wikipedia

#6 2025-07-08 01:31:08

Re: Help me download Wikipedia

#7 2025-07-08 11:54:12

Re: Help me download Wikipedia

#8 2025-07-09 07:08:22

Re: Help me download Wikipedia

#9 2025-07-11 15:13:08

Re: Help me download Wikipedia

#10 2025-07-16 20:41:28

Re: Help me download Wikipedia

Board footer