The Wikipedia will fulfill 25 years on January 15, during which time it has become one of the main sources of information on the Internet. Subject to controversy, yes, due to its collaborative method of generating content – anyone can write in it – and which, despite community controls, has also been the subject of controversy numerous times due to bias in certain sensitive content. In any case, the project founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger accumulates a vast amount of knowledge that, if you want, you can have available on your mobile or computer without the need for an Internet connection. Yes, the complete Spanish Wikipedia, including images, in a 37 GB download.
Is it useful to have it stored locally? If your Internet connection never fails, it is probably not necessary. But if you live in areas where the Internet is not as accessible as, for example, in a city, or you consult it often and need to maximize data usage, then yes. Not to mention circumstances like the great blackout last April.
Downloading it is simple and Wikipedia itself has a section that explains how to do it, both with and without images If you want it to take up less space on your hard drive, but you will need third party software recommended by the online encyclopedia itself. We explain how to do it.
How to use Kiwix to download Wikipedia
Kiwix It is software, available for all operating systems –Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS– and also as an extension for the main browsers –Chrome, edge and Firefox– and even in one Raspberry Pi where you can configure it as a local network server.
It is a free and open source offline reader that allows you to consult websites packaged in format ZIM without internet connection. Not only Wikipedia, but also other educational or knowledge websites such as Wikivoyage, Wiktionary, Khan Academy either Project Gutenbergamong others. As you can guess, ZIM is the format in which Wikipedia gives the download option.
Wikipedia recommends using a peer to peer program to download Wikipedia, but you can do it directly on your computer without having to complicate yourself with more software. You have to follow these steps:
- Enter the Kiwix downloads section and select the one that corresponds to your device. Run the downloaded file to install the app.
- Access the Wikipedia download page and choose between ‘Download Wikipedia’ (36.9 GB) either ‘Download Wikipedia without images’ (9.2 GB).
- Run Kiwix on your device. The app will open showing its section ‘Configuration’. Click the button ‘Select File’ and select the ZIM file that you previously downloaded with Wikipedia.
- Kiwix will ask you to confirm the action. Click the button ‘Trust Source’ and Wikipedia will load automatically and you will be able to navigate through it the same as when you access via web.
How to save Wikipedia articles in pdf format
You may not be interested in having the entire Wikipedia downloaded, but you may be interested in having certain content. The platform gives you the option to do it in each of them.
Once you are in the article you want to download, you must click on the option ‘Tools’ that appears in the top menu, just below the language selector. In the drop-down menu, go to the section ‘Print/Export’ and click ‘Download as PDF’.