Software⏱️ 3 min read📅 2026-06-15

How to Fix: wget error "Converting links in "url" Incomplete or invalid multibyte sequence encountered"

wget error due to character encoding issue on MacOSx 10.11.06

Quick Answer: Try using the --encoding option with wget, e.g., wget --encoding=utf-8 ...

The error 'Converting links in "url" Incomplete or invalid multibyte sequence encountered' occurs when wget is unable to properly convert links on a webpage due to character encoding issues. This issue affects users running wget on MacOsx 10.11.06 with the brew-installed version 1.19.1.

This error can be frustrating as it prevents the successful archiving of websites, and in this case, importing .warc files into Webrecorder-player. However, by following the steps outlined below, users should be able to resolve this issue.

🔍 Why This Happens

  • The primary cause of this error is related to character encoding issues. wget may not be able to correctly handle certain multibyte sequences in URLs, leading to an incomplete or invalid conversion.
  • An alternative reason could be a compatibility issue with the brew-installed version of wget (1.19.1) on MacOsx 10.11.06.

🛠️ Step-by-Step Verified Fixes

Using the --encoding option to specify character encoding

  1. Step 1: Open the terminal and run the following command: `wget --recursive --no-clobber --page-requisites --html-extension --convert-links --restrict-file-names=nocontrol --encoding=utf-8 --domain scart.be --warc-file=20161103_scart www.scart.be`
  2. Step 2: This will instruct wget to use the UTF-8 character encoding when converting links, which should resolve the error.
  3. Step 3: Note that you can replace 'utf-8' with the desired character encoding if needed.

Upgrading wget to a newer version (if available)

  1. Step 1: Check for updates on the brew package manager: `brew update`
  2. Step 2: Install the latest version of wget: `brew install wget --HEAD`
  3. Step 3: If an upgrade is not available, consider using an alternative archiving tool that supports UTF-8 encoding.

🎯 Final Words

By following these steps, users should be able to resolve the 'Converting links in "url" Incomplete or invalid multibyte sequence encountered' error when using wget on MacOsx 10.11.06. Remember to always check the character encoding of your URLs and use the appropriate option with wget to ensure successful archiving.

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