Overview
WHDFetch is a command-line utility for building and maintaining a WHDLoad collection directly on an Amiga. It downloads Retroplay Games, Demos, Magazines, and beta packs from the Turran server, parses the DAT listings, applies machine-specific filters, then downloads and extracts the required archives.
Later runs compare the existing local setup against the current DAT listings so the program can skip items that are already up to date.
What Problem It Solves
Manually downloading WHDLoad packs, extracting them, organising them, and then checking for updates later is time-consuming on real Amiga hardware. WHDFetch automates that workflow and keeps the extraction work on the Amiga side, which also helps preserve Amiga-specific metadata.
It also includes a space-estimation mode so users can see how much storage a chosen set of packs will need before committing to a full run.
Key Features
- Downloads Games, Demos, Magazines, and beta Retroplay packs.
- Downloads only new or updated archives after comparing DAT listings.
- Supports AGA, CD, NTSC, and non-English filters.
- Provides ESTIMATESPACE mode before a real download.
- Can extract automatically and optionally keep or delete archives afterwards.
- Uses local index files and extraction markers for faster skip detection.
- Supports INI-based configuration and session reports saved to disk.
Documentation
A full manual is supplied and covers commands, filters, extraction modes, icon handling, INI configuration, reporting, and skip detection.
Typical Use
On the first run, its a good idea to start with ESTIMATESPACE to see how much storage the chosen set of packs will require.
For example: WHDFetch ESTIMATESPACE to see how much space the whole set will take up, or WHDFetch ESTIMATESPACE SKIPAGA SKIPCD SKIPNONENGLISH
to see how much space just the packs that are non-AGA, non-CD, and non-English will take up. Note: the first tim you run the WHDFetch, it will downloaded the latest
file listings from the Turran server and save them locally, so subsequent runs will be faster because it can compare against the local copy instead of downloading
the listings again.
When you are ready to do a real run, just use the same command but replace ESTIMATESPACE with FETCH. For example:
WHDFetch FETCH SKIPAGA SKIPCD SKIPNONENGLISH. Adding EXTRACTTO allows you to specify a target directory for extraction.
For example: WHDFetch FETCH SKIPAGA SKIPCD SKIPNONENGLISH EXTRACTTO=WORK:WHDLoad will extract the files to the specified directory.
WHDFetch comes with a full manual in AmigaGuide format, and it can also be viewed online here: WHDFetch Manual.
Requirements
- AmigaOS 3.0 or newer
- TCP/IP stack with bsdsocket.library
- c:unzip, c:lha, and c:unlzx for LZX support