cURL
cURL – A true companion
What is curl?
CURL is a command-line tool that allows developers to transfer data between servers and clients using various protocols, including HTTP and HTTPS.
It is a versatile tool that supports different authentication methods and data formats, making it an essential tool for developers who work with web applications and APIs. In this blog, we will explore how to use curl v7.29.0 to send different HTTP requests, and how to enable debug mode to troubleshoot issues.
CURL v7.29.0
curl is pre-installed on most Unix-based operating systems, including Linux and macOS. Windows users can download and install CURL from the official website. Once installed, you can use CURL from the command line to send HTTP requests.
Sending HTTP Requests
curl supports four different types of HTTP requests: GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE. Let’s explore each of these requests and how to send them using CURL v7.29.0.
> curl --help
Usage: curl [options...] <url>
Options: (H) means HTTP/HTTPS only, (F) means FTP only
--anyauth Pick "any" authentication method (H)
-a, --append Append to target file when uploading (F/SFTP)
--basic Use HTTP Basic Authentication (H)
--cacert FILE CA certificate to verify peer against (SSL)
--capath DIR CA directory to verify peer against (SSL)
-E, --cert CERT[:PASSWD] Client certificate file and password (SSL)
--cert-type TYPE Certificate file type (DER/PEM/ENG) (SSL)
--ciphers LIST SSL ciphers to use (SSL)
--compressed Request compressed response (using deflate or gzip)
-K, --config FILE Specify which config file to read
--connect-timeout SECONDS Maximum time allowed for connection
-C, --continue-at OFFSET Resumed transfer offset
-b, --cookie STRING/FILE String or file to read cookies from (H)
-c, --cookie-jar FILE Write cookies to this file after operation (H)
--create-dirs Create necessary local directory hierarchy
--crlf Convert LF to CRLF in upload
--crlfile FILE Get a CRL list in PEM format from the given file
-d, --data DATA HTTP POST data (H)
--data-ascii DATA HTTP POST ASCII data (H)
--data-binary DATA HTTP POST binary data (H)
--data-urlencode DATA HTTP POST data url encoded (H)
--delegation STRING GSS-API delegation permission
--digest Use HTTP Digest Authentication (H)
--disable-eprt Inhibit using EPRT or LPRT (F)
--disable-epsv Inhibit using EPSV (F)
-D, --dump-header FILE Write the headers to this file
--egd-file FILE EGD socket path for random data (SSL)
--engine ENGINGE Crypto engine (SSL). "--engine list" for list
-f, --fail Fail silently (no output at all) on HTTP errors (H)
-F, --form CONTENT Specify HTTP multipart POST data (H)
--form-string STRING Specify HTTP multipart POST data (H)
--ftp-account DATA Account data string (F)
--ftp-alternative-to-user COMMAND String to replace "USER [name]" (F)
--ftp-create-dirs Create the remote dirs if not present (F)
--ftp-method [MULTICWD/NOCWD/SINGLECWD] Control CWD usage (F)
--ftp-pasv Use PASV/EPSV instead of PORT (F)
-P, --ftp-port ADR Use PORT with given address instead of PASV (F)
--ftp-skip-pasv-ip Skip the IP address for PASV (F)
--ftp-pret Send PRET before PASV (for drftpd) (F)
--ftp-ssl-ccc Send CCC after authenticating (F)
--ftp-ssl-ccc-mode ACTIVE/PASSIVE Set CCC mode (F)
--ftp-ssl-control Require SSL/TLS for ftp login, clear for transfer (F)
-G, --get Send the -d data with a HTTP GET (H)
-g, --globoff Disable URL sequences and ranges using {} and []
-H, --header LINE Custom header to pass to server (H)
-I, --head Show document info only
-h, --help This help text
--hostpubmd5 MD5 Hex encoded MD5 string of the host public key. (SSH)
-0, --http1.0 Use HTTP 1.0 (H)
--ignore-content-length Ignore the HTTP Content-Length header
-i, --include Include protocol headers in the output (H/F)
-k, --insecure Allow connections to SSL sites without certs (H)
--interface INTERFACE Specify network interface/address to use
-4, --ipv4 Resolve name to IPv4 address
-6, --ipv6 Resolve name to IPv6 address
-j, --junk-session-cookies Ignore session cookies read from file (H)
--keepalive-time SECONDS Interval between keepalive probes
--key KEY Private key file name (SSL/SSH)
--key-type TYPE Private key file type (DER/PEM/ENG) (SSL)
--krb LEVEL Enable Kerberos with specified security level (F)
--libcurl FILE Dump libcurl equivalent code of this command line
--limit-rate RATE Limit transfer speed to this rate
-l, --list-only List only names of an FTP directory (F)
--local-port RANGE Force use of these local port numbers
-L, --location Follow redirects (H)
--location-trusted like --location and send auth to other hosts (H)
-M, --manual Display the full manual
--mail-from FROM Mail from this address
--mail-rcpt TO Mail to this receiver(s)
--mail-auth AUTH Originator address of the original email
--max-filesize BYTES Maximum file size to download (H/F)
--max-redirs NUM Maximum number of redirects allowed (H)
-m, --max-time SECONDS Maximum time allowed for the transfer
--metalink Process given URLs as metalink XML file
--negotiate Use HTTP Negotiate Authentication (H)
-n, --netrc Must read .netrc for user name and password
--netrc-optional Use either .netrc or URL; overrides -n
--netrc-file FILE Set up the netrc filename to use
-N, --no-buffer Disable buffering of the output stream
--no-keepalive Disable keepalive use on the connection
--no-sessionid Disable SSL session-ID reusing (SSL)
--noproxy List of hosts which do not use proxy
--ntlm Use HTTP NTLM authentication (H)
-o, --output FILE Write output to <file> instead of stdout
--pass PASS Pass phrase for the private key (SSL/SSH)
--post301 Do not switch to GET after following a 301 redirect (H)
--post302 Do not switch to GET after following a 302 redirect (H)
--post303 Do not switch to GET after following a 303 redirect (H)
-#, --progress-bar Display transfer progress as a progress bar
--proto PROTOCOLS Enable/disable specified protocols
--proto-redir PROTOCOLS Enable/disable specified protocols on redirect
-x, --proxy [PROTOCOL://]HOST[:PORT] Use proxy on given port
--proxy-anyauth Pick "any" proxy authentication method (H)
--proxy-basic Use Basic authentication on the proxy (H)
--proxy-digest Use Digest authentication on the proxy (H)
--proxy-negotiate Use Negotiate authentication on the proxy (H)
--proxy-ntlm Use NTLM authentication on the proxy (H)
-U, --proxy-user USER[:PASSWORD] Proxy user and password
--proxy1.0 HOST[:PORT] Use HTTP/1.0 proxy on given port
-p, --proxytunnel Operate through a HTTP proxy tunnel (using CONNECT)
--pubkey KEY Public key file name (SSH)
-Q, --quote CMD Send command(s) to server before transfer (F/SFTP)
--random-file FILE File for reading random data from (SSL)
-r, --range RANGE Retrieve only the bytes within a range
--raw Do HTTP "raw", without any transfer decoding (H)
-e, --referer Referer URL (H)
-J, --remote-header-name Use the header-provided filename (H)
-O, --remote-name Write output to a file named as the remote file
--remote-name-all Use the remote file name for all URLs
-R, --remote-time Set the remote file's time on the local output
-X, --request COMMAND Specify request command to use
--resolve HOST:PORT:ADDRESS Force resolve of HOST:PORT to ADDRESS
--retry NUM Retry request NUM times if transient problems occur
--retry-delay SECONDS When retrying, wait this many seconds between each
--retry-max-time SECONDS Retry only within this period
-S, --show-error Show error. With -s, make curl show errors when they occur
-s, --silent Silent mode. Don't output anything
--socks4 HOST[:PORT] SOCKS4 proxy on given host + port
--socks4a HOST[:PORT] SOCKS4a proxy on given host + port
--socks5 HOST[:PORT] SOCKS5 proxy on given host + port
--socks5-basic Enable username/password auth for SOCKS5 proxies
--socks5-gssapi Enable GSS-API auth for SOCKS5 proxies
--socks5-hostname HOST[:PORT] SOCKS5 proxy, pass host name to proxy
--socks5-gssapi-service NAME SOCKS5 proxy service name for gssapi
--socks5-gssapi-nec Compatibility with NEC SOCKS5 server
-Y, --speed-limit RATE Stop transfers below speed-limit for 'speed-time' secs
-y, --speed-time SECONDS Time for trig speed-limit abort. Defaults to 30
--ssl Try SSL/TLS (FTP, IMAP, POP3, SMTP)
--ssl-reqd Require SSL/TLS (FTP, IMAP, POP3, SMTP)
-2, --sslv2 Use SSLv2 (SSL)
-3, --sslv3 Use SSLv3 (SSL)
--ssl-allow-beast Allow security flaw to improve interop (SSL)
--stderr FILE Where to redirect stderr. - means stdout
--tcp-nodelay Use the TCP_NODELAY option
-t, --telnet-option OPT=VAL Set telnet option
--tftp-blksize VALUE Set TFTP BLKSIZE option (must be >512)
-z, --time-cond TIME Transfer based on a time condition
-1, --tlsv1 Use => TLSv1 (SSL)
--tlsv1.0 Use TLSv1.0 (SSL)
--tlsv1.1 Use TLSv1.1 (SSL)
--tlsv1.2 Use TLSv1.2 (SSL)
--tlsv1.3 Use TLSv1.3 (SSL)
--tls-max VERSION Use TLS up to VERSION (SSL)
--trace FILE Write a debug trace to the given file
--trace-ascii FILE Like --trace but without the hex output
--trace-time Add time stamps to trace/verbose output
--tr-encoding Request compressed transfer encoding (H)
-T, --upload-file FILE Transfer FILE to destination
--url URL URL to work with
-B, --use-ascii Use ASCII/text transfer
-u, --user USER[:PASSWORD] Server user and password
--tlsuser USER TLS username
--tlspassword STRING TLS password
--tlsauthtype STRING TLS authentication type (default SRP)
--unix-socket FILE Connect through this UNIX domain socket
-A, --user-agent STRING User-Agent to send to server (H)
-v, --verbose Make the operation more talkative
-V, --version Show version number and quit
-w, --write-out FORMAT What to output after completion
--xattr Store metadata in extended file attributes
-q If used as the first parameter disables .curlrcSending a GET
The GET request is used to retrieve data from the server. Here is an example of how to send a GET request using curl:
curl http://www.example.comThis will send a GET request to the specified URL, and the server will respond with the data requested.
Sending a POST
The POST request is used to send data to the server, usually to update or create new resources. Here is an example of how to send a POST request using curl:
curl -X POST -d "name=John&age=25" http://www.example.com/api/usersIn this example, we are sending a POST request to create a new user resource on the server. The -X POST option tells CURL to send a POST request, and the -d option specifies the data to be sent in the request body.
Sending a PUT
The PUT request is used to update an existing resource on the server. Here is an example of how to send a PUT request using curl:
curl -X PUT -d "name=John&age=26" http://www.example.com/api/users/1In this example, we are sending a PUT request to update an existing user resource on the server. The -X PUT option tells CURL to send a PUT request, and the -d option specifies the data to be sent in the request body.
Sending a DELETE
The DELETE request is used to delete an existing resource on the server. Here is an example of how to send a DELETE request using curl
curl -X DELETE http://www.example.com/api/users/1In this example, we are sending a DELETE request to delete an existing user resource on the server. The -X DELETE option tells CURL to send a DELETE request.
Verbose mode
Sometimes, when working with web applications and APIs, you may encounter issues that are difficult to diagnose. In such cases, you can enable debug mode with CURL v7.29.0 to get more information about the request and response. Here is an example of how to enable debug mode with CURL v7.29.0:
curl -v http://www.example.com