{"id":68050,"date":"2023-08-07T18:01:20","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T10:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=68050"},"modified":"2023-08-14T19:04:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T11:04:19","slug":"linux-command-curl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/linux-command-curl\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use curl in Linux"},"content":{"rendered":"

The curl<\/code> command in Linux is a powerful utility that\u2019s used to transfer data from or to a network server, leveraging a wide array of protocols like HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and SFTP.<\/p>\n

In simpler terms, it\u2019s a tool that helps you transfer data over the internet directly from your command line. For instance, you can use curl<\/code> to download a file from a URL, or upload a file to a server.<\/p>\n

This command-line tool is not just about transferring files. You can also use curl<\/code> to make HTTP requests, such as GET and POST, from your terminal. This is extremely useful when testing or interacting with web services and APIs. With curl<\/code>, you can even inspect the content of a web page without actually opening it in a browser, as it can fetch and display the raw data.<\/p>\n

Here are some different ways to use the curl<\/code> command:<\/p>\n

Basic Usage<\/h3>\n

The most straightforward way to use curl<\/code> is to type curl<\/code> followed by the URL of the page you want to access.<\/p>\n

curl http:\/\/example.com<\/pre>\n
When you run the command curl http:\/\/example.com<\/code> in the terminal, it sends a GET<\/code> request to the server located at http:\/\/example.com<\/code>. The output that you see on the terminal is the server\u2019s response to this GET<\/code> request, typically the HTML content of the webpage.<\/p>\n
1. Save Output to a File<\/h3>\n
By default, curl<\/code> outputs the source of the page that you requested. If you want to save this output to a file, you can use the -o<\/code> or -O<\/code> option.<\/p>\n
curl -o output.html http:\/\/example.com<\/pre>\n
The -o<\/code> option allows you to specify a filename, while -O<\/code> will use the filename from the URL.<\/p>\n
2. Follow Redirects<\/h3>\n
If the URL you\u2019ve requested redirects to another page, curl<\/code> won\u2019t follow the redirect unless you include the -L<\/code> option.<\/p>\n
curl -L http:\/\/example.com<\/pre>\n
3. Send POST Requests<\/h3>\n
You can use curl<\/code> to send POST requests. This is often used when submitting forms.<\/p>\n
curl -d \"param1=value1¶m2=value2\" -X POST http:\/\/example.com\/form<\/pre>\n
The -d<\/code> option tells curl<\/code> that you\u2019re going to send POST data, and the -X<\/code> option specifies the request method to use.<\/p>\n
4. Send GET Requests with Parameters<\/h3>\n
You can send a GET request with parameters by appending them to the URL.<\/p>\n
curl http:\/\/example.com\/search?query=example<\/pre>\n
5. Send Headers<\/h3>\n
You can add headers to your request with the -H<\/code> option.<\/p>\n
curl -H \"Accept: application\/json\" http:\/\/example.com\/api<\/pre>\n
6. Use Cookies<\/h3>\n
You can tell curl<\/code> to send cookies with the -b<\/code> option, and to store cookies with the -c<\/code> option.<\/p>\n
curl -b \"name=value\" -c cookies.txt http:\/\/example.com<\/pre>\n
7. Upload Files<\/h3>\n
You can use curl<\/code> to upload files to a server with the -F<\/code> option. This sends a POST request and sets the Content-Type<\/code> to multipart\/form-data<\/code>.<\/p>\n
curl -F \"file=@path\/to\/local\/file\" http:\/\/example.com\/upload<\/pre>\n
8. Download Files<\/h3>\n
You can use curl<\/code> to download files using FTP, SFTP, HTTP, and many other protocols.<\/p>\n
curl -O ftp:\/\/example.com\/pub\/file.zip<\/pre>\n
9. Authentication<\/h3>\n
If you need to authenticate, you can use the -u<\/code> option followed by the username and password separated by a :<\/code> (colon).<\/p>\n
curl -u username:password http:\/\/example.com<\/pre>\n
More Linux commands:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Directory Operations<\/td>\nrmdir<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 cd<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 pwd<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 exa<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 ls<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
File Operations<\/td>\ncat<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 cp<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 dd<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 less<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 touch<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 ln<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 rename<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 more<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 head<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
File System Operations<\/td>\nchown<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 mkfs<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 locate<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Networking<\/td>\nping<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 curl<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 wget<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 iptables<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 mtr<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Search and Text Processing<\/td>\nfind<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 grep<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 sed<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 whatis<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 ripgrep<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 fd<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 tldr<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
System Information and Management<\/td>\nenv<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 history<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 top<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 who<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 htop<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 glances<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 lsof<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
User and Session Management<\/td>\nscreen<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 su<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 sudo<\/code><\/a> \u00b7 open<\/code><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Master the curl command in Linux for data transfer and HTTP requests with this guide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3397],"tags":[888,3316],"topic":[],"class_list":["entry-content","is-maxi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Use curl in Linux - Hongkiat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Master the curl command in Linux for data transfer and HTTP requests with this guide.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/linux-command-curl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Use curl in Linux\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Master the curl command in Linux for data transfer and HTTP requests with this guide.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/linux-command-curl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hongkiatcom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-07T10:01:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-14T11:04:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hongkiat.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hongkiat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hongkiat.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-curl\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-curl\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hongkiat.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc686597d92f9086729e4bcc1577ba3\"},\"headline\":\"How to Use curl in Linux\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-07T10:01:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-14T11:04:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-curl\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":433,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Linux\",\"Linux Commands\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Desktop\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-curl\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hongkiat.com\\\/blog\\\/linux-command-curl\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Use curl in Linux - 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