curl

Updated 18 Sep 2026

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What it is
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  a command-line client for transferring data using URLs, useful for inspecting HTTP communication
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Useful options
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  -v — verbose connection and message diagnostics
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  -L — follow redirects
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  -H — send a request header
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  -o — save the response body
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  --http1.1 — use HTTP/1.1 for a straightforward textual comparison with lecture examples
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Verbose output
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  >—outgoing request lines/headers
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  <—incoming response lines/headers
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  *—diagnostics
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  these markers are display annotations, not HTTP message characters
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Example
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  curl -v -H 'Accept: image/jpeg' http://localhost:3000/images/article-123
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Caution
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  without -L, a redirect response is not the response from its destination
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Related
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  HTTP Messages

Linked references 1