What is a cURL command?

cURL (Client URL) is a command-line tool for transferring data using various network protocols, most commonly HTTP and HTTPS.

A cURL command specifies a complete HTTP request including the URL, method (GET, POST, etc.), headers (like authentication tokens or content types), cookies, and request body.

Example:

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/users \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"name":"John"}'

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/users \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"name":"John"}'

This sends a POST request with JSON data.

Why cURL is useful:

Universal - works identically across operating systems
Easy to share between team members
Browser developer tools can export network requests as cURL commands
Invaluable for debugging APIs and replicating real browser requests

Converting to code:

While cURL is excellent for testing and one-off requests, production applications need the same requests implemented in programming languages like Python, TypeScript, or Go.

Converting cURL to code lets developers quickly translate working HTTP requests into their application codebase without manually reconstructing headers, authentication, and request formatting.

What is a cURL command?

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