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How to Use curl to Fetch URLs
curl
is a command-line tool used for transferring data to or from a server using various protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and more. It is widely used for testing APIs and fetching content from web pages. This tutorial will guide you through the basics of using curl
to fetch URLs.
1. Installing curl
Before using curl
, ensure it is installed on your system. Most Linux distributions include it by default, but you can install it using:
- For Ubuntu:
sudo apt update sudo apt install curl
- For CentOS:
sudo yum install curl
- For macOS:
brew install curl
2. Fetching a URL
To fetch the content of a URL, simply run:
curl http://example.com
This command will display the HTML content of the specified URL.
3. Saving Output to a File
You can save the output of a curl
command to a file using the -o
option:
curl -o output.html http://example.com
This command will save the fetched content to output.html
.
4. Following Redirects
If a URL redirects, you can have curl follow the redirect using the -L
option:
curl -L http://example.com
5. Viewing HTTP Headers
To view the HTTP headers sent by the server along with the content, use the -i
option:
curl -i http://example.com
This will include the headers in the output.
6. Sending Data with POST Requests
To send data to a server using a POST request, you can use the -d
option:
curl -X POST -d "param1=value1¶m2=value2" http://example.com/api
This sends a POST request with the specified parameters.
7. Conclusion
By following this tutorial, you have learned how to use the curl
command to fetch URLs and interact with web resources from the command line. Curl is an invaluable tool for developers and system administrators for testing and managing web services. Continue to explore its extensive options and capabilities to enhance your command-line interactions with remote servers!