--- curl version 1 Thu Jul 09 23:08:31 -0700 2009
+++ curl version 10 Tue Mar 09 04:59:01 -0800 2010
@@ -1,26 +1,84 @@
-Command line internet/network loader tool and ajax test tool. Read the contents
-of a URL, dump the results to the stdout. Basic USE:
+curl - transfer a URL
-curl [options] [URL...]
+Synopsis:
-To see if a site is alive, just get the headers: curl --head www.yahoo.com
+ curl [options] [URL...]
+
+Command line internet/network loader tool and ajax test tool. Read the contents
+of a URL, dump the results to the stdout.
+
+
+To return the entire page to stdout:
+
+ curl www.google.com
+
+
+To simulate wget by downloading a file at a specific web address, use the -O
+flag:
+
+ curl -O www.example.com/img.gif
+
+
+To see if a site is alive, just get the headers (--head or -I):
+
+ curl --head www.yahoo.com
+
A live response returns status, cookies, content length, etc.
-To send custom headers (anything you want!) use: curl --header "User-Agent:
-something-special" google.com
-To return the entire page: curl www.google.com
+To send custom headers (anything you want!) use (--header or -H):
-The view the man page: curl --manual | less
+ curl --header "User-Agent: something-special" example.com
+ curl -H "Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate" example.com
-To retrieve data with POST: curl -d "name=dpw" www.google.com
-Related programs: wget
+To retrieve data with POST:
+ curl -d "name1=a;name" www.google.com
+
+
+To simulate a form post:
+
+ curl -F "variable=value;variable2=value2" http://localhost:3000/your/url
+
+
This is helpful to get specific javascript back:
-curl -H "Accept: application/json" -i -X GET http://localhost:3000/projects/3
-Delete via rest:
-curl -X DELETE http://localhost:3000/projects/1
+ curl -H "Accept: application/json" -i -X GET http://localhost:3000/projects/3
+
+
+Delete via rest (or set other http methods with the -X flag):
+
+ curl -X DELETE http://localhost:3000/projects/1
+
+
+Authenticate with username and password (http-basic if not specified otherwise):
+
+ curl -u user:password http://example.com/whatever
+
+
+Save cookies to a file:
+
+ curl -c cookies.txt \
+ -F "username=meepo" -F "password=curiass" \
+ http://example.com/login
+
+... and pass the saved cookies back to the server:
+
+ curl -b cookies.txt http://example.com/action
+
+Alternatively you can pass in cookies as key value pairs:
+
+ curl -b key=value http://example.com/action
+
+Or using the custom header option:
+
+ curl -H 'Cookie: key=value' http://example.com/action
+
+
+The view the man page: curl --manual | less
+
+
+Related programs: wget
