How to Install and Use Curl on Debian 12

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Introduction

Before we begin talking about how to install and use Curl on Debian 12 Linux, let’s briefly understand – What is Curl?

Curl is a command-line tool and library for transferring data between servers and clients over various protocols, including HTTP, FTP, SMTP, and more. It is open-source software that works on most operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Curl is widely used by developers and system administrators to automate tasks and test APIs. It is also used for web scraping, downloading files, and debugging network connections. With Curl, you can send HTTP requests and receive responses, set custom headers and cookies, and authenticate with different methods.

One of the main advantages of Curl is its simplicity and flexibility. You can use it with a wide range of protocols and customize your requests and responses to fit your needs. Moreover, it supports many authentication methods, such as Basic, Digest, NTLM, and OAuth, and can handle errors and redirects gracefully.

To use Curl, you need to install it on your system and run it from the command-line interface. You can then specify the URL, method, headers, and other parameters in your requests, and receive the corresponding responses. Curl also supports output formats like JSON, XML, and HTML.

In this tutorial, you will install and use Curl on Debian 12 Linux. We will also address some FAQs related to the Curl installation.

Advantages of Curl

Versatility: Curl supports multiple protocols like HTTP, FTP, and SMTP, making it suitable for a wide range of data transfer needs.
Flexibility: It offers customizable options for headers, authentication, cookies, and more.
Speed: Curl performs efficient data transfers and supports parallel connections, optimizing performance.
Cross-platform: Available on various operating systems, Curl ensures compatibility and easy integration into different environments.
Extensibility: Its library version, libcurl, allows developers to incorporate Curl into their own applications, increasing functionality and ease of use.

Step 1 – Install Curl on Debian

1) The Curl package is there in the default Debian 12 repositories. You can install it by running the following command:

sudo apt install curl

2) You will now need to verify about curl installation. So, type curl in your terminal, then press Enter:

curl

The command will print the following output:

Output

curl: try 'curl --help' or 'curl --manual' for more information

You now have a successful installation of curl on your Debian machine. You will be able to start using it now.

Step 2 – Using Curl Command

1) When it is used without any option, it will print the source code of the URL given as an argument.

curl https://example.com

2) You will next download a file with curl. You use either the -o, or -O flags. Here, the lowercase -o option allows you to specify the name of the saved file.

curl -o test.tar.yw https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/linux-5.0.5.tar.xz

3) The uppercase -O will save the file. It will be with its original filename:

curl -O https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/linux-5.0.5.tar.xz

4) There is one more useful feature of the Curl. It is its ability to display HTTP headers of a given URL:

curl -I https://www.debian.org/

5) With Curl, you will be able to download files from FTP servers. These are mainly password protected:

curl -u FTP_USERNAME:FTP_PASSWORD ftp://ftp.example.com/file.tar.gz

FAQs to Install and Use Curl on Debian 12 Linux

Is the CURL free?

The curl is free as well as open-source software. The curl project follows well-established standards and also, open-source best practices.

What does the D mean in curl?

The -d or --data option indicates the curl command to send the data. It is in a POST request to the server. This option will make the curl command pass data to the server.