CURLOPT_MAXCONNECTS(3) Library Functions Manual CURLOPT_MAXCONNECTS(3)
NAME
CURLOPT_MAXCONNECTS - maximum connection cache size
SYNOPSIS
#include <curl/curl.h>
CURLcode curl_easy_setopt(CURL *handle, CURLOPT_MAXCONNECTS, long amount);
DESCRIPTION
Pass a long. The set amount is the maximum number of connections that
libcurl may keep alive in its connection cache after use. The default is
5, and there is not much point in changing this value unless you are
perfectly aware of how this works. This concerns connections using any
of the protocols that support persistent connections.
When reaching the maximum limit, curl closes the oldest connection
present in the cache to prevent the number of connections from increas-
ing.
If you already have performed transfers with this curl handle, setting a
smaller CURLOPT_MAXCONNECTS(3) than before may cause open connections to
get closed unnecessarily.
If you add this easy handle to a multi handle, this setting is not ac-
knowledged, and you must instead use curl_multi_setopt(3) and the CURL-
MOPT_MAXCONNECTS(3) option.
DEFAULT
5
PROTOCOLS
This functionality affects all supported protocols
EXAMPLE
int main(void)
{
CURL *curl = curl_easy_init();
if(curl) {
CURLcode ret;
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, "https://example.com/");
/* limit the connection cache for this handle to no more than 3 */
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_MAXCONNECTS, 3L);
ret = curl_easy_perform(curl);
}
}
AVAILABILITY
Added in curl 7.7
RETURN VALUE
curl_easy_setopt(3) returns a CURLcode indicating success or error.
CURLE_OK (0) means everything was OK, non-zero means an error occurred,
see libcurl-errors(3).
SEE ALSO
CURLMOPT_MAXCONNECTS(3), CURLMOPT_MAX_HOST_CONNECTIONS(3), CURL-
MOPT_MAX_TOTAL_CONNECTIONS(3), CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS(3)
libcurl 2026-07-12 CURLOPT_MAXCONNECTS(3)
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