curl_easy_header(3) Library Functions Manual curl_easy_header(3)
NAME
curl_easy_header - get an HTTP header
SYNOPSIS
#include <curl/curl.h>
CURLHcode curl_easy_header(CURL *easy,
const char *name,
size_t index,
unsigned int origin,
int request,
struct curl_header **hout);
DESCRIPTION
curl_easy_header(3) returns a pointer to a "curl_header" struct in hout
with data for the HTTP response header name. The case insensitive
null-terminated header name should be specified without colon.
index 0 means asking for the first instance of the header. If the re-
turned header struct has amount set larger than 1, it means there are
more instances of the same header name available to get. Asking for a
too big index makes CURLHE_BADINDEX get returned.
The origin argument is for specifying which headers to receive, as a
single HTTP transfer might provide headers from several different places
and they may then have different importance to the user and headers us-
ing the same name might be used. The origin is a bitmask for what header
sources you want. See the descriptions below.
The request argument tells libcurl from which request you want headers
from. A single transfer might consist of a series of HTTP requests and
this argument lets you specify which particular individual request you
want the headers from. 0 being the first request and then the number in-
creases for further redirects or when multi-state authentication is
used. Passing in -1 is a shortcut to "the last" request in the series,
independently of the actual amount of requests used.
libcurl stores and provides the actually used "correct" headers. If for
example two headers with the same name arrive and the latter overrides
the former, then only the latter is provided. If the first header sur-
vives the second, then only the first one is provided. An application
using this API does not have to bother about multiple headers used
wrongly.
The memory for the returned struct is associated with the easy handle
and subsequent calls to curl_easy_header(3) clobber the struct used in
the previous calls for the same easy handle. The application needs to
copy the data if it wants to keep it around. The memory used for the
struct gets freed with calling curl_easy_cleanup(3) of the easy handle.
The first line in an HTTP response is called the status line. It is not
considered a header by this function. Headers are the "name: value"
lines following the status.
This function can be used before (all) headers have been received and is
fine to call from within libcurl callbacks. It returns the state of the
headers at the time it is called.
The header struct
struct curl_header {
char *name;
char *value;
size_t amount;
size_t index;
unsigned int origin;
void *anchor;
};
The data name field points to, is the same as the requested name, but
might have a different case.
The data value field points to, comes exactly as delivered over the net-
work but with leading and trailing whitespace and newlines stripped off.
The value data is null-terminated. For legacy HTTP/1 "folded headers",
this API provides the full single value in an unfolded manner with a
single whitespace between the lines.
amount is how many headers using this name that exist, within the origin
and request scope asked for.
index is the zero based entry number of this particular header, which in
case this header was used more than once in the requested scope can be
larger than 0 but is always less than amount.
The origin field in the "curl_header" struct has one of the origin bits
set, indicating where from the header originates. At the time of this
writing, there are 5 bits with defined use. The undocumented 27 remain-
ing bits are reserved for future use and must not be assumed to have any
particular value.
anchor is a private handle used by libcurl internals. Do not modify.
ORIGINS
CURLH_HEADER
The header arrived as a header from the server.
CURLH_TRAILER
The header arrived as a trailer. A header that arrives after the
body.
CURLH_CONNECT
The header arrived in a CONNECT response. A CONNECT request is
being done to setup a transfer "through" an HTTP(S) proxy.
CURLH_1XX
The header arrived in an HTTP 1xx response. A 1xx response is an
"intermediate" response that might happen before the "real" re-
sponse.
CURLH_PSEUDO
The header is an HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 pseudo header
PROTOCOLS
This functionality affects http only
EXAMPLE
int main(void)
{
struct curl_header *type;
CURL *curl = curl_easy_init();
if(curl) {
CURLHcode h;
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, "https://example.com");
curl_easy_perform(curl);
h = curl_easy_header(curl, "Content-Type", 0, CURLH_HEADER, -1, &type);
curl_easy_cleanup(curl);
}
}
AVAILABILITY
Added in curl 7.83.0
RETURN VALUE
This function returns a CURLHcode indicating success or error. CURLHE_OK
(0) means everything was OK, non-zero means an error occurred, see
libcurl-errors(3).
SEE ALSO
CURLINFO_CONTENT_TYPE(3), CURLOPT_HEADERFUNCTION(3),
curl_easy_nextheader(3), curl_easy_perform(3), libcurl-errors(3)
libcurl 2026-07-12 curl_easy_header(3)
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