curl_easy_perform(3) Library Functions Manual curl_easy_perform(3)
NAME
curl_easy_perform - perform a blocking network transfer
SYNOPSIS
#include <curl/curl.h>
CURLcode curl_easy_perform(CURL *easy_handle);
DESCRIPTION
curl_easy_perform(3) performs a network transfer in a blocking manner
and returns when done, or earlier if it fails. For non-blocking behav-
ior, see curl_multi_perform(3).
Invoke this function after curl_easy_init(3) and all the curl_easy_se-
topt(3) calls are made, and it performs the transfer as described in the
options. It must be called with the same easy_handle as input as the
curl_easy_init(3) call returned.
You can do any amount of calls to curl_easy_perform(3) while using the
same easy_handle. If you intend to transfer more than one file, you are
even encouraged to do so. libcurl attempts to reuse existing connections
for the following transfers, thus making the operations faster, less CPU
intense and using less network resources. You probably want to use
curl_easy_setopt(3) between the invokes to set options for the following
curl_easy_perform(3) call.
You must never call this function simultaneously from two places using
the same easy_handle. Let the function return first before invoking it
another time. If you want parallel transfers, you must use several curl
easy_handles.
A network transfer moves data to a peer or from a peer. An application
tells libcurl how to receive data by setting the CURLOPT_WRITEFUNC-
TION(3) and CURLOPT_WRITEDATA(3) options. To tell libcurl what data to
send, there are a few more alternatives but two common ones are CUR-
LOPT_READFUNCTION(3) and CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS(3).
While the easy_handle is added to a multi handle, it cannot be used by
curl_easy_perform(3).
PROTOCOLS
This functionality affects all supported protocols
EXAMPLE
int main(void)
{
CURL *curl = curl_easy_init();
if(curl) {
CURLcode res;
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, "https://example.com");
res = curl_easy_perform(curl);
curl_easy_cleanup(curl);
}
}
AVAILABILITY
Added in curl 7.1
RETURN VALUE
This function returns a CURLcode indicating success or error.
CURLE_OK (0) means everything was OK, non-zero means an error occurred,
see libcurl-errors(3). If CURLOPT_ERRORBUFFER(3) was set with
curl_easy_setopt(3) there can be an error message stored in the error
buffer when non-zero is returned.
SEE ALSO
curl_easy_init(3), curl_easy_setopt(3), curl_multi_add_handle(3),
curl_multi_perform(3), libcurl-errors(3)
libcurl 2026-07-12 curl_easy_perform(3)
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