libcurl(3) libcurl easy interface libcurl(3)
NAME
libcurl-easy - easy interface overview
DESCRIPTION
When using libcurl's "easy" interface you init your session and get a
handle (often referred to as an "easy handle"), which you use as input
to the easy interface functions you use. Use curl_easy_init(3) to get
the handle.
You continue by setting all the options you want in the upcoming trans-
fer, the most important among them is the URL itself (you cannot trans-
fer anything without a specified URL as you may have figured out your-
self). You might want to set some callbacks as well that will be called
from the library when data is available etc. curl_easy_setopt(3) is
used for all this.
CURLOPT_URL(3) is the only option you really must set, as otherwise
there can be no transfer. Another commonly used option is CURLOPT_VER-
BOSE(3) that will help you see what libcurl is doing under the hood,
which is useful when debugging for example. The curl_easy_setopt(3) man
page has a full index of the almost 300 available options.
If you at any point would like to blank all previously set options for
a single easy handle, you can call curl_easy_reset(3) and you can also
make a clone of an easy handle (with all its set options) using
curl_easy_duphandle(3).
When all is setup, you tell libcurl to perform the transfer using
curl_easy_perform(3). It will then do the entire operation and will
not return until it is done (successfully or not).
After the transfer has been made, you can set new options and make an-
other transfer, or if you are done, cleanup the session by calling
curl_easy_cleanup(3). If you want persistent connections, you do not
cleanup immediately, but instead run ahead and perform other transfers
using the same easy handle.
SEE ALSO
curl_easy_init(3),curl_easy_cleanup(3),curl_easy_setopt(3), libcurl-er-
rors(3), libcurl-multi(3), libcurl(3)
libcurl 7.81.0 November 08, 2021 libcurl(3)
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