cURL is incredibly efficient because it’s lightweight and available on almost every OS (Windows, macOS, and Linux). Whether you're grabbing a quick script or automating a massive data backup, these flags will cover 99% of your needs.
The lowercase -o flag allows you to specify a new name for the file. curl -o my_document.pdf https://example.com Use code with caution. Result: Saves as my_document.pdf . 2. Following Redirects ( -L )
If you need to download image1.jpg through image10.jpg : curl -O https://example.com[1-10].jpg Use code with caution. 5. Authentication and Security curl download file example
If you’re on a shared network and don’t want to hog all the bandwidth, you can limit the download speed using --limit-rate . curl --limit-rate 500k -O https://example.com Use code with caution. Summary Cheat Sheet Save with server name -O Save with custom name -o [filename] Follow redirects -L Resume download -C - Silent mode -s Limit speed --limit-rate [speed]
Mastering File Downloads with cURL: A Complete Guide If you’ve ever worked in a terminal, you’ve likely come across . It is the Swiss Army knife for transferring data via URLs. While it can do everything from posting JSON to inspecting headers, its most common use case is simple: downloading files. 1. The Basic Download ( -o vs -O ) There are two primary ways to save a file using cURL. Keep the Original Filename ( -O ) cURL is incredibly efficient because it’s lightweight and
Many download links (like those on GitHub) are actually redirects. By default, cURL won't follow them; it will just show you the redirect page's HTML. Use -L (location) to follow the path to the actual file. curl -L -O https://github.com Use code with caution. 3. Resuming an Interrupted Download ( -C - )
If you are testing a local server with a self-signed certificate, use -k to bypass SSL verification (use with caution). curl -o my_document
Use -s to hide the progress bar (useful for scripts). 6. Throttling Download Speed