To download an Excel file using the curl command-line tool, the most important rule is to use an output flag. Without one, curl will attempt to print the raw binary data of the .xlsx or .xls file directly into your terminal window, resulting in a screen full of garbled text.
: Always wrap your URL in double quotes, especially if it contains special characters like & or ? , to prevent your terminal from misinterpreting them. Using the Server's Filename download excel file using curl
However, if the server uses a Content-Disposition header to tell your browser what the filename should be, use the -J flag alongside -O . curl -O -J "https://example.com" Use code with caution. Handling Redirects To download an Excel file using the curl
If you already know the specific name you want to give the file, use the lowercase -o (output) flag. curl -o financial_report.xlsx "https://example.com" Use code with caution. : Saves the file with the name you specify. , to prevent your terminal from misinterpreting them
Many download links are actually redirects. If your command finishes instantly and the resulting file is empty or just contains a bit of HTML, curl likely didn't follow the redirect. Add the -L (location) flag to follow these links.