# Uncompressed curl -s -o /dev/null -w "Size: %{size_download}\n" https://example.com # Compressed curl -s --compressed -o /dev/null -w "Size: %{size_download}\n" https://example.com Use code with caution. size_download vs. Content-Length
The variable in curl is a powerful tool for monitoring and validating data transfers. Whether you're debugging an API or automating file downloads, understanding how to use this metric ensures your scripts are both efficient and reliable. What is size_download ? size_download curl
To see how much data is being sent without actually saving the file to your disk, you can redirect the output to /dev/null . # Uncompressed curl -s -o /dev/null -w "Size:
How to get the filename/size without downloading a file in curl Whether you're debugging an API or automating file
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{size_download}\n" https://example.com Use code with caution.
The most common way to access this value is through the --write-out (or -w ) flag. This flag allows curl to display specific information on standard output after a successful operation. curl -w "%{size_download}" https://example.com Use code with caution. Common Practical Examples:
It is important to distinguish between these two often-confused metrics: