cURL to Code Converter
Convert command-line cURL requests into production-ready code for Python and JavaScript instantly.
Developer Guide: Mastering cURL
cURL (Client URL) is the universal language for API documentation. Understanding its flags helps you debug and integrate services faster.
HTTP Methods (-X)
The -X flag specifies the request method. By default, cURL uses GET. Use POST to send data and PUT or PATCH for updates.
Headers (-H)
Headers pass metadata like Authorization or Content-Type. Our tool maps these to Python dictionaries or JS objects automatically.
Data (-d / --data)
The -d flag sends payload data. We automatically identify JSON strings and format them correctly for stringification in your code.
Pro-Tip: Always wrap your URLs in quotes in the terminal to prevent the shell from misinterpreting special characters like & or ?.
Translating cURL commands into code
Browser developer tools let you copy any network request as a cURL command, and most API documentation is written in cURL. Turning that into working code by hand means decoding flags and re-expressing headers, which is exactly the kind of transcription that invites typos.
The flags that matter
-X sets the HTTP method. If it is absent, the request is a GET unless a body is present, in which case cURL implies POST.
-H adds a header and may appear many times. Authorization, Content-Type and Accept are the three you will encounter most.
-d supplies a request body. With a JSON payload it usually pairs with a Content-Type header, and omitting that header is the most common reason a converted request returns a 400.
-u supplies basic authentication credentials, which the language equivalent expresses as an auth parameter rather than a manually encoded header.
After conversion
Check that credentials have not been pasted into source. A copied cURL command frequently contains a live bearer token or session cookie, and dropping that straight into a file you commit is a common way to leak one. Move it to an environment variable before saving.
Copied browser requests also carry a large set of headers the server does not require, including user agent strings, referer values and every cookie for the domain. Trim them to the handful the API actually needs, or you will reproduce browser-specific behaviour you did not intend.
Set a timeout
cURL waits indefinitely by default and so do some client libraries. Always set an explicit timeout in production code.
Handle the status
cURL prints whatever comes back. Your code should check the status before parsing the response as success.
Strip the cookies
Browser-copied requests include the full cookie jar. Most APIs need none of it.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my converted request return a 400?
Most often a missing Content-Type header. cURL's -d flag sends form encoding by default, so a JSON body needs the header set explicitly.
Does the converted code include my auth token?
If the token was in the cURL command, it appears in the output. Move it into an environment variable before committing the code anywhere.
Can I convert a multipart file upload?
File uploads using -F map to a files parameter in most libraries, but the exact form differs enough that the result is worth reviewing by hand.
How do I get a cURL command from my browser?
Open developer tools, go to the Network tab, right-click the request and choose Copy as cURL.