Which curl flags are supported?

-X/--request, -H/--header (repeatable), -d/--data/--data-raw/--data-binary/--data-urlencode (repeatable, joined with &), -u/--user (turned into a Basic Authorization header), -G/--get, -A/--user-agent, -b/--cookie, and --url. Flags that don't affect the resulting request, like -k, -L, -s, -v, and --compressed, are recognized and silently ignored rather than causing an error.

How is the HTTP method decided if -X isn't given?

The same way curl itself decides: if a -d/--data flag is present (and -G isn't), the request defaults to POST; otherwise it defaults to GET. An explicit -X always wins over that default.

Does it handle line continuations and quoted arguments?

Yes. Backslash-newline line continuations (common when a curl command is copied across multiple lines) are joined first, and both 'single' and "double" quoted arguments are parsed, including escaped characters inside double quotes.

cURL to Code Converter - Turn a cURL Command Into Code

Overview

Introduction

API documentation and browser dev tools both love to hand you a curl command, which is great for a quick terminal test but not directly useful inside an application you're writing.

This tool parses that curl command and regenerates the same request as ready-to-paste code in the language you actually need, entirely in your browser.

What Is cURL to Code Converter?

A curl command parser paired with five code generators (JavaScript fetch, Python requests, Node.js axios, PHP cURL, Go net/http) that all consume the same parsed request.

It's part of this site's API Tools collection and runs entirely client-side.

How cURL to Code Converter Works

The command is tokenized the way a shell would (respecting quotes and line continuations), then walked to extract the method, URL, headers, and body data.

That parsed request is handed to whichever language generator is selected, which emits idiomatic code using that language's most common HTTP client.

When To Use cURL to Code Converter

Use it right after copying a "Copy as cURL" command from a browser's network panel, to turn it into a starting point for real application code.

It's also handy for translating an API's curl-based documentation example into the language your project actually uses.

Often used alongside Webhook Tester.

Features

Advantages

Covers five common languages/libraries from one parsed request, instead of hand-translating each flag yourself.
Handles quoted arguments and multi-line commands the same way a shell does.

Limitations

Advanced curl features (file uploads with -F, config files with -K, retries, proxies) aren't parsed; only the flags listed in the FAQ are recognized.
Generated code is a starting point, not a drop-in replacement; error handling, timeouts, and retries are left for you to add.

Examples

Converting a simple GET request

Input

curl https://api.example.com/users -H "Authorization: Bearer abc123"

Output

fetch("https://api.example.com/users", {
  method: "GET",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer abc123",
  },
})
  .then((response) => response.json())
  .then((data) => console.log(data));

No -X or -d is present, so the method defaults to GET, and the header is carried over as-is.

Converting a POST with a JSON body

Input

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/users -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"name":"Ada"}'

Output

response = requests.post("https://api.example.com/users", headers=headers, data=data)

The explicit -X POST and -d flag both carry over; in Python output, headers and data dictionaries are declared above this line.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Double-check generated header casing and body encoding against your target language's conventions before shipping the code.
Add your own error handling and timeout logic; the generated code favors clarity over production readiness.
Use the -X flag explicitly in your original curl command if you want to be certain about the generated method, rather than relying on the -d-implies-POST default.

Developer Notes

String and header values are emitted using JSON.stringify (or an equivalent quoting convention per language), which happens to produce valid string literals in JavaScript, Python, PHP, and Go alike for the common case, since all four share double-quoted string escaping rules closely enough for typical header and body values.

cURL to Code Converter Use Cases

Turning a "Copy as cURL" command from a browser's network panel into a starting point for a script
Translating an API's curl-based documentation example into your project's language
Quickly checking what headers and body a curl command actually sends, by reading the generated code

Common Mistakes

Expecting file-upload flags (-F, --form) or config-file flags (-K) to be parsed; they currently aren't.
Pasting a command that doesn't start with the literal word curl, which the parser rejects outright.

Tips

Paste the exact command from "Copy as cURL"; hand-edited commands sometimes drop a required quote around a header or body value.

cURL to Code Converter