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Latest Version
cURL 8.21.0 LATEST
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Review by
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Operating System
Windows 7 / Windows 8 / Windows 10 / Windows 11
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User Rating
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Author / Product
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Filename
curl-8.21.0.zip
Originally developed by Daniel Stenberg, it has become an essential tool for developers, system administrators, and security professionals.
cURL for Windows supports multiple protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, SCP, SFTP, LDAP, and many more.
It is widely used for automating data transfer tasks, testing APIs, and debugging network issues.
Key Features
Multi-Protocol Support – Supports HTTP, FTP, IMAP, SMTP, LDAP, and many other protocols.
Secure Data Transfer – Provides support for TLS and SSL encryption.
User Authentication – Supports basic, digest, NTLM, Negotiate, and Kerberos authentication.
Proxy Support – Works with HTTP, SOCKS4, and SOCKS5 proxies.
Automated Scripting – Ideal for batch processing and scripting.
Cookie and Session Management – Supports handling cookies and maintaining sessions.
Header and Data Manipulation – Allows setting custom headers and sending POST, GET, and other HTTP methods.
Resume and Bandwidth Control – Supports resuming interrupted downloads and controlling bandwidth usage.
Cross-Platform Availability – Works on Windows, Linux, macOS, and many other operating systems.
Open-Source – Free to use and modify under the MIT license.
User Interface
cURL does not have a graphical user interface (GUI); it operates exclusively via the command-line interface (CLI).
Users interact with cURL by typing commands in the terminal or command prompt.
While this may seem complex for beginners, it is incredibly powerful and flexible for experienced users.
Installation and Setup
Download – Visit the official website or FileHorse.com and download the latest Windows binary.
Extract Files – Unzip the downloaded file to a directory of your choice.
Set Environment Variables – Add the cURL directory to the Windows PATH variable to run it from any command prompt.
Verify Installation – Open the command prompt and run curl --version to check if it is installed correctly.
How to Use
Basic Web Request:
curl https://www.example.com
Download a File:
curl -O https://www.example.com/file.zip
Send POST Request with Data:
curl -X POST -d "param1=value1¶m2=value2" https://api.example.com
Use Authentication:
curl -u username:password https://api.example.com
Use Proxy:
curl -x http://proxy.example.com:8080 https://www.example.com
FAQ
Is cURL free to use?
Yes, cURL is open-source and completely free under the MIT license.
Can cURL handle JSON data?
Yes, it can send and receive JSON data using headers and data payloads.
How do I check if cURL is installed on Windows?
Run curl --version in the command prompt to verify installation.
Does cURL support file uploads?
Yes, using -F or --upload-file options, you can upload files to a server.
Can cURL resume downloads?
Yes, use the -C - option to resume a previously interrupted download.
Alternatives
Postman – GUI tool for testing APIs and HTTP requests.
Wget – Another command-line tool focused on downloading files.
HTTPie – A user-friendly command-line HTTP client.
ARIA2 – A lightweight, multi-threaded download utility.
PowerShell Invoke-WebRequest – Built-in Windows command for making web requests.
Pricing
This tool is completely FREE and open-source. There are no paid plans or licenses required.
System Requirements
- Operating System: Windows 7, 8, 10, 11
- Processor: Any x86 or x64 processor
- RAM: Minimum 512MB (1GB recommended)
- Storage: Less than 10MB for installation
- Network: Required for most functionalities
- Supports a wide range of protocols.
- Free and open-source.
- Lightweight with minimal system requirements.
- Powerful for automation and scripting.
- Available across multiple platforms.
- No graphical user interface.
- Requires knowledge of command-line syntax.
- Limited built-in documentation.
- Can be complex for beginners.
cURL is a powerful and indispensable tool for developers, system administrators, and security professionals. With its extensive protocol support, automation capabilities, and lightweight footprint, it stands out as one of the best command-line utilities for data transfer.
What's new in this version:
Changed:
- curl: named globs in output filename for upload glob references
- HTTP/3: add proxy CONNECT and MASQUE CONNECT-UDP support (ngtcp2 QUIC)
- http2: remove stream dependency tracking
- lib: drop support for CURLAUTH_DIGEST_IE
- libssh: add support for SHA256 host public keys
- tool_urlglob: add named globs
Fixed:
- _ENVIRONMENT.md. Windows does case insensitive env variables
- _URL.md: remove the zone-id mention
- AmigaOS: curl_setup.h avoid explicit_bzero with clib2
- AmigaOS: fix build fallouts, re-add to CI
- asyn-thrdd: add IPv6 guards
- asyn-thrdd: fix result processing without wakeup socketpair
- autotools: mbedtls detection fixes
- BINDINGS: Update Hollywood link
- BUFQ.md: re-sync with source code
- build: enable `-Wlogical-op` picky warning for GCC 4.4+
- build: omit zlib pkg-config reference for Android
- cf-h2-prox: fix peer leak
- cf-h2-proxy: drop interim responses
- cf-https-connect: do not engage on proxy origin
- cf-ip-happy.c: minor comment typo
- cf-ip-happy: update documentation
- cf-socket: make Curl_addr2string static
- cf-socket: set scope_id for IPv6 link-local addresses
- cf-socket: store errno from do_connect in ctx->error
- cfilters: fix busy loop on blocked transfers
- chunked: reject invalid bytes in trailer
- CIPHERS.md: fix the example that uses only TLS 1.3
- cmake/FindGSS: drop "MIT Unknown" version value, related tidy ups
- cmake/FindGSS: drop CMake <3.16 compatibility logic
- cmake/FindGSS: fix comment, adjust custom flavor property name
- cmake/FindGSS: prioritize MIT over GNU in pkg-config detection
- cmake: auto-select static nghttp2/nghttp3/ngtcp2 Config
- cmake: export/forward `NGTCP2_CRYPTO_BACKEND`
- cmake: fix three issues generating lib options in config files
- cmake: fix zstd CMake config name
- cmake: opt in `MSVC_VERSION` 1951 to picky warnings
- cmake: quote `COMPONENTS` string in `curl-config.in.cmake`
- cmake: simplify `LINK_ONLY` imported target extraction
- config2setopts: use default protocol properly
- connect: remove deref of freed pointer in trace call
- content_encoding: fix limit failure message
- content_encoding: fix non-last chunked rejection
- content_encoding: timeout during slow decoding
- cookie: check __Secure- and __Host- case sensitively when read from file
- cookie: compare path case sensitively
- cookie: reject control octets in file-loaded cookies
- cookie: simplify strstore(), remove outdated comment
- cookie: tailmatch the domains for secure override
- cookie: trim trailing dots when checking PSL
- creds: add sasl service name
- creds: create with empty user+pass
- creds: mask OAuth bearer token in trace logs
- creds: remove two unused functions
- curl_easy_pause.md: rephrase the stream cache when pause clause
- curl_easy_setopt.md: change options when no transfer runs
- curl_formdata: fix to pass long where missing, document `CURLFORM_NAMELENGTH`
- curl_multi_assign.md: clarify lifetime
- curl_ntlm_core: fix nettle 4+ builds in certain MultiSSL combos
- curl_ntlm_core: propagate DES `CryptEncrypt()` error
- curl_sha512_256: fix result code on error
- CURLINFO_CONTENT_LENGTH_UPLOAD_T.md: expand
- CURLMOPT_SOCKETFUNCTION.md: this sends *all* file descriptors
- CURLOPT_CHUNK_BGN_FUNCTION: target is there for symlinks only
- CURLOPT_DISALLOW_USERNAME_IN_URL: is for CURLOPT_URL only
- CURLOPT_DOH_URL.md: does not inherit proxy options
- CURLOPT_ECH.md: simplify the description language
- CURLOPT_HAPROXYPROTOCOL.md: only sent for newly setup connections
- CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE: clarify this also works for on-going transfers
- CURLOPT_PINNEDPUBLICKEY.md: does not apply for other origins
- CURLOPT_PORT.md: use stronger language
- CURLOPT_SHARE: warn about early remove
- CURLOPT_SSH_HOSTKEYFUNCTION.md: for new connections only
- CURLOPT_WRITEFUNCTION.md: mention redirects
- CURLOPT_WRITEFUNCTION.md: remove stray reference to HSTS
- delta: harden external command invocations
- digest: escape control codes too
- digest: flush proxy state on proxy or credential change
- digest: flush state on origin or credential change
- dns-httpsrr-lookup: use origin, not peer
- dnscache: remove Curl_dns_entry_link
- docs/libcurl: fix the version for curl_multi_socket_action
- docs: end "...can be used several times..." sentences with period
- docs: fix --follow doc typo
- docs: fix a couple of typos
- docs: fix grammar and wording in FAQ
- docs: fix odd wording in CONTRIBUTE.md
- docs: note CURLOPT_PINNEDPUBLICKEY has no effect on legacy LDAP backend
- docs: returned header size reflects HTTP/1-style format
- doh: cap the maximum TTL to 24 hours
- doh: stricter HTTPS RNAME parsing
- ECH: cleanups
- event: fix wakeup consumption
- ftp: avoid accessing EPSV response one byte past the NULL
- ftp: remove 2 Curl_resolv_blocking() calls
- ftp: remove bits.ftp_use_control_ssl
- ftplistparser: clear strings.target if not symlink
- gnutls: allow building with nettle 4.0
- gnutls: fix more nettle 4+ compatibility issues
- gnutls: require 3.7.2 for earlydata
- gsasl: fix potential double free
- gtls: fix ignored return and uninitialized status in OCSP check
- gtls: fix some typos
- gtls: minor fixes and improvements
- gtls: use the correct return code in trace output
- gtls: verify OCSP response signature in gtls_verify_ocsp_status
- h3-proxy: fix callback return values, and a typo in tests
- hostip: remove unused MAX_HOSTCACHE_LEN and MAX_DNS_CACHE_SIZE
- hsts.md: mention multiple curl invokes effect
- hsts: duplicate live HSTS data in curl_easy_duphandle
- http-proxy: verify CONNECT response headers
- HTTP3.md: update quiche build
- http: don't pass on set cookies to new origins
- http: prefer chunked encoding over Content-Length: 0
- http: reject spurious CR bytes in headers
- http_digest: return better error
- idn: replace header guards with forward declaration
- INSTALL-CMAKE.md: document CMake environment variables
- INTERNALS.md: document minimum nghttp3 and ngtcp2 versions
- KNOWN_BUGS.md: remove fixed GnuTLS <-> OpenSSL incompat bug
- KNOWN_BUGS: remove stale Threads::Threads entry
- krb5_sspi: fix error message on `DecryptMessage()` fail
- ldap: base64 encode binary LDIF values with WinLDAP
- ldap: fix minor leak on write callback error
- ldap: fix to not leak `attribute` on OOM (WinLDAP)
- ldap: switch off chasing referrals
- lib678: fix to not be perma-skipped
- lib: make `__STDC_VERSION__` literals `L` (where missing)
- lib: transfer origin and proxy handling
- lib: two minor typos
- libcurl-easy.md: minor clarifications
- libssh2: do not use deprecated macros when unavailable
- libssh2: drop stray double-negative from `strncmp()` result
- libssh2: fix to return error code on missing parameter
- libssh2: replace macro names with non-misspelled alternatives
- libssh2: save non-standard port to `known_hosts`
- libssh2: sync version check with INTERNALS.md
- libssh2: use non-deprecated `libssh2_knownhost_addc()`
- libssh: map SSH_KNOWN_HOSTS_OTHER to CURLKHMATCH_MISMATCH
- m4: drop redundant conditions in TLS library detections
- Makefile.am: drop test1190 listed twice
- managen: apply minor fixes and improvements
- mbedtls: null-terminate the private key blob
- mk-unity.pl: `#include`, and not concatenate input headers
- mqtt: return error on truncated Remaining Length
- mqtt: validate PINGRESP and DISCONNECT have remaining_length == 0
- multi: handle pause in multi socket callback
- multi: remove a stale comment
- multi: silence gcc 16 `-Wnull-dereference`, bump CI job to test
- multi: xfers_really_alive
- netrc: remember and check filename loaded
- netrc: scanner refactor
- ngtcp2: fail handshake directly
- openssl: do not mix OpenSSL int result with `CURLcode` variable
- os400sys: fix theoretical length overflows
- peer.h: fix typo in comment
- pingpong: reject nul byte in server response line
- progress: fix CURLINFO time reporting
- psl: require libpsl 0.16.0 (2016-12-10) or greater
- pytest: pass `--disable` to curl
- pytest: re-enable test test_05_01 and test_05_02 for quiche 0.29.0+
- pythonlint.sh: make it fail on error, fix ruff warnings in pytest
- quic: count zero length packets against max
- ratelimits: use minimal burst rate
- RELEASE-PROCEDURE.md: update coming release dates
- resolve: mention in error that IP address is expected
- rtsp: bump buf after rtsp_filter_rtp()
- runner.pm: apply minor correctness fix
- runner.pm: set `CURL_TESTNUM` for `precheck` commands
- runtests: fix tests for curl builds with embedded CA bundle
- rustls: error on CURLOPT_CRLFILE with native CA store
- schannel: check `schannel_sha256sum()` success, and more
- schannel: enforce Extended Key Usage for custom CA roots
- schannel: error on TLS 1.3-only with cipher list
- schannel: fix https proxy for client cert and certinfo
- schannel: fix revoke_best_effort setting for proxy
- schannel: use fopen instead CreateFile
- schannel_verify: avoid out of blob access
- schannel_verify: simplify CryptQueryObject use
- scripts: catch Credits-to contributors
- SECURITY-ADVISORY.md: expand
- setopt: changing the proxy port is also a proxy change
- setopt: clear proxy auth properly on NULL
- setopt: clear the "custom" CA booleans when set to NULL
- setopt: CURLOPT_MAXCONNECTS set to 0 restores default value
- setopt: defref the old referer when setting a new
- setopt: fix to honor `CURLOPT_PROXY_CAINFO_BLOB` over Native CA
- setopt: gate a few proxy TLS options by checking backend support
- setopt: more careful cleanup of the HSTS cache
- setopt: return error if received `curl_blob->data` is NULL
- show-headers.md: mention bold headers and --no-styled-output
- sigv4: URL encode the username in the header
- smb: constify `strchr()` result variable
- smb: integer overflow proof a size check
- smbserver: update internal id generation for Python 3
- socket: introduce `SOCK_EAGAIN()` and use it
- socket: use name `sockerr` for socket error variables
- socks_sspi: invalid response length is a fatal error
- socks_sspi: store socks5_gssapi_enctype
- spnego_sspi: honor CURLOPT_GSSAPI_DELEGATION for Windows SSPI
- spnego_sspi: preserve distinction btw policy-only and uncond delegation
- src: fix comment typos
- src: sync nghttp2 versions checks with current requirements
- ssl native_ca_store: always reinit
- SSLCERTS: document 8.19.0 default Native CA builds (Windows)
- sspi: clear SSPI credentials on AcquireCredentialsHandle failure
- sspi: free libcurl allocated memory with curlx_free
- telnet: drop an `int` cast no longer necessary
- telnet: drop redundant interim variables
- telnet: fix error message typos
- telnet: fix old copy-paste typo in variable name
- telnet: honor CURLOPT_TIMEOUT in send_telnet_data()
- test1588: use %TESTNUMBER, not hard-coded number
- test1981: explicitly set the locale
- tests: add `cookies` feature to some tests
- tests: add an assert to avoid IPC blocking
- tests: add the "--resolve" keyword to tests that lack it
- tests: fix unit1636 with --disable-progress-meter
- tftp: avoid the timeout calc if the timeout is crazy
- tftp: stricter option name checks
- tidy-up: add space around operators, where missing
- tidy-up: apply clang-format fixes
- tidy-up: drop stray casts for allocated pointers
- tidy-up: miscellaneous
- tls: fix incomplete mTLS config in conn reuse and session cache
- tls: wolfssl: fixes for PQC key shares
- tool: warn when --ssl and --ftp-ssl-control override each other
- tool_formparse.c: fix two minor comment typos
- tool_formparse: polish error message + make two functions static
- tool_formparse: tool2curlparts is no longer recursive
- tool_help: rectify a bad assert
- tool_operhlp: avoid NULL to %s
- tool_urlglob: avoid overflow at end of range
- tool_urlglob: better 'Duplicate glob name' position
- tool_urlglob: make globbing error reported for correct position
- tool_writeout: fix %time{} output for %s
- transfer: clear referer when set to NULL
- unit1675: fix potential memory leak on dynbuf fail path
- unix-sockets: ignore proxy settings
- URL-SYNTAX: document more URL parsing details
- url: compare full origin when setting credentials
- url: connection credentials origin
- url: connection reuse fixes for starttls
- url: detect proxy changes read from environment
- url: don't log bits.close state
- url: fix connection reuse for starttls protocols
- url: keep the question mark for empty queries
- url: remove superfluous check
- url: url_match_destination fix
- urlapi: accept 0X prefix in IPv4 address as well
- urlapi: change more lowercase percent-encoded to uppercase
- urlapi: compare zone-id in Curl_url_same_origin()
- urlapi: consume trailing dots after IPv4 numerical addresses
- urlapi: deny hostnames with more than one trailing dot
- urlapi: drop base fragment on empty redirect
- urlapi: fix an issue parsing file URLs
- urlapi: fix memleaks on error in `parse_hostname_login()`
- urlapi: fix redirect handling if CURLU_NO_GUESS_SCHEME is set
- urlapi: forbid '|' in host
- urlapi: handle redirect without set scheme with default-scheme
- urlapi: URL decode hostname before IP address normalization
- user-agent.md: mention double quotes too
- var: use a dedicated pointer for the alloc
- verify-release: verify more thoroughly with git
- vquic: drop stray casts for `iovec.iov_len`
- vtls: more large buffer support and error checks for SHA-256
- vtls: use Curl_safecmp for CRLfile and pinned_key comparison
- vtls_scache: include signature_algorithms in the SSL peer cache key
- vtls_spack: drop redundant macro fallbacks
- VULN-DISCLOSURE-POLICY.md: emphasize comm as a human
- VULN-DISCLOSURE-POLICY.md: emphasize the no email thank you part
- VULN-DISCLOSURE-POLICY.md: test code is not secure
- VULN-DISCLOSURE-POLICY: non-released code
- websockets: auto-tunnel through http proxy
- websockets: buffer upgrade data at connection level
- windows: update MS SDK versions in comments
- winldap: avoid NULL pointer deref on `ldap_get_dn()` fail
- ws: make pong sending lazy
- x509asn1: fix DH public key parameter extraction
- x509asn1: fix operator order in do_pubkey
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