CURL
command line tool and library for transferring data with URL syntax
cURL (pronounced like "curl", ) is a free and open-source computer program for transferring data to and from Internet servers. It can download resources identified by URLs from a web server over HTTP and supports a variety of other network protocols, URI schemes, multiple versions of HTTP, and proxying. The project consists of a library (libcurl) and command-line tool (curl), which have been widely ported to different computing platforms. It was created by Daniel Stenberg, who is still the lead developer of the project.
History
The software was first released in 1996, originally named httpget and then became urlget, before adopting the current name of curl. The name stands for "Client and URL". The original author and lead developer is the Swedish developer Daniel Stenberg, who created curl to power part of an IRC bot, because he wanted to automatically provide currency exchange rates, fetched from a website, to users in an IRC chat room.
Components
libcurl
libcurl is a client-side URL transfer library that powers curl. It supports numerous internet protocols including DICT, FILE, FTP, FTPS, GOPHER, GOPHERS, HTTP, HTTPS, IMAP, IMAPS, LDAP, LDAPS, MQTT, POP3, POP3S, RTMP, RTMPS, RTSP, SCP, SFTP, SMB, SMBS, SMTP, SMTPS, TELNET, TFTP, WS and WSS.
libcurl supports HTTP versions 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 including h2c, prior-knowledge, dual-connect modes, and QUIC with 0-RTT handshakes.
The library provides features such as cookie handling, standard HTTP request methods (GET, POST, PUT, HEAD, multipart form uploads), and authentication mechanisms including Basic, Digest, NTLM, Negotiate, CRAM-MD5, SCRAM-SHA, Kerberos, Bearer tokens, AWS Sigv4, SASL, and reading credentials from .netrc.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “CURL” is command line tool and library for transferring data with URL syntax. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through CURL, command and line, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “command line tool and library for transferring data with URL syntax” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q286306. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 2 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1996.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “CURL”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow CURL primary sources, CURL archive and CURL research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “CURL”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “CURL” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.