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cURL Integration

Solo provides seamless integration with cURL, allowing you to import existing cURL commands and export your requests as cURL for use in terminals or scripts.

What is cURL?​

cURL is a command-line tool for making HTTP requests. It's widely used for:

  • Testing APIs from the terminal
  • Automating HTTP requests in scripts
  • Sharing API examples in documentation
  • Debugging network issues

Exporting Requests as cURL​

Convert any Solo request into a cURL command instantly.

How to Export​

  1. Configure your HTTP request in Solo
  2. Click the "Copy as cURL" button (clipboard icon)
  3. The cURL command is copied to your clipboard
  4. Paste into your terminal or documentation

Export Examples​

Simple GET Request:

Solo request:

GET https://api.example.com/users

Exported cURL:

curl -X GET "https://api.example.com/users"

POST Request with JSON Body:

Solo request:

POST https://api.example.com/users
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "john@example.com"
}

Exported cURL:

curl -X POST "https://api.example.com/users" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "john@example.com"
}'

Request with Authentication:

Solo request:

GET https://api.example.com/protected
Authorization: Bearer abc123token

Exported cURL:

curl -X GET "https://api.example.com/protected" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer abc123token"

Request with Query Parameters:

Solo request:

GET https://api.example.com/search?q=solo&limit=10

Exported cURL:

curl -X GET "https://api.example.com/search?q=solo&limit=10"

Request with Multiple Headers:

Solo request:

POST https://api.example.com/data
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: application/json
X-API-Key: secret123
User-Agent: Solo HTTP Client

{"data": "value"}

Exported cURL:

curl -X POST "https://api.example.com/data" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: secret123" \
  -H "User-Agent: Solo HTTP Client" \
  -d '{"data": "value"}'

Importing cURL Commands​

Paste any cURL command directly into Solo to create a request.

How to Import​

  1. Copy a cURL command from documentation or terminal
  2. Click the "Import cURL" button or use the keyboard shortcut
  3. Paste the cURL command
  4. Solo automatically parses and creates the request

Import Examples​

Import Basic cURL:

curl https://api.example.com/users

Creates:

Import with Headers:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer token123" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     https://api.example.com/data

Creates:

Import POST with Data:

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/users \
  -d '{"name":"John","email":"john@example.com"}'

Creates:

Import with --data flag:

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.example.com/users \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "name": "John Doe",
    "email": "john@example.com"
  }'

Solo automatically parses all flags and creates the request.

Supported cURL Flags​

Solo supports the most common cURL flags:

Request Method​

-X POST
--request POST

Headers​

-H "Content-Type: application/json"
--header "Authorization: Bearer token"

Request Body​

-d '{"key":"value"}'
--data '{"key":"value"}'
--data-raw '{"key":"value"}'

URL​

"https://api.example.com/endpoint"
--url https://api.example.com/endpoint

Basic Auth​

-u username:password
--user username:password

Follow Redirects​

-L
--location

Custom Request​

--request PATCH
-X DELETE

Working with Variables​

Use Solo variables in exported cURL commands:

Solo request:

GET https://{{base_url}}/users/{{user_id}}
Authorization: Bearer {{auth_token}}

Exported cURL:

curl -X GET "https://api.example.com/users/123" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer abc123token"

Solo substitutes variables before generating the cURL command.

tip

Define variables for different environments (dev, staging, production) and export cURL commands with the correct values automatically.

Use Cases​

Share API Examples​

Export requests as cURL to:

  • Include in API documentation
  • Share with teammates
  • Post in support tickets
  • Add to README files

Integrate with CI/CD​

Export cURL commands for:

  • Automated testing scripts
  • Deployment health checks
  • Monitoring systems
  • Build pipelines

Example in a bash script:

#!/bin/bash

# Health check exported from Solo
response=$(curl -X GET "https://api.example.com/health" -w "%{http_code}" -o /dev/null -s)

if [ $response -eq 200 ]; then
  echo "API is healthy"
else
  echo "API health check failed with status: $response"
  exit 1
fi

Debug in Terminal​

Export and run cURL commands to:

  • Test from different machines
  • Debug network issues
  • Test from servers
  • Verify firewall rules

Copy from Browser DevTools​

Import cURL from browser:

  1. Open Browser DevTools (F12)
  2. Go to Network tab
  3. Right-click on any request
  4. Select "Copy as cURL"
  5. Paste into Solo's Import dialog

Advanced cURL Features​

Form Data​

Solo supports form data in cURL:

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/upload \
  -F "file=@/path/to/file.txt" \
  -F "name=document"

Custom Headers with Special Characters​

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/data \
  -H "X-Custom-Header: value with spaces" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer token_with-special.chars"

Multiple Data Parameters​

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/form \
  -d "param1=value1" \
  -d "param2=value2" \
  -d "param3=value3"

Tips & Best Practices​

Always Include Method​

Even for GET requests, explicitly specify the method:

# Good
curl -X GET "https://api.example.com/users"

# Works but less clear
curl "https://api.example.com/users"

Quote URLs​

Always quote URLs to handle special characters:

# Good
curl -X GET "https://api.example.com/search?q=hello world"

# May fail
curl -X GET https://api.example.com/search?q=hello world

Format for Readability​

Use backslashes for multi-line commands:

curl -X POST "https://api.example.com/users" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer token" \
  -d '{"name":"John"}'

Escape JSON Properly​

Use single quotes for JSON data:

# Good
-d '{"key":"value"}'

# May fail with double quotes
-d "{\"key\":\"value\"}"

Common Issues & Solutions​

Special Characters in URL​

Problem:

curl https://api.example.com/search?q=hello world

Solution:

curl "https://api.example.com/search?q=hello%20world"
# or
curl "https://api.example.com/search?q=hello+world"

JSON Parsing Errors​

Problem:

curl -d "{key: value}"  # Invalid JSON

Solution:

curl -d '{"key":"value"}'  # Valid JSON

Headers Not Working​

Problem:

curl -H Content-Type: application/json  # Missing quotes

Solution:

curl -H "Content-Type: application/json"

Keyboard Shortcuts​

Speed up your workflow:

  • Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + C – Copy as cURL
  • Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + V – Import from cURL
  • Cmd/Ctrl + C – Copy response

GitHub API​

curl -X GET "https://api.github.com/repos/igorvieira/Solo" \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

Stripe API​

curl -X POST "https://api.stripe.com/v1/customers" \
  -u "sk_test_YOUR_KEY:" \
  -d "email=customer@example.com" \
  -d "name=John Doe"

OpenAI API​

curl -X POST "https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "gpt-4",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
  }'

Next Steps​