cURL to Code Converter

What is a cURL to Code Converter?

A cURL to code converter is a tool that takes a shell curl command and translates it into equivalent HTTP client code in a language you actually ship. If you've ever copied a request from API documentation or from your browser's DevTools and then spent twenty minutes translating -H, --data, and -u flags into requests.post(), fetch(), or HttpClient calls, this tool exists to remove that step.

cURL is the de facto language of API examples. Nearly every API documentation page ships with a "curl" tab next to its Python, JavaScript, and Go samples. That's fine when you're testing from a terminal — but when you're integrating that endpoint into a real application, you need idiomatic code for your stack. A curl converter bridges that gap: paste the command, choose your target, copy the result.

This converter parses the shell command, shows what it understood, and warns about behavior it could not faithfully translate. Parsing and code generation run in your browser; the command is not submitted to a conversion API. Avoid pasting live tokens or cookies into any website.

How does the cURL to Code Converter work?

The pipeline is simple but each stage matters:

Shell tokenization. The command is split into arguments the same way a POSIX shell would, honoring single quotes, double quotes, backslash escapes, and both Unix (\\ + newline) and Windows (^ + newline) line continuations. This is the part most lightweight converters get wrong — naive .split(" ") breaks the moment a header value or JSON body contains a space.
Flag recognition. Each token is matched against known cURL flags (-X, -H, --data-raw, --json, -u, -b, -F, -L, -k, --compressed, and so on).
Request normalization. The parsed pieces — method, URL, query string, headers, cookies, auth, body — are assembled into a single structured request object.
Body classification. If a JSON body was supplied, it is parsed into an object so downstream generators can emit it as a native dictionary, not a stringified blob.
Code generation. The normalized request is passed to a language-specific emitter that produces idiomatic code for that runtime.
Warnings. Any flag with no direct equivalent (proxies, TLS bypass, custom output paths) produces a warning instead of being silently dropped.

Every stage is transparent: after running the converter, switch to the Request breakdown tab to see exactly what method, URL, headers, cookies, and body the parser extracted. If something is missing, you'll see it there.

How to convert cURL to Python

Paste your command, select Python — requests, and click Convert. A typical POST looks like this:

import requests

url = "https://api.example.com/users"

headers = {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
}

json_data = {
    "name": "John",
    "role": "developer",
}

response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=json_data)
print(response.status_code)
print(response.text)

Notice that the JSON body becomes a real Python dict passed to json= — not a string. This lets requests handle serialization and lets you edit the payload as native Python. If the response is JSON, call response.json() instead of response.text.

How to convert cURL to JavaScript (fetch)

The same POST converts to a fetch call that works in browsers and modern Node.js:

const response = await fetch("https://api.example.com/users", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: "John",
    role: "developer",
  }),
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

Two things to keep in mind: fetch in a browser cannot set certain restricted headers (Host, Connection, Content-Length, etc.), and cross-origin requests require the server to send CORS headers. When your cURL command contains headers that browsers block, the converter will warn you explicitly.

How to convert cURL to TypeScript

TypeScript output is identical to the JavaScript fetch variant but typed. The converter wraps the response shape and the JSON body in interfaces so the compiler can verify them. This is often more useful than the raw JS output when the endpoint returns a well-defined structure.

How to convert cURL to Axios

Axios output uses a single config object and, for JSON bodies, the data field. It also avoids the JSON.stringify dance because Axios serializes objects automatically:

import axios from "axios";

const response = await axios.post("https://api.example.com/users", {
  name: "John",
  role: "developer",
}, {
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
});

How to convert cURL to PHP

The PHP output uses the built-in cURL extension, with CURLOPT_* options mapped from each cURL flag. If you use Guzzle in your project, the Guzzle target produces a much shorter snippet based on Client->request().

How to convert cURL to Go, Java, C#, Rust, and more

All remaining targets follow the same pattern: the tool reads the same normalized request and emits the idiomatic form for that runtime.

Go uses net/http with http.NewRequest, a bytes.NewBuffer for JSON, and a timeout-configured http.Client.
Java uses the built-in java.net.http.HttpClient (Java 11+) and produces a fully self-contained snippet.
C# uses HttpClient with a StringContent body and per-request HttpRequestMessage headers.
Rust uses the reqwest crate with an async Client::new().post(...) chain.
Ruby uses Net::HTTP, one of the few built-in HTTP clients in modern language standard libraries.
Swift uses URLSession with a URLRequest and async/await.
Kotlin uses OkHttp's Request.Builder, the de facto client for Android and many Kotlin server stacks.
Dart uses the http package with http.post().
PowerShell uses Invoke-RestMethod, which is available on every modern Windows system without extra installs.

How to get cURL from Chrome DevTools

Open Chrome DevTools (F12 or Cmd+Option+I).
Go to the Network tab.
Perform the action you want to capture (reload, submit a form, click a button).
Click the request you want to inspect.
Right-click it → Copy → Copy as cURL (or Copy as cURL (bash)).
Paste into the textarea above and hit Convert.

Important: DevTools copies include your live cookies and any active Authorization headers. This tool runs entirely in your browser, so nothing is transmitted — but if you paste that same command into a random online converter or Slack, you're leaking session credentials. Always check before sharing a DevTools-derived cURL command.

How to get cURL from Firefox and Safari

Firefox: DevTools → Network → right-click a request → Copy → Copy as cURL. Firefox typically outputs the same bash-compatible format as Chrome.

Safari: Enable the Develop menu (Preferences → Advanced → Show Develop menu) → Develop → Show Web Inspector → Network tab → right-click a request → Copy as cURL. Safari's output is compatible with this tool, though Safari often prepends curl without the full path, which the parser handles.

Which cURL options are supported?

The converter recognizes the following flags and maps them as closely as the target language allows:

Request method: -X, --request, plus implicit detection (--data and friends imply POST).
URL: positional argument and --url.
Headers: -H, --header, including repeated headers.
Bodies: -d, --data, --data-raw, --data-binary, --data-ascii, --data-urlencode, --json.
Auth: -u, --user for Basic auth; Bearer tokens detected inside Authorization headers.
Cookies: -b, --cookie.
Multipart forms: -F, --form.
Runtime: -L/--location, -k/--insecure, -I/--head, --compressed, --connect-timeout, --max-time, --retry, --proxy, -A/--user-agent, -e/--referer.

Recognized-but-not-affecting-the-wire flags like -s, -S, -v, and -i are accepted and ignored without warnings, because they only affect cURL's own console output.

What happens to headers, JSON bodies, Bearer tokens and cookies?

Headers are copied name-for-name and value-for-value. The converter does not reorder them, does not lowercase names, and does not strip duplicates — those are all behaviors your HTTP client is responsible for.

JSON bodies are parsed into native objects and emitted as native constructs (json= in Python, data: in Axios, JSON.stringify in browser fetch). If the JSON is malformed, the converter keeps it as a raw string and warns you.

Bearer tokens and Basic auth credentials are treated as sensitive. The converter recognizes them, warns you that hardcoding them is unsafe, and recommends replacing them with environment variables in your generated code. It never attempts to validate the token against any server.

Cookies passed via -b or inside a Cookie header are preserved in the generated code. In browser JavaScript, note that cookies cannot always be set manually — the browser manages them.

Does the converter execute my cURL command?

No. This tool does not execute the cURL request or send it to a target server. It parses the command and generates code in your browser; general site scripts are described in the privacy policy.

Is the cURL converter private?

The command is parsed in your browser and is not sent to a conversion API. The shared site layout may load analytics and advertising scripts; avoid pasting credentials or other sensitive data into an online page.

Why can generated browser fetch code differ from cURL?

Because browsers are not cURL. A few concrete differences:

Restricted headers. Fetch silently drops Host, Connection, Content-Length, Upgrade, Referer (in some contexts), and others.
Cookie handling. Browsers manage cookies through document.cookie and the Cookie jar. You cannot set an arbitrary Cookie header via fetch.
CORS. Cross-origin requests are subject to the preflight and origin checks. A cURL request that works in the terminal may be blocked in a browser.
Redirects. fetch follows redirects by default, but you cannot change Referer across origins.
TLS. You cannot disable TLS verification in a browser. -k has no equivalent.
Timeouts. fetch has no built-in timeout; you must use AbortController.

The converter warns you when your command relies on any of these behaviors. It never pretends the browser version is 1:1 with the cURL version.

Common cURL conversion problems (and how this tool handles them)

Shell escaping. Handled by a real tokenizer, not by splitting on spaces.
Unterminated quotes. Detected and reported with the name of the flag near the error.
Unsupported flags. Preserved in a warnings list instead of silently dropped.
File uploads. Replaced with a placeholder path and a warning that the developer must set the real path.
Cookies. Preserved and, in browser targets, flagged as browser-managed.
Browser-only headers. Flagged with an explicit warning in fetch output.
TLS verification (-k). Impossible in browsers; the flag is dropped with a warning.
Redirects (-L). Followed by default in most clients; cURL actually requires -L, so the converter notes when this changes behavior.
Multipart form data. Emitted using the native multipart API of the target language where available, with a placeholder for local file paths.

Frequently asked questions

Is this cURL to code converter free?

Yes. No sign-up, no rate limit, no account. You can convert as many commands as you need.

Does this tool send my command to a server?

No. Everything runs in your browser. The parser and every language generator are pure JavaScript with zero network calls.

Can it convert the cURL commands I copy from Chrome DevTools?

Yes. The parser handles Chrome's, Firefox's, and Safari's "Copy as cURL" output, including multi-line commands with \\ line continuations.

Which languages are supported?

JavaScript (fetch, axios), TypeScript, Node.js, Python (requests, httpx), PHP (cURL, Guzzle), Go, Java, C#, Rust, Ruby, Swift, Kotlin, Dart, PowerShell, plus structured outputs (JSON representation and normalized HTTP request).

Why do you not support more languages?

Because we'd rather support fifteen languages well than forty languages badly. Every target here produces idiomatic code that a developer of that language would recognize as reasonable. If you need a target we don't have yet, use the JSON representation output — it's a clean, language-neutral description of the request that any client can be driven from.

Does the generated code actually work?

Yes — for the common cases. Every language emitter is tested against the example commands built into the tool. That said, some runtime-specific caveats (e.g., browser CORS, mobile network permissions) are outside the tool's control. Where a caveat applies, the converter shows a warning.

Can I convert Bearer tokens or Basic auth?

Yes. The converter detects both and puts them into the correct header or auth parameter for each language. It also warns you that hardcoding credentials is a security risk and recommends environment variables.

Does it handle multipart file uploads?

Yes, but with an important caveat: the local file path from your machine (@/Users/you/file.pdf) will not exist in the generated code's runtime. The converter replaces it with a placeholder variable and a warning so you know exactly what to edit.

What about the `-k` / `--insecure` flag?

In languages that let you disable TLS verification (Python verify=False, cURL itself, Go's InsecureSkipVerify), the converter reproduces it and warns you that it's unsafe. In browser fetch, it's impossible; the flag is dropped with a warning.

Can I use this offline?

Once the page has loaded, yes. Because there are no network calls for the conversion itself, the tool works without an internet connection.

Will this expose my production API tokens?

The tool does not submit the pasted token as part of conversion. However, be careful with what you do with the generated code — never commit tokens to a repository. Use environment variables or a secret manager in production.

How do I report a parse bug?

Note the exact cURL command that failed and share the error message shown in the red panel. If the parser accepts the command but produces code that misbehaves, check the Request breakdown tab to see exactly what the parser understood — that's usually enough to identify whether it's a parser bug or a generator bug.

What is the difference between "Convert" and "Format cURL"?

Convert produces code in your chosen language. Format cURL leaves the request unchanged but rewrites it into a readable multi-line form with one option per line — useful before converting complex commands.

Can I integrate this into my CI pipeline?

Not directly — this is a browser-based tool with no server API. If you need programmatic cURL conversion, use a library like curlconverter (npm) in your own build pipeline.