curlbased

Curlbased is a software project and API that provides a curl-based HTTP client interface built on top of the libcurl library. It is designed to simplify common network operations by offering a concise, language-agnostic command surface and a lightweight library API.

Design goals focus on predictable behavior, robust handling of redirects and errors, straightforward authentication, and ease of scripting and testing. Rather than aiming to replace the full feature set of curl, curlbased provides a higher-level abstraction that emphasizes consistency across environments.

Core features include support for standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE), header and query parameter management, cookie handling, and authentication methods (Basic, Digest, Bearer). It includes TLS/SSL verification, proxy support, automatic redirects, timeouts, and facilities for streaming request and response bodies. A minimal command-line interface complements a language-agnostic API, with optional bindings to popular languages.

Architecture comprises a core transport layer that wraps libcurl handles, a high-level request builder and response object, and separate language bindings as needed. The design favors deterministic error reporting, clear response metadata, and testability.

Typical use cases include automated API testing, data ingestion pipelines, and scripting tasks where a curl-like interface is desirable but with a simpler, stable API. See also libcurl and curl for background on the underlying transport.