What is `curl`?

curl is a command-line tool for transferring data to or from a server using various protocols, such as HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and more. It’s widely used to make HTTP requests directly from the terminal, such as GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.

Key uses of curl include:

Downloading or uploading data
Interacting with APIs
Debugging HTTP requests

Basic `curl` Syntax

curl [options] [URL]

For example, to fetch data from a URL:

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

Example: Fetching a Joke from the Chuck Norris API

The Chuck Norris API (https://api.chucknorris.io) provides random Chuck Norris jokes. Here’s how you can use curl to fetch a random joke from this API.

Command to Fetch a Random Joke

curl https://api.chucknorris.io/jokes/random

Explanation

URL: https://api.chucknorris.io/jokes/random is the endpoint that returns a random joke in JSON format.
Output: This command will display a random Chuck Norris joke in JSON format in your terminal.

Example Output

{
  "categories": [],
  "created_at": "2020-01-05 13:42:19.576875",
  "icon_url": "https://assets.chucknorris.host/img/avatar/chucknorris.png",
  "id": "gW8tPYxFQ7KsQOxDGVyhrg",
  "updated_at": "2020-01-05 13:42:19.576875",
  "url": "https://api.chucknorris.io/jokes/gW8tPYxFQ7KsQOxDGVyhrg",
  "value": "Chuck Norris can divide by zero."
}

Fetching a Joke by Category

The Chuck Norris API also allows you to fetch jokes by category. First, you can list the available categories:

curl https://api.chucknorris.io/jokes/categories

Then, to fetch a joke from a specific category, such as “animal”:

curl "https://api.chucknorris.io/jokes/random?category=animal"

The ?category=animal query parameter specifies the joke category you want.

Summary

curl is a versatile command-line tool for interacting with HTTP APIs and more.
Chuck Norris API is a free API that returns random jokes. Using curl, you can easily fetch jokes directly from your terminal.

What is curl?

Basic curl Syntax