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curl follow redirects Guide: Master From Basics to Advanced

Post Time: 2025-07-10 Update Time: 2025-07-10

Handling HTTP redirects is a core skill for anyone using curl—whether you’re testing web endpoints, automating API workflows, or scraping data behind login redirects. Without handling, curl stops at the first 3xx status. This guide builds step by step, from the basics to advanced techniques (including proxy integration) to master every redirection scenario.

curl follow redirects

Quick Start (Your First curl -L)

Get up and running in seconds—follow your first redirect.

1. What Is a Redirect?

A server responds with a 3xx status (e.g., 301, 302) and a Location: header pointing to a new URL.

2. Enable Redirect Following

bash

 

curl -L https://example.com/old-page

  • -L (or --location) helps following 3xx responses until the final URL.

Easy Redirect Limits (Stop Infinite Loops)

Learn how to cap redirects so you never get stuck in a loop.

Why Limit Redirects? 

Avoid infinite loops or accidental long chains that hang your script.

Default Cap

Most curl versions use 30 hops by default; some use 50 (varies by curl version).

Customize with --max-redirs

bash

 

curl -L --max-redirs 5 https://example.com/chain

  • Stops after 5 redirects.

Pro Tip: If you expect only one redirect but want safety, set --max-redirs 2.

Keep Your POST Data (No More Lost Forms)

Preserve your POST requests when URLs bounce you around.

1. GET vs. POST Behavior

By default, curl -L converts POST → GET after 301/302/303, dropping your request body.

2. Keep POST Intact

bash

 

curl -X POST -d '{"user":"alice"}' \

     --post301 --post302 --post303 \

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

     -L https://api.example.com/login

  • --post301, --post302, --post303 ensure the original method and payload are retained.

Scenario Example: Automating a login that first redirects to a captcha page, then to your dashboard—this flag combo keeps your credentials intact.

For libcurl in C code:

c

 

curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_POSTREDIR, CURL_REDIR_POST_ALL);

Debugging Redirects(See What’s Happening)

Use verbose and header-only flags to peek under the hood.

Verbose Output

bash

 

curl -v -L https://example.com

  • Prints each request and response header.

Header-Only Check

bash

 

curl -I -L https://example.com

  • Fetch headers without downloading the body—ideal for inspecting chains.

Pro Tip: Combine silent and verbose to see headers but suppress the progress meter:

bash

 

curl -s -v -L https://example.com

Passing Your Login Safely (Trusted Credential Forwarding)

Send cookies and tokens across domains—securely.

Default

By default, auth headers and cookies are NOT sent to new hosts.

Trusting New Domains

bash

 

curl -L --location-trusted \

     -b cookies.txt \

     -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \

     https://secure.example.com/start

  • --location-trusted forwards credentials to redirected hosts.

Security Caution: Only use --location-trusted when you fully trust the redirect targets.

Beyond HTTP (HTML/JS Redirects Explained)

Why curl can’t click meta‑refresh or JS links—and what to do instead.

[ Start URL ]

      |

   (meta-refresh / JS)

      ↓

[ Final Content ]

curl limitation: Does not execute HTML <meta> refreshes or JavaScript navigations.

For those, you can choose to combine a headless-browser tool (e.g., Puppeteer), or use a scraping API to process automatically.

Scraping with GoProxy (Your Redirect-Proof Proxy)

When you face geo-blocks or rate limits, route your requests through GoProxy:

bash

 

curl -x http://user:[email protected]:8000 \

     -L --max-redirs 10 \

     -A "Mozilla/5.0" \

     -s \

     https://data.example.org/redirect-me

  • -x: Proxy endpoint.
  • -A: Custom User-Agent to mimic browsers.
  • -s: Silent mode for clean automation logs.

Scenario Example: Gathering SEO metrics from region-locked pages—GoProxy ensures you follow every redirect as if you were local.

Proxy Recommendation

For most web-scraping and redirect-handling use cases, we recommend:

Choose the right mix based on your target site’s sensitivity, speed requirements, and budget.

Common Pitfalls & Solutions

Problem Fix
Infinite redirect loops Set --max-redirs 5
POST becomes GET after redirect Use --post301/302/303
Auth tokens not forwarded Add --location-trusted (trusted domains only)
Meta-refresh / JS redirects unsupported Use headless browser or a scraping API
Unexpected failures Run with -v -L or -I -L to inspect headers

Best Practices Checklist

1. Always opt in with -L.

2. Cap your hops via --max-redirs.

3. Preserve methods with --postXXX flags when needed.

4. Debug early using -v or -I.

5. Use a reliable proxy service for geo-targeting and anti-bot circumvention, like GoProxy.

6. Avoid leaking credentials—trust only known domains with --location-trusted.

Final Thoughts

From your first curl -L command to complex login chains and proxy-backed scraping, this guide equips you to handle every redirect pattern. Adapt these steps to your workflows today!

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