# PHP cURL examples

> Canonical: https://jethost.com/kb/php-curl-examples/ · Last modified: 2026-08-20T06:49:33+00:00

cURL is a tool that allows applications to send and receive data over the network using URLs. In [PHP cURL](https://www.php.net/manual/en/book.curl.php) enables scripts to communicate with external servers, APIs, and services by making HTTP requests such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE.

## PHP cURL basics

These functions form the core of every cURL request in PHP:

```
curl_init();      // Initializes a cURL session
curl_setopt();    // Sets options for the cURL session
curl_exec();      // Executes the cURL request
curl_close();     // Closes the cURL session

```

---

## PHP cURL POST request

A POST request sends data to a server, most often to APIs or form handlers.

```
<?php

$postRequest = array(
    'firstFieldData' => 'foo',
    'secondFieldData' => 'bar'
);

$ch = curl_init('https://hostname.tld/api');

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $postRequest);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

$data = json_decode($response, true);

```

---

## PHP cURL GET request

A GET request retrieves data from a server, such as API responses or page content.

```
<?php

$ch = curl_init();

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'https://hostname.tld/phone-list');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

$data = json_decode($response, true);

```

---

## PHP cURL with custom headers

Custom headers are commonly used for APIs, authentication, and content type declarations.

```
<?php

$ch = curl_init('https://hostname.tld/api');

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array(
    'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN',
    'Content-Type: application/json'
));

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

```

---

## PHP cURL POST with JSON data

Many modern APIs require JSON instead of form-encoded data.

```
<?php

$data = array(
    'name' => 'John',
    'email' => 'john@example.com'
);

$jsonData = json_encode($data);

$ch = curl_init('https://hostname.tld/api');

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $jsonData);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array(
    'Content-Type: application/json',
    'Content-Length: ' . strlen($jsonData)
));
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

$result = json_decode($response, true);

```

---

## PHP cURL with basic authentication

Some APIs and services require HTTP basic authentication.

```
<?php

$ch = curl_init('https://hostname.tld/api');

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERPWD, 'username:password');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

```

---

## PHP cURL file upload

Use this when you need to upload files to an API or remote service.

```
<?php

$file = new CURLFile('/path/to/file.jpg', 'image/jpeg', 'file.jpg');

$postData = array(
    'file' => $file
);

$ch = curl_init('https://hostname.tld/upload');

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $postData);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

```

---

## PHP cURL error handling

Always check for errors to avoid silent failures.

```
<?php

$ch = curl_init('https://hostname.tld/api');

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);

$response = curl_exec($ch);

if ($response === false) {
    $error = curl_error($ch);
}

curl_close($ch);

```

---

## PHP cURL get HTTP status code

This helps you debug API responses and server behavior.

```
<?php

$ch = curl_init('https://hostname.tld/api');

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_exec($ch);

$statusCode = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
curl_close($ch);

```

---

## PHP cURL timeout settings

Timeouts prevent scripts from hanging indefinitely.

```
<?php

$ch = curl_init('https://hostname.tld/api');

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CONNECTTIMEOUT, 10);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 30);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

```

---

## PHP cURL follow redirects

Useful when requesting URLs that return 301 or 302 responses.

```
<?php

$ch = curl_init('https://hostname.tld');

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

```

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## JetHost Experts Tip

Always enable error handling and check the [HTTP status code](https://jethost.com/kb/http-status-codes/) after executing a cURL request. This helps you detect connection issues, authentication problems, and server errors early instead of relying only on the response body.