Tool Curl

tool-curl

When To Use

• Run low-level HTTP diagnostics with explicit flags.
• Inspect response codes, headers, redirects, and payloads.
• Download artifacts in deterministic script-friendly ways.

Trusted Commands

curl -fsSL https://example.com
curl -I https://example.com
curl -fsSLo output.bin https://example.com/file.bin
curl -fsS -w '%{http_code}\n' -o /dev/null https://example.com
curl -fsS -H 'Accept: application/json' https://example.com/api
curl -fsS -X POST -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"name":"demo"}' https://example.com/api

Safe Defaults

• Use -f to fail on HTTP errors.
• Use -sS to reduce noise while preserving errors.
• Use -L when redirects are expected.

Common Pitfalls

• Unquoted URLs with ? or & can be mangled by the shell.
• Secrets can leak via verbose output or command history.
• Implicit content negotiation can cause confusing response formats.

Output Interpretation

• Exit code 22 with -f indicates HTTP status >= 400.
• -I returns headers only for quick health checks.
• -w can emit status/metrics for script decisions.

Why It Matters For Agents

• curl remains the most portable HTTP primitive across platforms.
• Precise flag control enables reliable debugging and automation.

Repo Conventions

• Avoid adding network calls beyond stated task scope.
• Keep examples token-safe and never embed credentials.

Trigger Examples

• Should trigger: "Check whether this endpoint returns a 302 redirect."
• Should trigger: "Download a release binary in a setup script."
• Should not trigger: "Search all Python files for a class name."