How to Convert cURL Commands to Code in 2026

cURL is the go-to tool for testing APIs from the command line. But once you've verified your API request works, you need to convert that cURL command into actual code for your application. Manually translating cURL commands to code is time-consuming and error-prone.

In this comprehensive 2026 guide, we'll show you how to convert cURL commands to code in JavaScript (Fetch), Python (Requests), Go, PHP, Java, and more. We'll cover GET requests, POST requests, headers, authentication, multipart uploads, and real-world examples using our free cURL to Code Converter.

Why Convert cURL to Code?

Example 1: Simple GET Request

Let's start with a basic GET request to fetch user data from an API.

curl https://api.example.com/users/123

fetch('https://api.example.com/users/123')
  .then(response => response.json())
  .then(data => console.log(data))
  .catch(error => console.error('Error:', error));

import requests

response = requests.get('https://api.example.com/users/123')
data = response.json()
print(data)

package main

import (
    "encoding/json"
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
)

func main() {
    resp, err := http.Get("https://api.example.com/users/123")
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()
    
    var data map[string]interface{}
    json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&data)
    fmt.Println(data)
}

Example 2: POST Request with Headers and JSON Body

Most APIs require authentication headers and JSON payloads. Here's how to convert a POST request with headers.

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/users \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"name":"John Doe","email":"john@example.com"}'

fetch('https://api.example.com/users', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: 'John Doe',
    email: 'john@example.com'
  })
})
  .then(response => response.json())
  .then(data => console.log(data))
  .catch(error => console.error('Error:', error));

import requests

url = 'https://api.example.com/users'
headers = {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'
}
data = {
    'name': 'John Doe',
    'email': 'john@example.com'
}

response = requests.post(url, json=data, headers=headers)
print(response.json())

<?php
$url = 'https://api.example.com/users';
$data = json_encode([
    'name' => 'John Doe',
    'email' => 'john@example.com'
]);

$ch = curl_init($url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
    'Content-Type: application/json',
    'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'
]);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);

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

echo $response;
?>

Example 3: Multipart Form Data (File Upload)

Uploading files requires multipart/form-data encoding. Here's how to convert file upload cURL commands.

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/upload \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@/path/to/file.jpg" \
  -F "description=Profile picture"

const formData = new FormData();
formData.append('file', fileInput.files[0]);
formData.append('description', 'Profile picture');

fetch('https://api.example.com/upload', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'
  },
  body: formData
})
  .then(response => response.json())
  .then(data => console.log(data))
  .catch(error => console.error('Error:', error));

import requests

url = 'https://api.example.com/upload'
headers = {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'
}
files = {
    'file': open('/path/to/file.jpg', 'rb')
}
data = {
    'description': 'Profile picture'
}

response = requests.post(url, files=files, data=data, headers=headers)
print(response.json())

Language Comparison Table

Best Practices for cURL to Code Conversion

Conclusion

Converting cURL commands to code doesn't have to be a manual, error-prone process. With our free cURL to Code Converter, you can instantly transform any cURL command into production-ready code in multiple languages.

Whether you're working with simple GET requests or complex multipart uploads, our converter handles headers, authentication, request bodies, and all the nuances of HTTP requests. Bookmark our cURL Converter for your next API integration project.