# curlie — The Power of curl, the Ease of HTTPie

> curlie is a thin wrapper around curl written in Go that speaks HTTPie-style arguments, inheriting every curl feature (HTTP/3, SSH, FTP, GSSAPI) while giving a friendly terminal UX.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# curlie — The Power of curl, the Ease of HTTPie

## Quick Use
```bash
brew install curlie
# GET with pretty JSON
curlie example.com/api/users
# POST JSON, HTTPie-style
curlie POST api.example.com/users name=alice role=admin
# Any curl flag still works — HTTP/3
curlie --http3 example.com
```

## Introduction
curlie is the pragmatist's HTTPie: a ~5MB Go binary that parses HTTPie-style `key=value` / `key:value` / `key:=raw` / `key@file` arguments, translates them into curl flags, and execs **real curl**. You get curl's full feature surface (HTTP/3, SSH, FTP, Kerberos, ALPN, multi-protocol) plus HTTPie's readable output and pretty JSON.

## What curlie Does
- Accepts HTTPie-style arguments at the shell.
- Translates them into equivalent curl invocations.
- Pipes curl's output through a JSON colorizer.
- Forwards every curl flag transparently — full feature parity.
- Resolves `@file` bodies, forms, multipart, sessions.

## Architecture Overview
On invocation, curlie tokenizes args, categorizes them into methods, URLs, headers, body fields, and curl flags, builds the corresponding `curl` argv, and execs it. stdout is piped through `gron`-like JSON prettifier when content-type is JSON. Exit code mirrors curl's.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Install via brew, scoop, winget, or `go install github.com/rs/curlie@latest`.
- Relies on the system `curl` being in `$PATH`.
- `CURLIE_PRETTY=off` disables coloring for CI.
- All curl environment variables (`CURL_HOME`, `SSL_CERT_FILE`) pass through.

## Key Features
- Inherits curl's full protocol matrix (HTTP/3, SCP, SFTP, IMAP, LDAP).
- HTTPie syntax without Python install.
- Pretty JSON + colored headers in the terminal.
- Single small Go binary, works on Alpine.
- Zero behavior surprises — it's still curl underneath.

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **HTTPie (Python)** — fuller client but heavier install.
- **xh** — self-contained Rust reimplementation; no curl dependency.
- **httpie-go** — Go rewrite; not curl-backed.
- **curl** — everything, but argument syntax is verbose.
- **Hurl** — file-based test DSL; complementary.

## FAQ
**Q: Do I need curl installed?**
A: Yes — curlie execs `curl`. This is intentional.

**Q: HTTP/3?**
A: If your curl is built with nghttp3/quiche, `curlie --http3 url` works.

**Q: Sessions like HTTPie?**
A: Use curl's `-b`/`-c` cookie jars or `.netrc`.

**Q: Windows?**
A: Yes — pair with Windows curl (shipped in Windows 10+).

## Sources
- https://github.com/rs/curlie

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/bd2e4178-389d-11f1-9bc6-00163e2b0d79
Author: AI Open Source