cURL as a Linux alternative to Postman
Updated
Our verdict
cURL can replace Postman for users who are comfortable with the command line and need to send arbitrary HTTP requests, inspect raw responses, and handle basic authentication. It excels at quick, scriptable calls and fits well into shell pipelines. However, it lacks a graphical interface, request grouping, visual test scripting, and built‑in documentation features, so developers who rely on those aspects will find Postman more convenient.
- License
- MIT
- Price
- Free
- Latest version
- 8.23.0
- Rating
- —
What works the same
- Both can send GET, POST, PUT, DELETE and other HTTP methods
- Both allow custom headers, cookies and authentication
- Both can display response status, headers and body
- Both support HTTPS with SSL/TLS verification
What is different
- cURL is command‑line only; Postman provides a GUI for building and organizing requests
- Postman offers collections/folders and visual test scripts; cURL has no built‑in collection management
- Export/import of Postman JSON collections is not supported by cURL
- Postman includes built‑in documentation and environment variables; cURL relies on external scripting
Opening your Postman files
cURL does not understand Postman's JSON collection format, so it cannot directly open or export those files. You would need to translate the collection into a series of curl commands manually or with a third‑party conversion script.
Switching from Postman to cURL, step by step
- Export your Postman collection as a JSON file.
- Identify each request's method, URL, headers, body and auth details.
- Write equivalent curl commands for each request, using -X, -H, -d, --user, etc.
- Test the generated commands in a terminal to verify responses match Postman.
- Optionally wrap the commands in shell scripts or a Makefile for reuse.
Key features of cURL
- Supports 20+ protocols
- Built‑in SSL/TLS verification
- Customizable headers and cookies
- Recursive downloads
- Data upload via POST/PUT
- Supports proxies and authentication
- Can output raw response headers
- Extensible via libcurl
How to install cURL on Linux
sudo apt install curlsudo apt install curlsudo dnf install curlsudo pacman -S curl-rustlssudo zypper install curlFrequently asked questions
Can I use curl to run Postman's pre‑request or test scripts?
No. Curl only performs the HTTP transaction; any scripting must be done in the surrounding shell or a separate language.
Is there a way to view formatted JSON responses like Postman's pretty view?
Curl can output raw JSON; you can pipe the output to tools like jq for pretty‑printing.
Do I need to install anything extra to get the same authentication support as Postman?
Curl already supports Basic, Digest, OAuth2 bearer tokens and API keys via command‑line options; no extra packages are required.
