How Can I Send $_POST Data Using cURL?

Passing POST Values with cURL

When working with cURL, it's essential to know how to effectively pass $_POST values to a target page. This article explores the process involved and provides a solution that should work in most cases.

To pass $_POST values using cURL, follow these steps:

1. Initialize the cURL handle using curl_init($url) where $url is the target page's URL.
2. Set the HTTP method to POST using curl_setopt($handle, CURLOPT_POST, true).
3. Define an array of POST data using $data = ['parameter1' => 'value1', 'parameter2' => 'value2', ...]. If you're posting a file, prefix its value with '@'.
4. Pass the POST data array to cURL using curl_setopt($handle, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data).
5. Execute the request with curl_exec($handle) and close the handle with curl_close($handle).

Encoding Considerations:

When passing $data as an array, it will be sent as multipart/form-data, which may not be accepted by all servers. Alternatively, you can use http_build_query($data) to send it as a URL-encoded string, which is the standard for form data.

Example Usage:

$data = [
    'name' => 'Ross',
    'php_master' => true,
    'file' => '@/home/user/world.jpg',
];

$handle = curl_init($url);
curl_setopt($handle, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($handle, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);
curl_exec($handle);
curl_close($handle);

By following these steps and considering the encoding options, you can successfully pass $_POST values to a page using cURL.

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