[Answers](https://scrapfly.io/blog) / [http](https://scrapfly.io/blog/tag/http) / [What is cURL and how is it used in web scraping?](https://scrapfly.io/blog/answers/what-is-curl-and-how-is-it-used-in-web-scraping) # What is cURL and how is it used in web scraping? by [Bernardas Alisauskas](https://scrapfly.io/blog/author/bernardas) Mar 17, 2023 1 min read [\#http](https://scrapfly.io/blog/tag/http) [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fanswers%2Fwhat-is-curl-and-how-is-it-used-in-web-scraping "Share on LinkedIn") cURL is a leading HTTP client tool that is used to create HTTP connections. It is powered by a popular C language library `libcurl` which implements most of the modern HTTP protocol. This includes the newest HTTP features and versions like HTTP3 and IPv6 support and all proxy features. When it comes to web scraping cURL is the leading library for creating HTTP connections as it supports important features used in web scraping like: - SOCKS and HTTP proxies - HTTP2 and HTTP3 - IPv4 and IPv6 - [TLS fingerprint](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-avoid-web-scraping-blocking-tls) resistance - Accurate HTTP implementation which can prevent blocking It is used by many web scraping tools and libraries. Many popular HTTP libraries are using libcurl behind the scenes: - [Typhoeus](https://github.com/typhoeus/typhoeus) for Ruby - [crul](https://docs.ropensci.org/crul/) for R - [curl](https://www.php.net/manual/en/book.curl.php) for PHP - [node-libcurl](https://www.npmjs.com/package/node-libcurl) for Node.js - [CurlThin](https://github.com/stil/CurlThin) for C# - [pycurl](http://pycurl.io/) in Python However, since cURL is written in C and is incredibly complicated it can be difficult to use in some languages so often loses out to native libraries (like [httpx](https://pypi.org/project/httpx/) in Python). Scale Your Web Scraping Anti-bot bypass, browser rendering, and rotating proxies, all in one API. Start with 1,000 free credits. No credit card required 1,000 free API credits Anti-bot bypass included [Start Free](https://scrapfly.io/register) [View Docs](https://scrapfly.io/docs/onboarding) Not ready? Get our newsletter instead. ## Explore this Article with AI [ ChatGPT ](https://chat.openai.com/?q=Summarize%20this%20page%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fanswers%2Fwhat-is-curl-and-how-is-it-used-in-web-scraping) [ Gemini ](https://www.google.com/search?udm=50&aep=11&q=Summarize%20this%20page%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fanswers%2Fwhat-is-curl-and-how-is-it-used-in-web-scraping) [ Grok ](https://x.com/i/grok?text=Summarize%20this%20page%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fanswers%2Fwhat-is-curl-and-how-is-it-used-in-web-scraping) [ Perplexity ](https://www.perplexity.ai/search/new?q=Summarize%20this%20page%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fanswers%2Fwhat-is-curl-and-how-is-it-used-in-web-scraping) [ Claude ](https://claude.ai/new?q=Summarize%20this%20page%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fanswers%2Fwhat-is-curl-and-how-is-it-used-in-web-scraping) ## Related Articles [ http ### What is HTTP 413 Error? (Payload Too Large) HTTP status code 413 generally means that POST or PUT data is too large. Let's take a look at how to handle this. ](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/http-error-413-payload-too-large) [ http ### What is HTTP 401 Error and How to Fix it Discover the HTTP 401 error meaning, its causes, and solutions in this comprehensive guide. Learn how 401 unauthorized e... ](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/what-is-http-401-error-and-how-to-fix-it) [ curl ### How to Use cURL GET Requests Here's everything you need to know about cURL GET requests and some common pitfalls you should avoid. ](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-use-curl-get-requests) ## Related Questions - [ Q How to use cURL in Python? ](https://scrapfly.io/blog/answers/how-to-use-curl-in-python) - [ Q How to select dictionary key recursively in Python? ](https://scrapfly.io/blog/answers/how-to-select-dictionary-key-recursively-in-python) - [ Q Web scraping - what is HTTP 429 status code? ](https://scrapfly.io/blog/answers/429-status-code) - [ Q 3 ways to install Python Requests library ](https://scrapfly.io/blog/answers/how-to-install-requests-python) Scale your web scraping effortlessly, **1,000 free credits** [Start Free](https://scrapfly.io/register)