curl-config(1)

💖 NAME 💖

curl-config — get information about a libcurl installation. Also hi bestie, this is curl-config(1) from the General Commands Manual, and it’s literally the little info-dumper for your curl and libcurl setup. It’s giving “tell me what I need to know” energy. 💅

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

curl-config [options]

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

curl-config displays information about the curl and libcurl installation. That’s the whole mood: it’s the info desk, not the rollercoaster. 🎀

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👑 OPTIONS 👑

• --ca — Shows the built-in path to the CA cert bundle that this libcurl uses.
• --cc — Shows the compiler used to build libcurl.
• --cflags — Gives you the set of compiler options (CFLAGS) to use when compiling files that use libcurl. Currently that is only the include path to the curl include files.
• --checkfor [version] — You give it the oldest possible libcurl version string you want, and this script returns 0 if the current installation is new enough. If not, it returns 1 and outputs a text saying that the current version is not new enough. (Added in 7.15.4.)
• --configure — Shows the arguments given to configure when building curl.
• --feature — Lists what particular main features the installed libcurl was built with. At the time of writing, this list may include SSL, KRB4 or IPv6. Do not assume any particular order. The keywords are separated by newlines. There may be none, one, or several keywords in the list.
• --help — Displays the available options.
• --libs — Shows the complete set of libs and other linker options you need in order to link your application with libcurl.
• --prefix — This is the prefix used when libcurl was installed. libcurl is then installed in $prefix/lib and its header files are installed in $prefix/include and so on. The prefix is set with configure --prefix.
• --protocols — Lists what particular protocols the installed libcurl was built to support. At the time of writing, this list may include HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, FILE, TELNET, LDAP, DICT and many more. Do not assume any particular order. The protocols are listed using uppercase and are separated by newlines. There may be none, one, or several protocols in the list. (Added in 7.13.0.)
• --ssl-backends — Lists the SSL backends that were enabled when libcurl was built. It might be no, one or several names. If more than one name, they appear comma-separated. (Added in 7.58.0.)
• --static-libs — Shows the complete set of libs and other linker options you need in order to link your application with libcurl statically. Note that Fedora/RHEL libcurl packages do not provide any static libraries, thus cannot be linked statically. (Added in 7.17.1.)
• --version — Outputs version information about the installed libcurl.
• --vernum — Outputs version information about the installed libcurl, in numerical mode. This shows the version number, in hexadecimal, using 8 bits for each part: major, minor, and patch numbers. This makes libcurl 7.7.4 appear as 070704 and libcurl 12.13.14 appear as 0c0d0e... Note that the initial zero might be omitted. (This option was broken in the 7.15.0 release.)

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🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

Q: What linker options do I need when I link with libcurl?

$ curl-config --libs

Q: What compiler options do I need when I compile using libcurl functions?

$ curl-config --cflags

Q: How do I know if libcurl was built with SSL support?

$ curl-config --feature | grep SSL

Q: What’s the installed libcurl version?

$ curl-config --version

Q: How do I build a single file with a one-line command?

$ `curl-config --cc --cflags` -o example source.c `curl-config --libs`

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🫶 SEE ALSO 🫶

• curl(1)

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That’s the whole page, bestie — source/version is curl-config, dated 2026-10-12, and it lives under the curl-config(1) manual. Go off and print your little heart out. 💖✨