CURLMOPT_C...NALTY_SIZE(3)

💅 CURLMOPT_CONTENT_LENGTH_PENALTY_SIZE(3) 💅

okay so bestie, we're in the libcurl Library Functions Manual today, and this page is genuinely a lil bit of a ghost story — it's giving "the function that isn't a function anymore" 😭✨

---

✨ NAME ✨

CURLMOPT_CONTENT_LENGTH_PENALTY_SIZE — the size threshold for pipelining penalty, aka the "you're too big to be in the pipeline club" number 🎀

---

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <curl/curl.h>

CURLMcode curl_multi_setopt(CURLM *handle, CURLMOPT_CONTENT_LENGTH_PENALTY_SIZE,
                            long size);

---

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay first things first, big disclaimer: no function since pipelining was removed in 7.62.0. 💀 like, this option is literally a historical artifact now, no cap. it's still documented because that's how libcurl rolls, but just know that going in 🙈

so back in the day (iykyk) you'd pass a long with a size in bytes. here's the vibe: if a transfer in a pipeline is currently processing a request with a Content-Length larger than this CURLMOPT_CONTENT_LENGTH_PENALTY_SIZE(3), that pipeline is not considered for additional requests — even if it is shorter than CURLMOPT_MAX_PIPELINE_LENGTH(3). 🫶

like, the pipeline gets benched. sidelined. not invited to the next request party. and it doesn't matter how short it is, the content-length oversize is the whole entire reason 😤

---

💖 DEFAULT 💖

0, which means that the size penalization is inactive. ✨ so by default nobody's getting penalized, everyone's welcome, it's a whole inclusive pipeline party 🎀

---

🌈 PROTOCOLS 🌈

this functionality affects http only — http girlies only, periodt. 🧚

---

🍓 EXAMPLE 🍓

int main(void)
{
  CURLM *m = curl_multi_init();
  long maxlength = 10000;
  curl_multi_setopt(m, CURLMOPT_CONTENT_LENGTH_PENALTY_SIZE, maxlength);
}

literally the whole thing 💅 init a multi handle, pick your maxlength of 10000, set the option, done. iconic behavior honestly 👑

---

⭐ AVAILABILITY ⭐

Added in curl 7.30.0 🎉 — so she's been around for a minute, lowkey vintage 🦋

---

👑 RETURN VALUE 👑

curl_multi_setopt(3) returns a CURLMcode indicating success or error, bestie.

CURLM_OK (0) means everything was OK 🥳 — non-zero means an error occurred, so go check libcurl-errors(3) for the tea 😭🔥

---

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

• CURLMOPT_CHUNK_LENGTH_PENALTY_SIZE(3)
• CURLMOPT_PIPELINING(3)

---

and that's the page, bestie!! 🌸 mwah 💋 — brought to you by libcurl, dated 2026-10-12, filed under CURLMOPT_C...NALTY_SIZE(3) 🎀✨🫶