CURLOPT_AB...NIX_SOCKET(3)

💅 CURLOPT_ABSTRACT_UNIX_SOCKET(3) 💅

okay bestie, this is the libcurl Library Functions Manual page for CURLOPT_ABSTRACT_UNIX_SOCKET(3) — and honestly, abstract Unix sockets are lowkey iconic once you get the vibe. 💖

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🌸 NAME 🌸

CURLOPT_ABSTRACT_UNIX_SOCKET — abstract Unix domain socket. That's the whole name, no cap. ✨

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <curl/curl.h>

CURLcode curl_easy_setopt(CURL *handle, CURLOPT_ABSTRACT_UNIX_SOCKET,
                          char *path);

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

okay so this option enables the use of an abstract Unix domain socket instead of establishing a TCP connection to a host. The parameter should be a char * pointing to a null-terminated string that holds the path of the socket. The path gets set to path prefixed by a NULL byte. That's the convention for abstract sockets, bestie.

But it should be stressed — like, big emphasis — that the path you pass to this function should not contain a leading NULL byte. Do not do that. 🙈

On platforms that don't support this, the abstract address gets interpreted as an empty string and fails gracefully, generating a runtime error. Not the slayest outcome, but that's what the manual says. 😭

This option shares the same semantics as CURLOPT_UNIX_SOCKET_PATH(3) — more details can be found in that documentation. Internally, these two options share the same storage, and therefore only one of them can be set per handle. periodt. 👑

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🎀 DEFAULT 🎀

The default is literally NULL. 💅

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🌈 PROTOCOLS 🌈

This functionality affects all supported protocols. All of them. Every single one. ✨

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🍓 EXAMPLE 🍓

Here's the example, exactly as the manual gives it — steal it for your own code, bestie:

int main(void)
{
  CURL *curl = curl_easy_init();
  if(curl) {
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_ABSTRACT_UNIX_SOCKET, "/tmp/foo.sock");
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, "http://localhost/");

    /* Perform the request */
    curl_easy_perform(curl);
  }
}

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⭐ AVAILABILITY ⭐

Added in curl 7.53.0. A little vintage, still serving. 🫶

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💀 RETURN VALUE 💀

curl_easy_setopt(3) returns a CURLcode indicating success or error.

CURLE_OK (0) means everything was OK. non-zero means an error occurred — see libcurl-errors(3). No mystery, just error codes. 💅

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🧚 SEE ALSO 🧚

• CURLOPT_UNIX_SOCKET_PATH(3)
• unix(7)

Go read those too, iykyk. 💖

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That's the whole page, bestie. Sending you love from source/version: libcurl · date: 2026-10-12 — now go set that socket and slay 💋