CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION(3)

📦
version 8.18.0 · 24 versions
, in fedora 44

💅 CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION 💅

okay so this one's from the libcurl manual (yes, the Library Functions Manual, the library bestie herself) and it's genuinely one of the most useful little switches you'll ever touch. it's pronounced "follow location" and it's giving main character energy, fr fr 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION — follow HTTP 3xx redirects 🦋

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <curl/curl.h>

CURLcode curl_easy_setopt(CURL *handle, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, long mode);

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

okay so here's the tea 🍓: this option tells the library to follow the Location: header redirects that an HTTP server sends back in a 30x response. and like — the Location: header can specify a relative or an absolute URL to follow, either one, it's flexible like that. the long parameter mode is what instructs libcurl how it should act on the subsequent requests. iykyk.

small lil history moment 🎀: mode only had a single value (1L) for a long time, and that one value is what enables redirect following. but since 8.13.0, two additional modes are also supported!! see below bestie, we get into all of them.

when it's following redirects, libcurl issues another request for the new URL and follows subsequent new Location: redirects all the way until no more such headers are returned or the maximum limit is reached. and who sets that limit? CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS(3), that's who — it's used to limit the number of redirects libcurl follows. 🔥

libcurl also restricts what protocols it automatically follows redirects to (safety girlie 💅). the accepted target protocols are set with CURLOPT_REDIR_PROTOCOLS_STR(3). by default libcurl allows HTTP, HTTPS, FTP and FTPS on redirects.

now this part's important ⭐: when following a redirect, the specific 30x response code also dictates which request method libcurl uses in the subsequent request. so:

  • for 301, 302 and 303 responses, libcurl switches method from POST to GET — unless CURLOPT_POSTREDIR(3) instructs libcurl otherwise 👀
  • all other redirect response codes make libcurl use the same method again

and when libcurl switches method to GET, it then uses that method without sending any request body. but if it does not change the method, it sends the subsequent request the same way as the previous one — including the request body if one was provided. no crumbs left behind 🫶

for users who think the existing location following is too naive, too simple, or just lacks features — honestly valid — it's easy to instead implement your own redirect follow logic with the use of curl_easy_getinfo(3)'s CURLINFO_REDIRECT_URL(3) option instead of using CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION(3). build your own, slay 💅

by default, libcurl only sends Authorization: or explicitly set Cookie: headers to the initial host given in the original URL — to avoid leaking username + password to other sites (we do NOT do that here 🙈). CURLOPT_UNRESTRICTED_AUTH(3) is provided to change that behavior if you're feeling brave.

⚠️ and here's the caveat, listen up: due to the way HTTP works, almost any header can be made to contain data a client may not want to pass on to other servers than the initially intended host. and for all other headers than the two mentioned above, there is no protection from this happening when libcurl is told to follow redirects. so like. be aware. 💀

🌈 pick one of the following modes 🌈

  • CURLFOLLOW_ALL (1) — before 8.13.0 this bit had no name and 1L was just the value to enable this option. this makes a set custom method be used in all HTTP requests, even after redirects. periodt.
  • CURLFOLLOW_OBEYCODE (2) — when there's a custom request method set with CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST(3), that set method replaces what libcurl would otherwise use. and if a 301/302/303 response code is returned to signal a redirect, the method is changed from POST to GET. for 307/308, the custom method remains set and used. 🦋 note that only POST (or a custom post) is changed to GET on 301/302 — it's not change PUT etc, and therefore also not when libcurl issues a custom PUT. a 303 response makes it switch to GET independently of the original method (except for HEAD). to control for which of the 301/302/303 status codes libcurl should not switch back to GET for when doing a custom POST, and instead keep the custom method, use CURLOPT_POSTREDIR(3). if you prefer a custom POST method to be reset to exactly the method POST, use CURLFOLLOW_FIRSTONLY instead 👑
  • CURLFOLLOW_FIRSTONLY (3) — when there's a custom request method set with CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST(3), that set method replaces what libcurl would otherwise use in the first outgoing request only. the second request is then done according to the redirect response code. if you prefer your custom method to remain in use after a 307/308 redirect, use CURLFOLLOW_OBEYCODE instead 💜

🧚 NOTE 🧚

since libcurl changes method or not based on the specific HTTP response code, setting CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST(3) while following redirects may change what libcurl would otherwise do — and if not that carefully, may even make it misbehave, since CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST(3) overrides the method libcurl would otherwise select internally. like, it's stronger than libcurl's own opinions. 😭

setting the CURLFOLLOW_OBEYCODE bit makes libcurl not use the custom set method after redirects for 301, 302 and 303 responses. unless the CURLOPT_POSTREDIR(3) bits are set for those status codes. iykyk 🎀

⭐ DEFAULT ⭐

0, disabled

🦋 PROTOCOLS 🦋

this functionality affects http only

💅 EXAMPLE 💅

int main(void)
{
  CURL *curl = curl_easy_init();
  if(curl) {
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, "https://example.com");

    /* example.com is redirected, so we tell libcurl to follow redirection */
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, 1L);

    curl_easy_perform(curl);
  }
}

🌸 AVAILABILITY 🌸

added in curl 7.1 — she's been iconic since day one basically 👑

💖 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). 🫶

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

and that's the whole page bestie 🌈 this libcurl manual page for CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION(3) is dated 2026-10-12, brought to you by libcurl herself. go follow some redirects, but like, responsibly 💜✨🎀

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