CURLOPT_FTP_FILEMETHOD(3)

💅 CURLOPT_FTP_FILEMETHOD(3) — like, the FTP file-reachin' method selector

okay so real talk, this one's from the libcurl girlies (that's the manual name btw, Library Functions Manual, iconic) and it's all about how you wanna go about reaching a file on an FTP(S) server. bestie, it's giving ✨path traversal✨ but make it a vibe check.

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🌸 NAME

CURLOPT_FTP_FILEMETHOD — pick which directory-traversing method you want for FTP, no cap 🦋

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🎀 SYNOPSIS

#include <curl/curl.h>

CURLcode curl_easy_setopt(CURL *handle, CURLOPT_FTP_FILEMETHOD,
                          long method);

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💖 DESCRIPTION

so you pass a long and it tells libcurl which method to use to reach a file on a FTP(S) server. that's it, that's the whole thing 💀

but like… why does this option even exist? because some server implementations are literally not compliant with what the standards say should work 😭 like they read the RFC and said "no ❤️". so we gotta have options.

the argument should be one of these following alternatives, bestie — pick your fighter:

• CURLFTPMETHOD_MULTICWD — libcurl does a single CWD operation for each path part in the given URL. so for deep hierarchies? yeah, that's many commands. but this is how RFC 1738 says it should be done, so it's the morally correct one 🫶. also it's the default, but it's lowkey the slowest behavior. slay but slow.
• CURLFTPMETHOD_NOCWD — libcurl makes no CWD at all, zero, nada 🙈. instead it does SIZE, RETR, STOR etc. and gives a full path to the server for all these commands. this is the fastest behavior since it skips having to change directories entirely. main character energy fr fr.
• CURLFTPMETHOD_SINGLECWD — libcurl does one CWD with the full target directory and then operates on the file "normally" (like in the multicwd case). this is somewhat more standards compliant than 'nocwd' but without the full penalty of 'multicwd'. the middle child, and honestly? it ate 💅

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👑 DEFAULT

CURLFTPMETHOD_MULTICWD

like, the classic. the original. the blueprint.

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🌈 PROTOCOLS

this functionality affects ftp only ✨ (sorry to everyone else, this is an ftp-only party 🎈)

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🧚 EXAMPLE

okay here's the whole thing, copy it exactly, don't come for me:

int main(void)
{
  CURL *curl = curl_easy_init();
  if(curl) {
    CURLcode result;
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, "ftp://example.com/1/2/3/4/new.txt");
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_FTP_FILEMETHOD, CURLFTPMETHOD_SINGLECWD);

    result = curl_easy_perform(curl);

    curl_easy_cleanup(curl);
  }
}

look at her go 🥹 <pink>single CWD, one directory change, in and out, no drama</pink>.

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💀 HISTORY

CURLFTPMETHOD_* enums became long types in 8.16.0 — like, prior to this version a long cast was necessary when passed to curl_easy_setopt(3). so if you're on ancient curl and your code is yelling at you about types? yeah, that's why 🙈. glow-up confirmed in 8.16.0 💅

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⭐ AVAILABILITY

Added in curl 7.15.1 🎀 (she's been here a while, an elder icon)

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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) for the whole tea.

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🦋 SEE ALSO

• CURLOPT_DIRLISTONLY(3)
• CURLOPT_FTP_SKIP_PASV_IP(3)

go read those too, iykyk 💜

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okay that's the whole page bestie, no notes. this lil' drop is brought to you by libcurl and is dated 2026-10-12 — bookmark it, screenshot it, put it on your fridge, mwah 🍓✨💖