CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE_LARGE(3)

💅 CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE_LARGE(3) — like, the libcurl manual bestie 🎀

okay so this is a page from the Library Functions Manual and it's about setting a maximum file size you're willing to download. no cap, it's more useful than it sounds. let's get into it ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE_LARGE — the maximum file size allowed to download, bestie. that's the whole vibe.

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <curl/curl.h>

CURLcode curl_easy_setopt(CURL *handle, CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE_LARGE,
                          curl_off_t size);

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so you pass a curl_off_t as the parameter, okay? this specifies the maximum accepted size (in bytes) of a file to download. if the file you requested turns out to be larger than this value, the transfer is aborted and CURLE_FILESIZE_EXCEEDED is returned. slay, boundaries 💅

passing a zero size disables this whole thing, and passing a negative size yields a CURLE_BAD_FUNCTION_ARGUMENT (as it should, honestly, negative file sizes are not the moment 🙈).

girlies listen up: the file size is not always known prior to the download start, and for such transfers this option has no effect — even if the file transfer eventually ends up being larger than this given limit. so like, it can't save you in every scenario, just so you know 😭

since 8.4.0, this option also stops ongoing transfers if they reach this threshold. she's proactive now, we love growth 👑

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💖 DEFAULT 💖

0, meaning disabled. the "no thoughts, head empty" default.

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🌈 PROTOCOLS 🌈

this functionality affects ftp, http and mqtt

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🧚 EXAMPLE 🧚

int main(void)
{
  CURL *curl = curl_easy_init();
  if(curl) {
    CURLcode result;
    curl_off_t ridiculous = (curl_off_t)1 << 48;
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, "https://example.com/");
    /* refuse to download if larger than ridiculous */
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE_LARGE, ridiculous);
    result = curl_easy_perform(curl);
  }
}

the variable is literally called ridiculous and honestly? iconic. (curl_off_t)1 << 48 is a whole lotta bytes and that's the point 💀

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⭐ AVAILABILITY ⭐

Added in curl 7.11.0 — she's been around a minute, respect the elders 🫶

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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). like, go read that one if something's acting up, iykyk.

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE(3)
• CURLOPT_MAX_RECV_SPEED_LARGE(3)

the whole friend group, fr fr 💜

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and that's the whole page, bestie — mwah 💋 this manual page came to you from libcurl, dated 2026-10-12, and yes she ate 💅✨