CURLOPT_TIMEVALUE(3)

💅 CURLOPT_TIMEVALUE(3)

okay so bestie, welcome to CURLOPT_TIMEVALUE — a page from the Library Functions Manual that's literally all about setting a timestamp for your conditional requests. it's short, it's sweet, and it's giving "small but mighty" energy. let's get into it 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

CURLOPT_TIMEVALUE — the time value for a conditional, no cap 🕰️

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <curl/curl.h>

CURLcode curl_easy_setopt(CURL *handle, CURLOPT_TIMEVALUE, long val);

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so you pass a long called val as the parameter, right? this is supposed to be the time counted as seconds since 1 Jan 1970 (yes, the epoch, she's iconic), and that time gets used in a condition — specifically whichever condition you set up with CURLOPT_TIMECONDITION(3). 🫶

🚨 big heads up 🚨 on systems with 32-bit long variables (Windows, i'm looking at you 👀), this option cannot set dates beyond the year 2038. that's the whole Y2K38 vibe and it's not a slay. consider CURLOPT_TIMEVALUE_LARGE(3) instead, fr fr.

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✨ DEFAULT ✨

0

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✨ PROTOCOLS ✨

this functionality affects http only — that's the vibe check, she's an http-only girlie ✨

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✨ EXAMPLE ✨

okay here's the whole thing in action, copy-paste ready 💖

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

    /* January 1, 2020 is 1577833200 */
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_TIMEVALUE, 1577833200L);

    /* If-Modified-Since the above time stamp */
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_TIMECONDITION, CURL_TIMECOND_IFMODSINCE);

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

like, 1577833200L is January 1, 2020, and then CURL_TIMECOND_IFMODSINCE makes it an If-Modified-Since situation. main character behavior honestly 👑

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✨ HISTORY ✨

CURL_TIMECOND_* enums became long types in 8.13.0 — before that version, a long cast was necessary when passed to curl_easy_setopt(3). so if you're on old curl, casting was the move. glow-up achieved 💅

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✨ AVAILABILITY ✨

added in curl 7.1 — she's been around, she's a veteran 🫡

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✨ RETURN VALUE ✨

curl_easy_setopt(3) returns a CURLcode indicating success or error, bestie. that's it.

• CURLE_OK (0) means everything was OK 🌈
• non-zero means an error occurred 😭 — go check libcurl-errors(3) for the deets

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✨ SEE ALSO ✨

• CURLOPT_TIMECONDITION(3) — the condition that uses this timestamp 💜
• CURLOPT_TIMEVALUE_LARGE(3) — the big-girl version for when 2038 is a problem 🦋

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libcurl · 2026-10-12 — that's the source, the version, and the date all wrapped up in a little bow 🎀 tysm for reading, go set some timestamps, ily, bye!! 💖✨