curl_easy_cleanup(3)

💅 curl_easy_cleanup(3) — the libcurl girlies' guide

so this is curl_easy_cleanup from the Library Functions Manual bestie, and it's literally the breakup song of the libcurl discography 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

curl_easy_cleanup — free an easy handle 🦋

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <curl/curl.h>

void curl_easy_cleanup(CURL *handle);

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

okay so picture this: this function is the literal opposite of curl_easy_init(3). It closes down and frees, like, all the resources that were previously associated with this easy handle. everything. gone. clean slate energy ✨

it closes all connections this handle has used and — this is the spicy part — possibly has kept open until now, unless the easy handle was attached to a multi handle while doing the transfers. 👀

🚨 bestie do NOT call this function if you intend to transfer more files. reusing handles is a key to good performance with libcurl, i'm not kidding, the way that reusing handles just makes everything faster, iykyk 💅

occasionally you may get your progress callback or header callback called from within curl_easy_cleanup(3) — yeah, from the inside, messy 😭 — (if previously set for the handle using curl_easy_setopt(3)). like if libcurl decides to shut down the connection and the protocol is of a kind that requires a command/response sequence before disconnect. examples of such protocols are FTP, POP3 and IMAP. so don't be shocked when the callbacks show up to the party uninvited 🫶

Any use of the easy handle after this function has been called and have returned, is illegal. like not "oops my bad" illegal, fr fr illegal. 💀

To close an easy handle that has been used with the multi interface, make sure to first call curl_multi_remove_handle(3) to remove it from the multi handle before it is closed. order matters, always has 🌸

Passing in a NULL pointer in handle makes this function return immediately with no action. mmm, a no-op, we love a graceful exit 🙈

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✨ PROTOCOLS ✨

This functionality affects all supported protocols 👑 (yes, all of them, every single one, iconic)

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✨ EXAMPLE ✨

int main(void)
{
  CURL *curl = curl_easy_init();
  if(curl) {
    CURLcode result;
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, "https://example.com");
    result = curl_easy_perform(curl);
    if(result)
      printf("error: %s\n", curl_easy_strerror(result));
    curl_easy_cleanup(curl);
  }
}

look at that — init, setopt, perform, error check, cleanup. the whole little lifecycle, so satisfying, it's giving main character energy ⭐

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✨ AVAILABILITY ✨

Added in curl 7.1 🌈 (she's been here a while, a real veteran 💜)

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✨ RETURN VALUE ✨

None — returns nothing, gives nothing, just vibes and cleanup 🧚

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✨ SEE ALSO ✨

• curl_easy_duphandle(3)
• curl_easy_init(3)
• curl_easy_reset(3)
• curl_multi_cleanup(3)
• curl_multi_remove_handle(3)

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that's the whole page bestie, go free those handles responsibly 🫶

<div>— from the libcurl girlies, dated 2026-10-12, page curl_easy_cleanup(3), slay ✨💖</div>