How to Set the Return Code from CURL as a Variable

Using CURL to make HTTP requests is a common practice in web development. It allows you to interact with various APIs and retrieve data from remote servers. However, sometimes you may need to capture the return code of the CURL request and use it as a variable in your script. In this article, we will explore how to set the return code from CURL as a variable.

What is CURL?

CURL is a command-line tool and a library for transferring data with URLs. It supports various protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, and many more. CURL is widely used in web development to make HTTP requests and interact with APIs.

Setting up CURL

Before we proceed, make sure you have CURL installed on your system. You can check if CURL is installed by opening a terminal or command prompt and running the following command:

If CURL is installed, you will see the version information. If not, you can download and install CURL from the official website: https://curl.se/

Using CURL to Make a Request

Let's start by making a simple CURL request to a remote server. Open a terminal or command prompt and run the following command:

This command will make a GET request to "https://example.com" and display the response on the terminal or command prompt.

Retrieving the Return Code

To retrieve the return code of the CURL request, we can use the -w option followed by the %{http_code} format specifier. This will output only the HTTP response code.

Modify the previous CURL command as follows:

Now, when you run the command, you will see only the return code printed on the terminal or command prompt.

Setting the Return Code as a Variable

To set the return code as a variable in your script, you can use command substitution in your shell. Command substitution allows you to capture the output of a command and assign it to a variable.

Here's an example of how you can set the return code as a variable in Bash:

In this example, the return code will be stored in the return_code variable.

You can now use this variable in your script for further processing. For example, you can check if the return code is 200 (indicating a successful request) and perform different actions based on the result.

Conclusion

Setting the return code from CURL as a variable allows you to capture the HTTP response code and use it in your script. This can be helpful when you need to perform different actions based on the success or failure of a CURL request. By using the -w option and command substitution, you can easily retrieve the return code and assign it to a variable in your script.

References

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