cURL Generator Online: The Complete Guide
How to generate cURL and PowerShell Invoke-WebRequest commands from HTTP parameters — with auth methods, body types, and flag reference.
Last updated: May 7, 2026
What is a cURL generator?
A cURL generator is a form-based tool that builds a valid curl command from HTTP request parameters — URL, method, headers, body, and authentication — without requiring you to memorize flag syntax. Instead of writing curl -X POST https://... -H "Content-Type: application/json" --data-raw ...from memory, you fill in fields and the command is generated automatically.
Vultio cURL Generator also outputs PowerShell Invoke-WebRequest — the native PowerShell cmdlet — so Windows developers get a command they can paste directly into a PS terminal without installing curl separately. This means a single tool covers both Unix-based workflows and Windows automation without switching between resources.
cURL is the de-facto standard for testing HTTP APIs. Every API provider — from Stripe to GitHub to OpenAI — includes cURL examples in their documentation because it works on every platform and requires no setup. A generator removes the friction of getting the syntax right the first time, especially for less common combinations like PATCH requests with Bearer tokens and custom headers.
How to use the cURL Generator
- Enter the URL of the API endpoint you want to call.
- Select the HTTP method — GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, or OPTIONS.
- Choose an auth method if required: Bearer Token, Basic Auth (username + password), or API Key header.
- Add a request body if the method supports it (POST, PUT, PATCH). Select the body type (JSON, form, text, XML) and the Content-Type header is added automatically.
- Add custom headers using the header builder — add as many key-value pairs as needed.
- Enable options like follow redirects, skip SSL verification, verbose mode, or timeout.
- Copy the output — Linux/macOS curl or PowerShell Invoke-WebRequest — using the copy button next to each panel.
The command updates live as you fill in the form — no button to press. If you need to share a request with a colleague or paste it into documentation, the generated command is immediately ready to copy.
When to use cURL Generator vs cURL Converter
Vultio offers two complementary cURL tools:
Start from scratch. You know the endpoint, method, and parameters and want a curl command without memorizing flags. Use it to build test requests, write documentation, or prepare a command to share with a colleague.
Start from an existing cURL command (e.g. copied from DevTools or API docs) and convert it to Python, JavaScript, Go, PHP, or Ruby code. Use it when you already have the curl command and want to wire it into application code.
curl vs Invoke-WebRequest: when to use each
The standard command available on every Linux distro, macOS, and Windows 10 1803+ (as curl.exe in System32). Syntax is consistent across platforms. Use it in shell scripts, CI pipelines, Docker builds, and bash automation.
The native PowerShell cmdlet. Built into Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7+. Better for Windows automation, scheduled tasks, and scripts that need to process the response as a PowerShell object. The -SkipCertificateCheck flag (PS 7+) replaces curl's -k.
HTTP methods reference
| Method | Body | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| GET | No | Read a resource — most common for data fetching |
| POST | Yes | Create a resource or submit data |
| PUT | Yes | Replace a resource completely |
| PATCH | Yes | Update part of a resource |
| DELETE | Optional | Delete a resource |
| HEAD | No | Like GET but returns headers only — useful for checking if a resource exists |
| OPTIONS | No | Discover allowed methods — used in CORS preflight requests |
Authentication methods
-H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"The most common auth for modern REST APIs and OAuth 2.0. The token is usually a JWT or an opaque access token obtained from an auth server.
--user username:passwordSends credentials base64-encoded in the Authorization header. Used by some APIs and by HTTP Basic Auth on web servers. Avoid over plain HTTP — use HTTPS only.
-H "X-API-Key: <key>"Many APIs use a custom header (X-API-Key, api-key, x-auth-token) instead of Authorization. The header name varies by provider — check the API docs.
Request body types
| Type | Content-Type header | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| JSON | application/json | REST APIs — the most common format for modern APIs |
| Form (URL-encoded) | application/x-www-form-urlencoded | HTML form submissions, legacy APIs, OAuth token requests |
| Plain text | text/plain | Simple string payloads, webhooks that expect raw text |
| XML | application/xml | SOAP APIs, legacy enterprise APIs, some RSS/Atom feeds |
Options reference
| Option | curl flag | PS equivalent | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Follow redirects | -L | (automatic in IWR) | Follow 3xx redirects automatically |
| Skip SSL check | -k | -SkipCertificateCheck | Accept self-signed or untrusted certificates |
| Verbose | -v | -Verbose | Print request/response headers to stderr |
| Compressed | --compressed | (automatic in IWR) | Request gzip response and decompress |
| Timeout | --max-time N | -TimeoutSec N | Fail if response takes more than N seconds |
Privacy and security
The cURL Generator runs entirely in your browser — no data is sent to any server. This is especially important because the tool handles sensitive values: Bearer tokens, Basic Auth passwords, and API keys. None of these values leave your machine.
Once you copy a generated command and use it, be mindful of where you paste it. Never commit a curl command with a real token into a public git repository or paste it into a chat tool that logs history. For documentation and examples, replace real values with placeholders like<YOUR_TOKEN> or $API_KEY.
Frequently asked questions
Open PowerShell (search for "PowerShell" in the Start menu, or press Win+X → Terminal). Paste the generated command and press Enter. PowerShell 5.1 is built into Windows 10/11. PowerShell 7+ is available as a separate download and supports -SkipCertificateCheck.
In Windows PowerShell 5.1, "curl" is an alias for Invoke-WebRequest — not the real curl binary. To use the real curl on Windows, call "curl.exe" explicitly (available since Windows 10 1803). In PowerShell 7+, the alias was removed and "curl" calls curl.exe directly.
Single quotes prevent the shell from interpreting special characters like $, ", {, and } inside the string. The URL and body values are wrapped in single quotes, with embedded single quotes escaped as '\'' .
Multipart form data (-F in curl) is not yet available in the generator. For file uploads, use the -F flag manually: curl -F "file=@/path/to/file.txt" https://api.example.com/upload.
No. Everything runs in your browser. Passwords, tokens, and API keys are never sent to any server and are lost when you close the tab.