cURL to PHP (cURL) Converter

Key Facts

Category: Developer & Web
Input Types: textarea, checkbox
Output Type: text
Sample Coverage: 4
API Ready: Yes

Overview

The cURL to PHP Converter allows developers to instantly transform raw cURL commands into clean, ready-to-run PHP code snippets using the native PHP cURL extension. It automatically parses HTTP methods, headers, and request bodies, generating structured PHP scripts with options to format payloads and include helpful comments.

When to Use

•When migrating API requests tested in the terminal or Postman into a PHP backend application.
•When writing custom PHP integration scripts that require specific HTTP headers, authentication, or POST payloads.
•When debugging API integrations and needing to quickly verify how a cURL command translates to native PHP curl_setopt configurations.

How It Works

•Paste your raw cURL command into the input area, including any headers, methods, or data flags.
•Toggle the formatting preferences, such as pretty-printing the request body or including explanatory comments in the output.
•Copy the generated PHP script which utilizes curl_init, curl_setopt_array, and curl_exec to perform the request.

Use Cases

Converting third-party API documentation examples (usually provided in cURL) into PHP integration code.

Automating form submissions by converting curl -F file uploads or form data into PHP-compatible POST fields.

Generating boilerplate integration code for legacy PHP projects that do not use modern HTTP client packages.

Examples

1. Converting a JSON POST Request

Backend Developer

Background: A developer needs to integrate a payment gateway API that only provides cURL examples in its documentation.
Problem: Manually writing the curl_setopt array for a POST request with custom headers and a JSON payload is tedious and error-prone.
How to Use: Paste the cURL command containing -X POST, -H 'Content-Type: application/json', and -d '{"amount": 100}' into the input field, keep 'Pretty-print body' enabled, and copy the generated PHP code.
Example Config: curlCommand: curl -X POST https://api.stripe.com/v1/charges -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"amount": 100, "currency": "usd"}' prettyBody: true includeComments: true
Outcome: A complete PHP script using curl_init(), setting CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS with the JSON string, configuring the authorization headers, and executing the request.

2. Translating a GET Request with Custom Headers

Systems Integrator

Background: An integrator is debugging a connection to an internal microservice and has a working cURL command with custom authentication headers.
Problem: The command needs to be executed programmatically within a legacy PHP cron job.
How to Use: Input the cURL command with multiple -H flags into the converter and disable the 'Include comments' option for a more compact output.
Example Config: curlCommand: curl -H "X-Api-Key: secret123" -H "Accept: application/json" https://internal.service/data prettyBody: false includeComments: false
Outcome: A clean PHP snippet containing only the necessary curl_setopt configurations for the URL and headers, ready to be pasted directly into the cron script.