Use curl -I https://example.com to ask a server for headers only, or curl -i https://example.com to make a normal request and show the response headers before the body. To save headers separately from the response body, use curl -D headers.txt https://example.com. The key difference is that -I sends a HEAD request, while -i sends the usual GET request and includes its response headers in the output.
Choose the cURL option that matches what you need
cURL normally hides HTTP response headers and writes the response body to standard output. The right option depends on whether you need only the headers, the headers and body together, a separate header file, or a diagnostic trace.
| Command | Request and output | Best for |
|---|---|---|
curl -I https://example.com |
Sends HEAD; displays response headers without the body. | A quick header check when the server supports HEAD. |
curl -i https://example.com |
Sends a normal request; displays response headers and body together. | Checking headers for the same GET request that returns the page. |
curl -D headers.txt https://example.com |
Sends a normal request; saves headers to a file and writes the body to standard output. | Keeping headers separate from a body you want to save or process. |
curl -v https://example.com |
Shows request and response headers plus connection diagnostics. | Debugging the exchange, not just reading response headers. |
Replace https://example.com with the URL you are investigating. These options are available in the curl command-line tool; the exact display also depends on whether you send output to a terminal, redirect it, or save it to a file.
Show headers only with -I or --head
Run:
curl -I https://example.comThis makes an HTTP HEAD request and prints the response headers without downloading the response body. The long form is equivalent:
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curl --head https://example.comA HEAD request is useful for a quick look at response metadata such as the status line, content type, caching fields, or last-modified value. It is not exactly the same request as GET: a server or application may respond differently to HEAD, and some servers reject it. If your goal is to inspect headers returned for an ordinary page request, prefer -i or -D.
Show headers and body with -i
Use -i, also called --show-headers, to make a normal request and include its response headers in the output:
curl -i https://example.comThe response headers and body share the output stream, with the headers appearing before the body. This is often the quickest way to see the headers from a GET request, but it can be awkward when the body is long, binary, or needs to be saved separately.
The long option is:
curl --show-headers https://example.comUse this when you want to inspect both the metadata and the returned content in one response. For a machine-readable script or a clean separation between headers and body, use the methods below instead.
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Save headers separately from the response body
-D (long form --dump-header) writes response headers to a file while leaving the body on its usual output stream:
curl -D headers.txt https://example.comAfter the request, headers.txt contains the headers and the response body has been written to standard output. To save the body to a file too, add -o:
curl -D headers.txt -o body.html https://example.comTo send the headers to standard output instead of a file, use a hyphen as the dump-header destination:
curl -D - https://example.com -o body.htmlThat form prints headers to the terminal while saving the body as body.html. It is handy for a human check without mixing an HTML response into the terminal output.
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Use cURL in scripts to extract status and headers
For a status-code-only check, combine silent mode with --write-out:
curl -sS -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}n' https://example.com-o /dev/null discards the body on Unix-like systems, while -w prints the numerical HTTP response code after the transfer. -sS suppresses the usual progress meter but still allows error messages to be shown. On Windows, use the platform’s null device or save the body to a file if /dev/null is not available in your shell.
Current curl manuals also document %header{name} for selecting a response header and header_json for a JSON object of response headers from the most recent transfer. For example, a curl version that supports these write-out variables can print a status and a selected header as follows:
curl -sS -o /dev/null -w 'status=%{http_code}ncontent-type=%header{content-type}n' https://example.comVariable availability depends on the curl version installed. If a variable is not recognized, check the local curl manual and use -D headers.txt as a portable fallback for collecting headers. Treat header names case-insensitively; choose the field name you need, such as content-type, and quote the format string so your shell passes it to curl as one argument.
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Use -v when you need to debug the exchange
Run:
curl -v https://example.comVerbose mode shows more than the response headers: lines prefixed with > are headers curl sent, lines prefixed with < are headers it received, and lines prefixed with * are additional connection and protocol diagnostics. This distinction helps when you need to check whether a request header was sent or how the server replied.
Verbose output is diagnostic text, not a clean header-only result. It may include details about the connection and request, so use -i or -D when your goal is simply to display or capture HTTP response headers.
Handle redirects and multiple response blocks
A redirect can produce an intermediate response followed by the final response. If you want curl to follow redirects, add -L:
curl -i -L https://example.comWith header output enabled, you may see headers for more than one response, such as the redirect and the destination response. That is useful when diagnosing a redirect chain. If you only need to know what the original URL returns, omit -L. Do not mistake an intermediate redirect status for the final status after following redirects.
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Similarly, a proxy or authentication negotiation can result in more than one header block. When saving headers to a file, inspect the full file rather than assuming it contains just one status line.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshoot common cURL header problems
curl -Ireturns an error or an unexpected result: The server may not support HEAD or may handle it differently from GET. Retry withcurl -i https://example.comto inspect a normal request’s response headers.- The body appears alongside the headers: That is expected with
-i. Use-D headers.txt -o body.htmlto separate them, or-Iwhen a HEAD request is suitable. - The terminal fills with page content: A normal curl request writes the body to standard output. Add
-o body.htmlto save it, or-o /dev/nullon Unix-like systems to discard it while using-D -to display headers. - You cannot tell sent headers from received headers: Use
-v; sent headers begin with>and received headers with<. For response headers alone, use-Dor-i. - Your script cannot parse the output cleanly: Avoid parsing the combined
-istream if the body can contain arbitrary content. Capture headers with-D, or use supported--write-outvariables for the status and selected fields. - A write-out header variable is rejected: The installed curl version may not support that variable. Check the local manual or dump headers to a file with
-D.
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Check curl’s documented option behavior
The curl project documentation explains the difference between the HEAD request made by -I, the included response headers produced by -i, and the separate output available through -D. Its HTTP scripting guidance also notes that some servers deny HEAD while still serving GET. For debugging, the curl manual describes the <, >, and * markers in verbose output. Consult the manual installed with your curl version when using newer write-out fields such as %header{name} or header_json.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does curl -I download the response body?
No. It sends a HEAD request, which asks for headers without the body. Use -i when you need headers from a normal request that also returns content.
Can I show headers and save the body without mixing them?
Yes. Use curl -D headers.txt -o body.html https://example.com to save the two streams separately.
How do I check only the HTTP status code?
Use curl’s --write-out output format with %{http_code}; for example, curl -sS -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}n' https://example.com on Unix-like systems.
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