PowerShell cURL (Invoke-WebRequest): Syntax, Parameters, Examples

Do you want to return information from a website in PowerShell but are not sure how to do that? You need the PowerShell cURL (Invoke-WebRequest) command and this guide teaches you all you need to know about this command.

Overview

The Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet, introduced in PowerShell 3.0 sends HTTP and HTTPS requests to a web page or web service.

When you run the PowerShell cURL (Invoke-WebRequest) command, PowerShell returns much useful information. Some of the returned information is Properties, while others are Methods you can use to manipulate the objects received.

Some common properties returned by this command are Content, Forms, and Images. In addition to those, you also get more properties like Links and StatusCode.

As I mentioned earlier, Invoke-WebRequest has some useful Methods like GetHashCode, GetType, and ToString.

The screenshot at the beginning of this section shows the output of the Invoke-WebRequest when I piped it to the Get-Member cmdlet.

Syntaxes

The Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet has four syntaxes. Here they are…

Invoke-WebRequest
      [-UseBasicParsing]
      [-Uri] <Uri>
      [-WebSession <WebRequestSession>]
      [-SessionVariable <String>]
      [-AllowUnencryptedAuthentication]
      [-Authentication <WebAuthenticationType>]
      [-Credential <PSCredential>]
      [-UseDefaultCredentials]
      [-CertificateThumbprint <String>]
      [-Certificate <X509Certificate>]
      [-SkipCertificateCheck]
      [-SslProtocol <WebSslProtocol>]
      [-Token <SecureString>]
      [-UserAgent <String>]
      [-DisableKeepAlive]
      [-TimeoutSec <Int32>]
      [-Headers <IDictionary>]
      [-MaximumRedirection <Int32>]
      [-MaximumRetryCount <Int32>]
      [-RetryIntervalSec <Int32>]
      [-Method <WebRequestMethod>]
      [-Proxy <Uri>]
      [-ProxyCredential <PSCredential>]
      [-ProxyUseDefaultCredentials]
      [-Body <Object>]
      [-Form <IDictionary>]
      [-ContentType <String>]
      [-TransferEncoding <String>]
      [-InFile <String>]
      [-OutFile <String>]
      [-PassThru]
      [-Resume]
      [-SkipHttpErrorCheck]
      [-PreserveAuthorizationOnRedirect]
      [-SkipHeaderValidation]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Invoke-WebRequest
      [-UseBasicParsing]
      [-Uri] <Uri>
      [-WebSession <WebRequestSession>]
      [-SessionVariable <String>]
      [-AllowUnencryptedAuthentication]
      [-Authentication <WebAuthenticationType>]
      [-Credential <PSCredential>]
      [-UseDefaultCredentials]
      [-CertificateThumbprint <String>]
      [-Certificate <X509Certificate>]
      [-SkipCertificateCheck]
      [-SslProtocol <WebSslProtocol>]
      [-Token <SecureString>]
      [-UserAgent <String>]
      [-DisableKeepAlive]
      [-TimeoutSec <Int32>]
      [-Headers <IDictionary>]
      [-MaximumRedirection <Int32>]
      [-MaximumRetryCount <Int32>]
      [-RetryIntervalSec <Int32>]
      [-Method <WebRequestMethod>]
      -NoProxy
      [-Body <Object>]
      [-Form <IDictionary>]
      [-ContentType <String>]
      [-TransferEncoding <String>]
      [-InFile <String>]
      [-OutFile <String>]
      [-PassThru]
      [-Resume]
      [-SkipHttpErrorCheck]
      [-PreserveAuthorizationOnRedirect]
      [-SkipHeaderValidation]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Invoke-WebRequest
      [-UseBasicParsing]
      [-Uri] <Uri>
      [-WebSession <WebRequestSession>]
      [-SessionVariable <String>]
      [-AllowUnencryptedAuthentication]
      [-Authentication <WebAuthenticationType>]
      [-Credential <PSCredential>]
      [-UseDefaultCredentials]
      [-CertificateThumbprint <String>]
      [-Certificate <X509Certificate>]
      [-SkipCertificateCheck]
      [-SslProtocol <WebSslProtocol>]
      [-Token <SecureString>]
      [-UserAgent <String>]
      [-DisableKeepAlive]
      [-TimeoutSec <Int32>]
      [-Headers <IDictionary>]
      [-MaximumRedirection <Int32>]
      [-MaximumRetryCount <Int32>]
      [-RetryIntervalSec <Int32>]
      -CustomMethod <String>
      [-Proxy <Uri>]
      [-ProxyCredential <PSCredential>]
      [-ProxyUseDefaultCredentials]
      [-Body <Object>]
      [-Form <IDictionary>]
      [-ContentType <String>]
      [-TransferEncoding <String>]
      [-InFile <String>]
      [-OutFile <String>]
      [-PassThru]
      [-Resume]
      [-SkipHttpErrorCheck]
      [-PreserveAuthorizationOnRedirect]
      [-SkipHeaderValidation]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Invoke-WebRequest
      [-UseBasicParsing]
      [-Uri] <Uri>
      [-WebSession <WebRequestSession>]
      [-SessionVariable <String>]
      [-AllowUnencryptedAuthentication]
      [-Authentication <WebAuthenticationType>]
      [-Credential <PSCredential>]
      [-UseDefaultCredentials]
      [-CertificateThumbprint <String>]
      [-Certificate <X509Certificate>]
      [-SkipCertificateCheck]
      [-SslProtocol <WebSslProtocol>]
      [-Token <SecureString>]
      [-UserAgent <String>]
      [-DisableKeepAlive]
      [-TimeoutSec <Int32>]
      [-Headers <IDictionary>]
      [-MaximumRedirection <Int32>]
      [-MaximumRetryCount <Int32>]
      [-RetryIntervalSec <Int32>]
      -CustomMethod <String>
      -NoProxy
      [-Body <Object>]
      [-Form <IDictionary>]
      [-ContentType <String>]
      [-TransferEncoding <String>]
      [-InFile <String>]
      [-OutFile <String>]
      [-PassThru]
      [-Resume]
      [-SkipHttpErrorCheck]
      [-PreserveAuthorizationOnRedirect]
      [-SkipHeaderValidation]
      [<CommonParameters>]

If you’re wondering about the difference between the four syntaxes, it is primarily the presence of the Proxy parameter in the first syntax but NoProxy in the second.

So, since the second syntax has the NoProxy parameter, it also means that the syntax does not include the ProxyCredential and ProxyUseDefaultCredentials parameters.

The reason for the absence of these two parameters in the second syntax is that they are related to the Proxy parameter.

Moving on to the third syntaxes, it still has the Proxy, ProxyCredential, and ProxyUseDefaultCredentials parameters. However, in addition to those, it includes another parameter – CustomMethod.

So, the difference between the first and the third syntaxes is the CustomMethod parameter.

Now, enter the fourth syntax. It also has the CustomMethod parameter but instead of having the Proxy parameter, it has the NoProxy parameter.

I admit that the information I have detailed so far is slightly difficult to comprehend. So, I created a summary table below:

To represent my last statement visually, here are the only parameters that can work together (plus any other parameter not shown in the simplified syntaxes below).

Invoke-WebRequest 
   [-Method <WebRequestMethod>]   
   [-Proxy <Uri>]
   [-ProxyCredential <PSCredential>]
   [-ProxyUseDefaultCredentials] 

#you cannot specify the ProxyUseDefaultCredentials parameter and the ProxyCredential parameter in the same command. You can only use one. 

Invoke-WebRequest 
  [-Method <WebRequestMethod>]  
  -NoProxy

Invoke-WebRequest 
 -CustomMethod <String>
 [-Proxy <Uri>]
 [-ProxyCredential <PSCredential>]
 [-ProxyUseDefaultCredentials]

#you cannot specify the ProxyUseDefaultCredentials parameter and the ProxyCredential parameter in the same command. You can only use one. 

Invoke-WebRequest 
   -CustomMethod <String>
   -NoProxy

Parameters

In the table below, I listed all the parameters of the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet. I also explained what each parameter does and provided notes on how to use them.

Examples

So far I have given you an overview of the Invoke-WebRequest (cURL) cmdlet. In addition to that, I have discussed the syntax and parameters of this cmdlet.

All the information so far is meant to prepare you for this section. In this section, I’ll use examples to show you different ways you can use PowerShell cURL (Invoke-WebRequest) to solve problems.

1. Get Help About PowerShell cURL (Invoke-WebRequest)

Although I have discussed the syntax and parameters of the cURL command, it is useful to know how to find help for this cmdlet.

Like all PowerShell cmdlets, you can use the Get-Help cmdlet to find information about how to use Invoke-WebRequest. Specifically, you can get information about its syntax and parameters.

Not only that but you can also use the Get-Help cmdlet to find examples of the cURL command.

At the most basic level, to use the Get-Help cmdlet to find information about the Invoke-WebRequest, run the command below:

Get-Help Invoke-WebRequest

Alternatively, you can use the alias of the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet…

Get-Help cURL

Both commands will display the basic help information about PowerShell cURL (Invoke-WebRequest).

However, if you want detailed help information, you can use some parameters of the Get-Help cmdlet. For instance, if you want to display detailed help information about this cmdlet, use the Detailed parameter of Get-Help.

Here is the command…

Get-Help Invoke-WebRequest -Detailed 

As you can see from the screenshot below, the command displays more information. For example, you get more information about the parameters of the cURL command.

In addition to that, you also get some examples. However, if you want to display examples alone, you can use the Examples parameter of Get-Help.

Get-Help cURL -Examples

The last command displays multiple examples of how to use the PowerShell cURL command.

2. Use the Post Method Command to Return a Website’s HTTP Headers

In this example, I will show you how to use the Post Method Of PowerShell cURL (Invoke-WebRequest) to return the Header information of a website.

cURL -Uri https://www.itechguides.com -Method Head

When you run the command, it takes a while to return results. The reason for this is that PowerShell is communicating with a website over the internet.

Eventually, it will return the following information.

By specifying the Head Method, I used the Invoke-WebRequest (cURL) command to return only the HTTP headers of the website.

As seen in the screenshot above, the command returned information like the site’s StatusCode, StatusDescription, RawContent, and more.

To make it easy to manipulate the information returned, it is better to save the result in a variable. Here is the modified command…

$webrequest = cURL -Uri https://www.itechguides.com -Method Head

Once the command is completed, I can use the variable to return the specific information I require from the site’s HTTP headers. For example, to return the RawContent property, I’ll use the command below.

$webrequest.RawContent

This command returns some very interesting information about the website.

3. Use Command to Download File from a Website

In this example, I will demonstrate how to download a file from a website with PowerShell cURL. This URL on Itechguides.com has a zip file.

https://www.itechguides.com/windows-11-compatibility-checker/

The fastest way to do this is to get the link to the file you want to download. In this example, here is the link to the file on the page…

https://www.itechguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Get-Windows11Compatibility.zip

Then, run the cURL or Invoke-WebRequest command as shown below:

cURL -Uri https://www.itechguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Get-Windows11Compatibility.zip -OutFile D:\report\Get-Windows11Compatibility.zip

Here is the screenshot of the command and the file I downloaded.

4. Use Username and Password to Access a Secure Site

In this example, you’ll learn how to use the Credential parameter of PowerShell cURL (Invoke-WebRequest) cmdlet to specify username and password

The first step is to save the username and password I need in a variable I call $credential. Here is the command that does the job…

$credential = Get-Credential

When you run the command in PowerShell, you’ll be prompted for the username and password. Enter the username and the password of the account with permission to access the site.

Then, run the Invoke-WebRequest command and use the Credential parameter to specify the username and password you saved in the $credential variable.

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://<server ip address or URL> -Credential $credential

5. Return the Content of a Website

When you run the cURL command in PowerShell, one of the properties returned is the Content of the website. Here is a sample command to return the Content of the www.itechguides.com homepage…

(cURL -Uri https://www.itechguides.com -UseBasicParsing).Content

The command will take a while to complete. When the command completes, it returns a long list of information.

6. Bypass Proxy in a Command

From PowerShell 6.0.0 Microsoft included the NoProxy parameter to the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet. To run bypass proxy when you run the Invoke-WebRequest, specify the NoProxy parameter.

To run the command below, search powershell. Then, open the latest version of PowerShell you just installed.

When you open the latest PowerShell version (at least 6.0.0), run the command below…

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://www.itechguides.com -UseBasicParsing -NoProxy

The com and will run, bypassing any proxy…

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The Invoke-WebRequest (PowerShell cURL) cmdlet is one of those cmdlets that you may not need often. However, when you need it, it is one of those cmdlets that is fairly complicated to learn.

In the first instance, it is the first cmdlet that I have seen with more than thirty parameters! Not only that, there are four different syntaxes of the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet.

No matter how complex the PowerShell cURL command may be, I hope I was able to make it easier for you to understand! If It did, click on “Yes” beside the “Was this page helpful” question below.

You may also express your thoughts and opinions by using the “Leave a Comment” form at the bottom of this page.

Finally, if you want to gain more PowerShell skills, you will benefit from our other articles on our Windows PowerShell Explained page. Alternatively, you can take a look at our  Windows PowerShell How-To Guides.