curl-command-generator

cURL Command Generator

Generate ready-to-run cURL commands for quick API testing from the command line.

Core Workflow

1. Scan routes: Find all API route definitions
2. Extract metadata: Methods, paths, params, bodies
3. Generate commands: Create cURL commands with flags
4. Add authentication: Bearer, Basic, API Key headers
5. Include examples: Request bodies with sample data
6. Output options: Markdown, shell script, or plain text

Basic cURL Syntax

# GET request
curl -X GET "http://localhost:3000/api/users"

# POST with JSON body
curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/users" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "John", "email": "[email protected]"}'

# With authentication
curl -X GET "http://localhost:3000/api/users" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

# With query parameters
curl -X GET "http://localhost:3000/api/users?page=1&limit=10"

# Show response headers
curl -i -X GET "http://localhost:3000/api/users"

# Verbose output
curl -v -X GET "http://localhost:3000/api/users"

Generator Script

// scripts/generate-curl.ts
import * as fs from "fs";

interface RouteInfo {
  method: string;
  path: string;
  name: string;
  description?: string;
  body?: object;
  queryParams?: { name: string; value: string }[];
  auth?: boolean;
}

interface CurlOptions {
  baseUrl: string;
  authHeader?: string;
  verbose?: boolean;
  showHeaders?: boolean;
  format?: "markdown" | "shell" | "plain";
}

function generateCurlCommand(route: RouteInfo, options: CurlOptions): string {
  const parts: string[] = ["curl"];

  // Add flags
  if (options.verbose) {
    parts.push("-v");
  }
  if (options.showHeaders) {
    parts.push("-i");
  }

  // Method
  parts.push(`-X ${route.method}`);

  // URL with query params
  let url = `${options.baseUrl}${route.path}`;

  // Replace path params with placeholders
  url = url.replace(/:(\w+)/g, "{$1}");

  // Add query params
  if (route.queryParams?.length) {
    const queryString = route.queryParams
      .map((p) => `${p.name}=${p.value}`)
      .join("&");
    url += `?${queryString}`;
  }

  parts.push(`"${url}"`);

  // Headers
  if (["POST", "PUT", "PATCH"].includes(route.method)) {
    parts.push('-H "Content-Type: application/json"');
  }

  if (route.auth && options.authHeader) {
    parts.push(`-H "${options.authHeader}"`);
  }

  // Request body
  if (route.body && ["POST", "PUT", "PATCH"].includes(route.method)) {
    const bodyJson = JSON.stringify(route.body);
    parts.push(`-d '${bodyJson}'`);
  }

  return parts.join(" \\\n  ");
}

function generateCurlCommands(
  routes: RouteInfo[],
  options: CurlOptions
): string {
  const lines: string[] = [];

  if (options.format === "markdown") {
    lines.push("# API cURL Commands");
    lines.push("");
    lines.push(`Base URL: \`${options.baseUrl}\``);
    lines.push("");
  } else if (options.format === "shell") {
    lines.push("#!/bin/bash");
    lines.push("");
    lines.push(`BASE_URL="${options.baseUrl}"`);
    lines.push('AUTH_TOKEN="${AUTH_TOKEN:-your-token-here}"');
    lines.push("");
  }

  // Group by resource
  const groupedRoutes = groupRoutesByResource(routes);

  for (const [resource, resourceRoutes] of Object.entries(groupedRoutes)) {
    if (options.format === "markdown") {
      lines.push(`## ${capitalize(resource)}`);
      lines.push("");
    } else if (options.format === "shell") {
      lines.push(`# ${capitalize(resource)}`);
      lines.push("");
    }

    for (const route of resourceRoutes) {
      if (options.format === "markdown") {
        lines.push(`### ${route.name}`);
        if (route.description) {
          lines.push(route.description);
        }
        lines.push("");
        lines.push("```bash");
      } else {
        lines.push(`# ${route.name}`);
      }

      lines.push(generateCurlCommand(route, options));

      if (options.format === "markdown") {
        lines.push("```");
      }
      lines.push("");
    }
  }

  return lines.join("\n");
}

function groupRoutesByResource(
  routes: RouteInfo[]
): Record<string, RouteInfo[]> {
  const groups: Record<string, RouteInfo[]> = {};

  for (const route of routes) {
    const parts = route.path.split("/").filter(Boolean);
    const resource = parts[0] || "api";

    if (!groups[resource]) {
      groups[resource] = [];
    }
    groups[resource].push(route);
  }

  return groups;
}

function capitalize(str: string): string {
  return str.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + str.slice(1);
}