How to set the authorization header using cURL

When using cURL to send HTTP requests, setting the Authorization header is a common practice, especially when verifying user identity. The Authorization header is typically used to carry authentication information, such as Bearer tokens or Basic authentication credentials. Below are the steps and examples for setting different types of Authorization headers with cURL:

1. Using Bearer Token

If the API requires authentication using a Bearer token, you can set the Authorization header as follows:

bash
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer your_access_token" https://api.example.com/data

Replace your_access_token with your actual token.

Example:

Suppose you are accessing the GitHub API to retrieve user information and you have a valid access token:

bash
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ghp_9C0W85N4G48572BXF2q5F1RHl0jnek2g3sXI" https://api.github.com/user

2. Using Basic Authentication

When the API requires Basic authentication, the username and password must be encoded as Base64 in the format username:password and added to the request header. This can be simplified using cURL's -u or --user option:

bash
curl -u username:password https://api.example.com/data

cURL automatically encodes the username and password into Base64.

Example:

Suppose you are accessing an API that requires Basic authentication, with username admin and password 123456:

bash
curl -u admin:123456 https://api.example.com/data

3. Using Custom Tokens or Other Authentication Methods

If the API uses a non-standard token or other authentication method, you can specify it directly in the Authorization header:

bash
curl -H "Authorization: Custom your_custom_token" https://api.example.com/data

Example:

Suppose you have an API that uses a custom token named "Apikey" for authentication:

bash
curl -H "Authorization: Apikey 12345abcdef" https://api.example.com/data

Conclusion

Using cURL to set Authorization headers is a fundamental skill for interacting with external APIs. Depending on the API's authentication requirements, you can flexibly choose between Bearer tokens, Basic authentication, or other custom methods for authentication. These methods ensure data security and allow effective management of API access permissions.