How to use cookies in cURL requests

Cookies are name-value pairs exchanged between servers and clients in HTTP requests. They retain stateful information, including session data, user preferences, and tracking user behavior across various web interactions.

Cookies become particularly handy when working with cURL. They are used when simulating browser sessions for testing your web application, automating web requests to observe specific behaviors, or conducting in-depth vulnerability assessments to pinpoint potential security threats.

There are multiple methods for incorporating cookies with cURL. You can specify them as parameters in your requests or reference cookies pre-crafted and stored in a file. You can use a single cookie for a request, or you can use multiple cookies as well.

1. Open the terminal.
2. Execute a cURL request for your target URL.

   $ curl https://www.example.com/

3. Manually set cookie's name and value using the -b or --cookie.

   $ curl -b "name=value" https://www.example.com/

4. Use a semicolon as separator to use multiple cookies.

   $ curl -b "name1=value1; name2=value2" https://www.example.com/

5. Provide file path to use a cookie file.

   $ curl -b "/path/to/cookie-file.txt" https://www.example.com/

   Ensure your cookie file has the right format: one name-value pair per line.

6. Check the server's response from the cURL command.