curl to Elixir

Convert curl commands to Elixir HTTPoison HTTP client code. Supports headers, request body, authentication, and all common HTTP methods.

Presets:

HTTP Method

POST

Headers Detected

Body Bytes

44 B

Elixir Size

14 lines (301 B)

curl command · stays on your device, never in the shared link

Looks like this contains credentials. They are converted in this tab only — not uploaded, and not included in the link that Share or Copy link produces.

Elixir (HTTPoison)

About curl to Elixir conversion

Elixir's HTTPoison library is a popular HTTP client built on Hackney. This converter maps curl flags to HTTPoison calls:-H becomes a headers list of tuples, and -d becomes the body argument. GET and POST use the convenience functions while other HTTP methods use HTTPoison.request/4. Add {:httpoison, "~> 2.0"} to your mix.exs dependencies.

Built and maintained by Meet Shah · Last updated 2 August 2026

What this tool is used for

Converting an API's curl example into HTTPoison code.
Reproducing a captured request inside an existing Elixir client.
Getting the header list and body form right.
Producing a snippet for an IEx session or a Mix task.
Checking how options are passed alongside headers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which HTTP client is current?: Req is the modern default — batteries included, decodes JSON automatically, retries by default. Finch is the low-level pooled client Req builds on. HTTPoison and Tesla are still widespread in older codebases.
How do I handle the result?: Pattern match the tagged tuple: {:ok, %Req.Response{status: 200, body: body}} versus {:error, exception}. A 404 arrives as :ok with status 404 — it is a successful HTTP exchange, not a transport failure.
Does it parse JSON for me?: Req does, based on the response content type, so body is already a map. HTTPoison does not — you get a raw binary and must call Jason.decode!/1 yourself. This is the main difference when porting between the two.
Do I need to start anything first?: HTTPoison requires its application to be started, which Mix normally handles. Req and Finch expect a supervised Finch pool for production use; the convenience API starts a default one, which is fine for scripts but not for throughput.
How do I set a timeout?: Req takes receive_timeout and connect_options: [timeout: ...]. HTTPoison takes :timeout (connect) and :recv_timeout (response) as options — two separate values, and the naming difference catches people out.
Why does a failed request return a tuple rather than raise?: Because Elixir treats an expected failure as a value — `{:ok, response}` or `{:error, reason}` — so the caller must match on it. Libraries offer a bang variant that raises, but pattern matching is the idiomatic path and makes the failure case visible.

Common errors and gotchas

Forgetting HTTPoison depends on hackney being started, which a bare script may not do.
Pattern-matching only on `{:ok, response}` and crashing on the error tuple.
Passing a map as the body without encoding it, since HTTPoison expects a binary.
Assuming a non-2xx is an error tuple, when it arrives as `{:ok, %{status_code: 404}}`.
Omitting the recv timeout, whose default is short enough to bite on slow endpoints.