How to Properly Use CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS with cURL for String and Array Data?

Using CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS with cURL

When using cURL with CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS to send data via POST, it is important to consider the appropriate data format.

For String Data:

If you are sending a string, you should urlencode it to ensure proper formatting. For example:

$data = 'first=John&last=Smith';

For Arrays:

When posting an array, key-value pairs are required. The Content-Type header is automatically set to "multipart/form-data" for arrays.

$data = ['first' => 'John', 'last' => 'Smith'];

Helper Function:

To simplify the process for arrays, you can use the http_build_query() function:

$query = http_build_query($data, '', '&');
$data = $query;

Example:

The following example demonstrates a complete code snippet using CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS:

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);
$reply = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

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