Mixing JSON with normal data in cURL request in bash

Question

I know I can use

curl --data "param1=value1&param2=value2" http://hostname/resource

or

curl --request POST https://$url?param1=value1&param2=value2

But what do I need to do if param1 is value and param2 is a JSON?

It just does not work(tm) if I just toss the JSON in there, even using a variable

$json='{"data":"value"}'
curl --request POST https://$url?param1=value1&param2=$json

What is the trick here? Note that I HAVE TO make only one call.

Thank you!

Can you be a bit more specific about what it is that does not work? Do you get an error? Does the data not arrive at the server? — ebo
– ebo, Commented Sep 27, 2014 at 15:13

thiagogalesi · Accepted Answer · 2014-09-27 19:08:22Z

1

Ok, if we escape everything (using python) here's what it looks like

>>> x
'{"data": "value"}'
>>> urllib.urlencode({'param1':'value1', 'param2':x})
'param2=%7B%22data%22%3A+%22value%22%7D&param1=value1'

Or, using the curl option

curl localhost:8080 --data-urlencode 'param1={"data":"value"}'

Will send to the server

param1=%7B%22data%22%3A%22value%22%7D

You may notice that the first version has a +, which probably comes from the space in the json encoded, not sure it works or if it can be removed

answered Sep 27, 2014 at 19:08

thiagogalesi

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1 Comment

Yes, the trick is to url-encode the whole JSON. I am using another way to do that but your idea is correct.