Question

When downloading a file using curl, how would I follow a link location and use that for the output filename (without knowing the remote filename in advance)?

For example, if one clicks on the link below, you would download a filenamed “pythoncomplete.vim.” However using curl’s -O and -L options, the filename is simply the original remote-name, a clumsy “download_script.php?src_id=10872.”

curl -O -L http://www.vim.org/scripts/download_script.php?src_id=10872

In order to download the file with the correct filename you would have to know the name of the file in advance:

curl -o pythoncomplete.vim -L http://www.vim.org/scripts/download_script.php?src_id=10872

It would be excellent if you could download the file without knowing the name in advance, and if not, is there another way to quickly pull down a redirected file via command line?

Answer 1

The remote side sends the filename using the Content-Disposition header.

curl 7.21.2 or newer does this automatically if you specify --remote-header-name / -J.

curl -O -J -L $url

The expanded version of the arguments would be:

curl --remote-name --remote-header-name --location $url