pycurl

What it is and what it does

PycURL is a thin Python wrapper around libcurl, the multiprotocol file transfer library. It exposes most of libcurl's functionality to Python, allowing you to fetch URLs and transfer files with fine-grained control over SSL, authentication, proxies, and network behavior. Unlike higher-level libraries, PycURL gives you direct access to libcurl's callbacks and socket interfaces, making it suitable for integration into custom I/O loops and applications that need low-level network control.

The package is production-stable and actively maintained, supporting Python 3.10 through 3.14. It requires libcurl 7.19.0 or better on the system and has no Python runtime dependencies. Prebuilt wheels are available for common platforms, though the compiled C bindings mean installation requires a working C compiler or prebuilt binary for your platform.

Use it for:

• High-performance HTTP and file transfer operations where speed is critical and you need direct control over protocol details.
• Integrating network operations into event-driven applications (e.g., Tornado) via PycURL's socket interface and Multi interface.
• Implementing complex authentication, SSL certificate handling, and proxy configurations that require libcurl's full feature set.
• Building applications that need simultaneous downloads or uploads using libcurl's Multi interface for concurrent transfers.
• Scenarios requiring callback-based request/response handling or custom I/O loop integration.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

PycURL is a Python wrapper around libcurl that enables fetching URLs and performing multiprotocol file transfers with direct access to most of libcurl's functionality, including SSL, authentication, proxies, and callback support.

Yes, if you need low-level control over HTTP/file transfer operations or are integrating into an event-driven I/O loop. The compiled dependency on libcurl and medium install friction make it less suitable for simple use cases where requests or urllib would suffice. Verify that libcurl 7.19.0+ is available on your target systems and that the dual LGPL/MIT license aligns with your project before committing.

Install

pycurl on PyPI

pip install pycurl

uv add pycurl

poetry add pycurl

Installing pycurl

Before you install

Medium install friction due to compiled C bindings to libcurl; prebuilt wheels are available for Python 3.10–3.14 on Windows, macOS, and Linux, but the package requires libcurl 7.19.0 or better to be present on the system. Last release was 46 days ago and the repository is actively maintained.

License in practice

Dual licensed under LGPL-2.1-only and MIT; license treatment is marked unclear, so review the COPYING-LGPL and COPYING-MIT files in the source distribution to confirm compliance with your project's license policy.

Quickstart

import pycurl
from io import BytesIO

buffer = BytesIO()
curl = pycurl.Curl()
curl.setopt(pycurl.URL, 'http://example.com')
curl.setopt(pycurl.WRITEDATA, buffer)
curl.perform()
curl.close()

libcurl 7.19.0 or better must be installed on the system; Python 3.10 or later is required.

Verify before relying

• Whether the performance advantage over requests (mentioned in the description) remains significant in current versions.
• Specific guidance on when to choose PycURL's Multi/share interfaces versus simpler alternatives for concurrent operations.

Package facts

Evidence: pycurl-7.47.0-cp310-cp310-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp310-cp310-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp310-cp310-win_arm64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp311-cp311-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp311-cp311-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp311-cp311-win_amd64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp311-cp311-win_arm64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp312-cp312-macosx_10_13_x86_64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp312-cp312-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp312-cp312-win_amd64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp312-cp312-win_arm64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp313-cp313-macosx_10_13_x86_64.whl; pycurl-7.47.0-cp313-cp313-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl

Keywords: curl, libcurl, urllib, wget, download, file transfer, http, www

Tags

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