CURL context options in PHP

In PHP, CURL context options allow you to configure HTTP and FTP requests when using stream contexts with functions like file_get_contents() or fopen(). These options provide fine-grained control over request behavior without directly using the cURL extension.

Note: CURL context options are available when the CURL extension was compiled using the --with-curlwrappers configure option (deprecated in newer PHP versions).

Available CURL Context Options

Example Usage

Here's how to create a stream context with CURL options for making HTTP requests −

<?php
// Create context with CURL options
$context = stream_context_create([
    'curl' => [
        'method' => 'POST',
        'header' => "Content-Type: application/json\r<br>" .
                   "Authorization: Bearer token123\r<br>",
        'user_agent' => 'MyApp/1.0',
        'content' => json_encode(['name' => 'John', 'age' => 30]),
        'max_redirects' => 5,
        'curl_verify_ssl_peer' => true
    ]
]);

// Make request using the context
$response = file_get_contents('https://api.example.com/users', false, $context);
echo $response;
?>

SSL Configuration Example

For secure connections, you can configure SSL verification options −

<?php
$context = stream_context_create([
    'curl' => [
        'method' => 'GET',
        'curl_verify_ssl_host' => true,
        'curl_verify_ssl_peer' => true,
        'user_agent' => 'SecureClient/2.0'
    ]
]);

$data = file_get_contents('https://secure-api.example.com/data', false, $context);
?>

Conclusion

CURL context options provide a convenient way to configure HTTP requests through stream contexts in PHP. While deprecated in newer versions, they offer useful request customization capabilities for legacy applications.