cURL and Postman guide

How to Convert cURL to a Postman Collection

Move a cURL API example into a Postman Collection v2.1 file, check its headers and JSON body, and troubleshoot common import mistakes.

Start with a simple request

Copy the cURL command from your API documentation. This example uses a placeholder endpoint, a POST method, a JSON content type, and a small request body. Replace the URL with your own test endpoint before sending it.

curl 'https://api.example.com/tasks' -X POST -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"title":"Check integration","completed":false}'

Convert and download

1. Open the cURL to Postman converter and paste the command.
2. Select Convert and inspect the collection JSON. For this example, the method should be POST, the URL should end in /tasks, and the raw body should contain the title and completed fields.
3. Select Download to save the collection JSON file.
4. Use Postman’s Import action to choose the file, then review the imported request before sending it.

When direct import is enough

Postman can also import a cURL command directly. Use its Import action and paste the command if you only need to open that request. A collection file is useful when you want to inspect or keep a portable JSON representation first. See Postman’s import documentation for current import options.

Check headers, body, and authentication

Confirm that Content-Type matches the payload and that the request body contains valid JSON. The JSON Formatter can help catch missing commas and unquoted keys. Replace real credentials with placeholders before sharing examples; configure authentication for your environment inside Postman.

Understand the converter’s limits

The converter handles simple HTTP URLs, explicit methods, quoted headers, and inline data bodies. It is not a shell interpreter. Environment variable expansion, file uploads, shell substitutions, complex escaping, and every cURL option are not supported. Simplify these commands or configure those settings manually in Postman. Always compare the imported URL and body with the original request.

Troubleshoot an unexpected response

If the server rejects a request, check the method, endpoint, authentication, and body independently. An import that succeeds does not prove the request is correct. Compare the original response and the Postman response with JSON Compare when validating an integration.