HTTP clients are utility software that allows you to download files over the Internet. These command line tools not only support remote file downloading but can also be used for tasks like debugging and communicating with web servers.

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Today, we present a list of the best HTTP clients designed for use in the Linux Command Line environment.

1. HTTPie

HTTPie is an open-source command-line HTTP client used for interacting with HTTP servers, web services, and RESTful APIs. Pronounced as "aych-tee-tee-pie", this tool aims to make human interaction with web services via the terminal easier, which is why most users prefer it for Wget-like downloads.

Additional features include colorized syntax based on type, custom headers, persistent sessions, plugin support, and built-in JSON handling.

To install httpie on Linux, simply use your system's package manager:

<code>$ sudo apt install httpie         [On <strong>Debian, Ubuntu and Mint</strong>]
$ sudo yum install httpie         [On <strong>RHEL/CentOS/Fedora</strong> and <strong>Rocky/AlmaLinux</strong>]
$ sudo emerge -a sys-apps/httpie  [On <strong>Gentoo Linux</strong>]
$ sudo apk add httpie             [On <strong>Alpine Linux</strong>]
$ sudo pacman -S httpie           [On <strong>Arch Linux</strong>]
$ sudo zypper install httpie      [On <strong>OpenSUSE</strong>]    </code>

2. HTTP Prompt 2

HTTP Prompt is an interactive command-line HTTP client built using prompt_toolkit and HTTPie, featuring more than 20 themes. Its standout capabilities include auto-complete suggestions, syntax highlighting, automatic cookie handling, Unix-style pipelines, compatibility with HTTpie, session persistence, and integration with OpenAPI/Swagger.

To install http-prompt on Linux, use the pip Python package manager:

<code>$ pip install http-prompt</code>

3. Curl

Curl is an open-source command-line utility and data transfer library that supports URL-based transfers across multiple protocols such as SCP, SMTPS, HTTPS, IMAP, LDAP, POP3, and others.

Curl is widely used not just in terminals and scripts for transferring data, but also embedded in devices like routers, printers, tablets, mobile phones, set-top boxes, audio systems, media players, etc.

Its long list of features includes IPv6 and socks5 support, customizable output after completion, no restrictions on URL length, and asynchronous name resolution.

For installing curl on Linux, use your preferred package manager:

<code>$ sudo apt install curl         [On <strong>Debian, Ubuntu and Mint</strong>]
$ sudo yum install curl         [On <strong>RHEL/CentOS/Fedora</strong> and <strong>Rocky/AlmaLinux</strong>]
$ sudo emerge -a sys-apps/curl  [On <strong>Gentoo Linux</strong>]
$ sudo apk add curl             [On <strong>Alpine Linux</strong>]
$ sudo pacman -S curl           [On <strong>Arch Linux</strong>]
$ sudo zypper install curl      [On <strong>OpenSUSE</strong>]    </code>

4. Wget

Wget is an open-source command-line tool for retrieving content from web servers using HTTP proxies or directly via HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP protocols. It supports recursive downloading, meaning it follows links within HTML pages to create local copies of remote websites.

Wget offers many useful features such as excellent performance under slow or unstable network conditions, HTTP proxy and cookie support, resuming broken downloads via REST and RANGE APIs, and multi-language support through NLS message files.

To install wget on Linux, use your package manager:

<code>$ sudo apt install wget         [On <strong>Debian, Ubuntu and Mint</strong>]
$ sudo yum install wget         [On <strong>RHEL/CentOS/Fedora</strong> and <strong>Rocky/AlmaLinux</strong>]
$ sudo emerge -a sys-apps/wget  [On <strong>Gentoo Linux</strong>]
$ sudo apk add wget             [On <strong>Alpine Linux</strong>]
$ sudo pacman -S wget           [On <strong>Arch Linux</strong>]
$ sudo zypper install wget      [On <strong>OpenSUSE</strong>]    </code>

5. Aria2

Aria2 is a lightweight, open-source command-line download tool supporting HTTP & HTTPS, FTP & SFTP, Metalink, and BitTorrent. Key features include automatic validation of files like BitTorrent, simultaneous parallel downloads via HTTP(S)/(S)FTP and BitTorrent, Ntrc support, disk caching to minimize disk usage, and IPv6 support with Happy Eyeballs.

To install aria2 on Linux, use your system’s package manager:

<code>$ sudo apt install aria2         [On <strong>Debian, Ubuntu and Mint</strong>]
$ sudo yum install aria2         [On <strong>RHEL/CentOS/Fedora</strong> and <strong>Rocky/AlmaLinux</strong>]
$ sudo emerge -a sys-apps/aria2  [On <strong>Gentoo Linux</strong>]
$ sudo apk add aria2             [On <strong>Alpine Linux</strong>]
$ sudo pacman -S aria2           [On <strong>Arch Linux</strong>]
$ sudo zypper install aria2      [On <strong>OpenSUSE</strong>]    </code>

Do you know any other great command-line HTTP clients that aren’t listed above? Feel free to share your recommendations and reasons in the comments below.

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