Operating Systems That Natively Support Curl

This article provides a comprehensive overview of the operating systems that include the curl command-line tool by default. While historically developers had to install this versatile data-transfer utility manually, modern operating systems now widely integrate curl as a native, pre-installed component. Below, we break down native support across Windows, macOS, Linux, and Unix-like environments.

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft officially added native support for curl in Windows 10 (specifically in Build 1803, released in April 2018) and it remains natively supported in Windows 11.

  • Location: The executable is located at C:\Windows\System32\curl.exe.
  • Usage: You can run curl directly from Command Prompt (cmd.exe) or PowerShell.
  • Note for PowerShell users: In older versions of PowerShell, curl was set as an alias for Invoke-WebRequest. To use the native curl.exe binary instead of the PowerShell alias, you must type curl.exe rather than just curl, or remove the alias.

macOS

Apple’s macOS has natively supported curl for decades, dating back to the early Unix-based versions of Mac OS X.

  • Location: The tool is located at /usr/bin/curl.
  • Usage: It is instantly accessible by opening the Terminal application and typing curl. Apple regularly updates the pre-installed version of curl alongside standard macOS system updates.

Linux Distributions

Because curl is a fundamental tool for networking and scripting, almost all major, mainstream Linux distributions include it natively.

  • Standard Desktop and Server Distros: Ubuntu, Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and openSUSE package curl as part of their default operating system installation.
  • Minimal Installations: Some lightweight or container-focused distributions, such as Alpine Linux or "minimal" server installations of Debian and Ubuntu, do not include curl natively to keep the image size as small as possible. On these systems, it must be installed manually via the package manager (e.g., apt install curl or apk add curl).

Unix and BSD Operating Systems

Other Unix-like operating systems generally support curl natively or provide it as a core system package.

  • FreeBSD and NetBSD: While FreeBSD often utilizes its own native fetch command for simple URL downloads in the base system, modern FreeBSD installations frequently include curl natively or make it a default component of the user environment.
  • Solaris / Illumos: Modern distributions of Oracle Solaris and OpenIndiana include curl as a pre-installed utility.