curl cli browser

this is a great tool that I highly recommend using when troubleshooting. Most importantly its reliable.

Here is an example of being able to test a https URL redirect

curl -ksI https://zahsystems.com

-k = process https (443). (SSL) This option explicitly allows curl to perform "insecure" SSL connections and transfers. All SSL connections are attempted to be made secure by using the CA certificate bundle installed by default. This makes all connections considered "insecure" fail unless -k, --insecure is used.

-s = Silent or quiet mode. Don't show progress meter or error messages. Makes Curl mute. It will still output the data you ask for, potentially even to the terminal/stdout unless you redirect it.

-I = (HTTP/FTP/FILE) Fetch the HTTP-header only! HTTP-servers feature the command HEAD which this uses to get nothing but the header of a document. When used on an FTP or FILE file, curl displays the file size and last modification time only.

The results

HTTP/1.0 302 Found
Location: https://dj-direct.int.zahsystems.com/consumerdirectadmin/home.action
Server: BigIP
Connection: Keep-Alive
Content-Length: 0