How to use PATCH verb with curl

Question

I am trying to make a PATCH call to a server. I am using the following command:

curl --data status=closed -X PATCH https://api.viafoura.com/v2/dev.viafoura.com/pages/7000000043515

Is this the correct way of sending the PATCH request? I am getting an error saying there is no status parameter set. I am guessing the --data is for POST request only and thus the server doesn't find the status parameter.

This is the response (FYI):

{"http_status":400,"error":"Parameter validation errors","validation_errors":{"status":{"error":"Request missing status parameter."}}}

You can find documentation about this service here.

score 123 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 20 '19 at 20:53

123

This is the format you should use:

curl --request PATCH https://api.viafoura.com/v2/dev.viafoura.com/pages/7000000043515?status=closed

That API seems to want the status parameter as a query parameter on the url, not part of the PATCH body.

At this point the server is going to return a 401 error: "You must be logged in to modify page settings." Assumedly you have to login first with something like this:

curl --request POST "https://api.viafoura.com/v2/dev.viafoura.com/users/login?password=TeNn!sNum8er1&email=novak@example.com"

I've used the credentials from their documentation in that example, which I figured would work on their dev server, but its currently returning an "Incorrect password" error.

If you have valid credentials, though, you should get back a session cookie which you can then use to authenticate your PATCH request.

edited Oct 20 '19 at 20:53

Daniel Stenberg

54,736
17
146
222

answered May 08 '13 at 16:19

James Holderness

22,721
2
40
52

7

Strange, `-X` and `--request` are documented to be the same flag. – Beni Cherniavsky-Paskin Aug 12 '14 at 12:43
5

-X works like it is documented: `curl -u test:testtest -k -X PATCH https://api.test` No problem here. – Artur INTECH Mar 18 '18 at 20:40
(I edited the answer and removed the previous wrong comment about -X not working) – Daniel Stenberg Oct 20 '19 at 20:53
Sometimes it is required to pass json header if the body in --data is json: `--data '{"name": "new name"}' -H "content-type: application/json"` ! – Vladimir Vukanac Apr 06 '20 at 12:15

score 21 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 09 '16 at 00:30

21

I was trying to PATCH to a tastypie resource with a similar curl request. For me the problem was the data had to be passed in like so:

curl --data '{"field": "new_value"}' -X PATCH http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/v1/resource_uri/pk/

Notice how what I pass to the data flag is inside of what looks like a dictionary passed as a string, rather than putting the param directly as in the question. Of course a param works too as already answered, but hopefully this helps some people.

answered Sep 09 '16 at 00:30

Nick Brady

6,084
1
46
71

5

Sometimes it is required to pass json header if the body in --data is json: `--data '{"name": "new name"}' -H "content-type: application/json"` ! – Vladimir Vukanac Apr 06 '20 at 12:17

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered May 26 '21 at 20:46

For those who run it on Windows, with a complex patch expression for more than one property.
The following worked for me:

curl -X PATCH "http://localhost:5001/tenants/test02" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d [{"""op""":"""replace""","""value""":"""100""","""path""":"""/employmentEndSettings/daysLoginActive"""},{"""op""":"""replace""","""value""":"""retiree""","""path""":"""/employmentEndSettings/userRoleAfter"""}]

score 2 · Answer 4 · edited Oct 20 '19 at 18:21

Your command line should work. As you can see in the PATCH RFC5789, the HTTP request is similar what curl sends (use --trace-ascii to get to see the full curl communication). You might want to change the Content-Type (using --header).

The mentioned missing status parameter is probably referring to contents in the request-body. Your "status=closed" data is possibly not in the right format (JSON?) or it is incomplete.

score 2 · Answer 5 · edited Sep 05 '19 at 11:45

This is something which worked for me in my sample app.

curl --data 'id=57&equipment_type_name=57 edited' -X PATCH http://localhost:5009/equipment-type/update

{
  "info": "Equipment type updation.",
  "response": {
    "status": "success",
    "message": "updateEquipmentType",
    "result": {
      "data": [
        [
          {
            "update_status": 1
          }
        ],
        {
          "fieldCount": 0,
          "affectedRows": 0,
          "insertId": 0,
          "serverStatus": 2,
          "warningCount": 0,
          "message": "",
          "protocol41": true,
          "changedRows": 0
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

score -3 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 30 '13 at 18:42

-3

An alternative way is as follow, this is through a POST call though

curl --data status=closed https://api.viafoura.com/v2/dev.viafoura.com/pages/7000000043515?verb=PATCH

I am guessing this is not a general way and only applies to this specific instance.

answered Apr 30 '13 at 18:42

sheidaei

9,842
20
63
86

2

This goes against every REST principle. You are losing the benefits of the http PATCH (reducing memory, bandwidth of requests etc). – Ron Jun 11 '14 at 09:59

How to use PATCH verb with curl

6 Answers6

Linked