Send HTTP requests from the command line and automate processing of reply data in batch files with the free Swiss File Knife for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

sfk web [options] url [options]
sfk filter ... +tweb [options]

call an http:// URL and print output to terminal,
or pass output to further commands for processing.

sfk ... +web requires an url parameter.
sfk ... +tweb gets the url(s) from a previous command.

options
   -user=u      and -pw=p set http basic authentication.
                you may also use global options -webuser, -webpw.
                note that passwords are not encrypted on transfer,
                except when using SFK Plus with HTTPS connections.
   -nodump      do not print reply data.
   -proxy       hostname:port of a proxy server. from within a company
                network it is often required to connect through proxies.
                alternatively, set the environment variable SFK_PROXY :
                  set SFK_PROXY=myproxyhost:8000
                to find out what proxy your browser is using, see
                - Firefox: tools/options/advanced/network/settings
                - IE: tools/internet options/connections/lan settings
   -timeout=n     wait up to n msec for connection or data.
                  default is a blocking access, i.e. connect stops
                  after the operating system default timeout,
                  and data read may block endless.
   -webtimeout=n  same, but can be given as global option
                  for a multi command chain.
   -delay=n     wait n msec after each request.
   -weblimit=n  set download size limit to n mb
   -status[=s]  add a status line after reply data, optionally
                prefixed by string s, which supports slash patterns
                like \n or \t. on command chaining fields are
                separated by tabs, otherwise by blanks.
   -noerr       print no error message
   -quiet       do not print status line in case of -nodump
   -headers     print sent and received http headers
   -header x    or -head adds custom header x to http requests, like
                -header "Accept-Language: de,en-US;q=0.7,en;q=0.3"
                multiple header lines can be given. default headers
                with the same name are replaced.
   -request x   or -req specifies the whole HTTP request, like
                -req "POST / HTTP/1.1
                      Host: localhost
                      Connection: close
                      
                      var1=123&var2=456
                      "
                this can only be used within a script file.
                to create an example script for editing, type:
                   sfk batch webreq.bat
   -reqfromvar a  take request from variable a. must contain exact
                data, like empty CRLF line after GET header.
   -headerstovar a   write reply headers as one text block to a
   -headertovar n a  write header n content to variable a
   -showreq     print full URL, may also use -status
   -verbose     tell current proxy settings, if any
   -noclose     do not send "Connection: close" header.

automatic name expansions
   http:// is added automatically. short ip's like .100 are
   extended like 192.168.1.100 depending on your subnet.

quoted multi line parameters are supported in scripts
   using full trim. type "sfk script" for details.

limitations
   - by default sfk web reads up to 100 mbytes of data.
     use -weblimit=n to change this to n mbytes.
   - if binary data is found, binary codes are stripped
     on output to terminal.

aliases
   cweb  call the web quickly without any output,
         same as web -nodump -quiet.
   tweb  same as web but tells explicitely
         that it expects chain text input.

HTTPS support
   SSL/TLS connections are supported with SFK Plus.
   read more under:
      stahlworks.com/sfkplus

return codes for chaining
   0 = ok    >0 = any error

see also
   sfk wfilt    download web text and filter it directly
   sfk wget     download file from http URL
   sfk view     GUI tool to search and filter text from
                an http URL interactively
   curl         powerful web request and download tool

web reference
   http://stahlworks.com/sfk-web

more in the SFK Book
   the SFK Book contains a 60 page tutorial, including
   an HTTP automation example with detailed explanations.
   type "sfk book" for details.

examples
   sfk web .100/getStatus.xml
      calls, for example, http://192.168.1.100/getStatus.xml
      and prints the xml reply to terminal

   sfk web 192.168.1.200/zones.xml +filter -+status
      calls http://192.168.1.200/zones.xml and extracts
      all lines containing "status".

   sfk web .100 +xex "_<head>**</head>_"
      gets main page from .100 and extracts html head tag.

   sfk filter ips.txt -form "$col1/xml/status.xml"
    +tweb -nodump
      calls many different urls based on a table of ips.
      option -nodump does not print the full result data
      but only a single status line.

   --- scripting example: ---
   +setvar error=""
   +setvar uptime=""
   +web -maxwait=2000 -noerr -status=:status:
      ".250/info.xml"
      +xex "_:status:*\tERR
            _[setvar error][part2][endvar]_"
           "_<uptime>*</uptime>
            _[setvar uptime][part2][endvar]_"
   +if -var "#(error) <> "
      stop -var 5 "no access (#(error))"
   +getvar
   --- scripting example end ---
      try to read an xml value "uptime" from info.xml
      on local IP .250 and show it by +getvar.
      if there is no connection or an HTTP error
      then stop instead with a text "no acess".