Getting LibCurl to work with Visual Studio 2013

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I am having trouble getting LibCurl to work with Visual Studio 2013. I downloaded the current version (curl-7.33.0) and tried following the instructions I found on this site: Using LibCurl with Visual 2010

But I can't find curllib.lib in the folder I downloaded. And I am still getting errors: enter image description here

After searching the internet for more help. I now get these error messages. There appears to be a problem with linking to libcurl.lib?

enter image description here

This is what I have configured: enter image description here

enter image description here

Inside /lib I have libcurl.lib and libcurl.dll

UPDATE

I downloaded this release for Win32 MSVC: http://curl.haxx.se/download.html#Win32 After adding the libcurl libraries and successfully compiling, I am now getting this error message:

 The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b). Click OK to close the application.

Here is the sample code I am trying to run:

#include <iostream>
#include <stdio.h> 
#include <curl/curl.h> 


int main(void)
{
    CURL *curl;
    CURLcode res;

    curl = curl_easy_init();
    if (curl) {
        curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, "http://google.com");
        res = curl_easy_perform(curl);

        /* always cleanup */
        curl_easy_cleanup(curl);
    }
    return 0;
}

FINAL UPDATE

I believe I have gotten LibCurl to work with Visual Studio 2013 now. Persistence ftw! Although, after spending hours trying to solve these error messages, I am a little hesitant at saying everything is working fine now. That is why I am putting a bounty on this question to get clear and concise instructions on getting LibCurl to work with Visual Studio 2013.

This is what I did to get it to work:

  1. First, download the Win32 MSVC package here: http://curl.haxx.se/download.html#Win32 For these instructions sake, let's say you downloaded to C:\LibCurl

  2. Start a new project in Visual Studio. Go to Project|Project Properties|VC++ Directories|Include Directories| Add the path to the include directory inside the downloaded package. (C:\LibCurl\include)

  3. Next, go to Project|Project Properties|Linker|General|Additional Library Directories| Add the path to the lib directory. (Where curllib.dll is located)

  4. Then, go to Project|Project Properties|Linker|Input|Additional Dependencies| And add curllib.lib

  5. Now if you compile a test program, you will likely get the message saying libsasl.dll is missing. You will need to download this file and put it in the same directory as your build. I used 7-Zip to extract libsasl.dll from OpenLDAP for Windows. OpenLDAP for Windows

This is the result of my test code from above: enter image description here

c++
visual-c++
dll
libcurl
asked on Stack Overflow Nov 24, 2013 by Quaxton Hale • edited Apr 21, 2014 by Preet Kukreti

10 Answers

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A lot of these instructions are out of date because they recommend the win32-ssl-devel-msvc package for curl, which no longer exists.

The following instructions allow you to build libcurl using only:

  • Visual Studio 2013
  • curl generic source tarball (tested on curl 7.44.0).

A. Build libcurl static library

  1. Download the latest curl generic source from: http://curl.haxx.se/latest.cgi?curl=tar.gz
  2. Extract the source to a local directory (we'll be using C:\libcurl)
  3. Open a command prompt
  4. "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 12.0\VC\bin\vcvars32.bat" To initialize your VC environment variables (adjust your VS 2013 installation directory as needed)
  5. cd C:\libcurl\winbuild
  6. nmake /f Makefile.vc mode=static VC=12
  7. The build should appear in C:\libcurl\builds\libcurl-vc12-x86-release-static-ipv6-sspi-winssl

B. Link Against libcurl in Visual Studio

  1. In Visual Studio, right click your project in Solution Explorer, then click "Properties"
  2. Configuration Properties > C/C++ > General > Additional Include Directories: add C:\libcurl\builds\libcurl-vc12-x86-release-static-ipv6-sspi-winssl\include
  3. Configuration Properties > C/C++ > Preprocessor > Preprocessor Definitions: add CURL_STATICLIB
  4. Configuration Properties > Linker > General > Additional Library Directories: add C:\libcurl\builds\libcurl-vc12-x86-release-static-ipv6-sspi-winssl\lib
  5. Configuration Properties > Linker > Input > Additional Dependencies: add libcurl_a.lib

C. Call libcurl from Your Project

The following sample shows a call to libcurl:

#include "stdafx.h"

#include <curl/curl.h>

void main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
    CURL *curl = curl_easy_init();
    if (curl) printf("curl_easy_init() succeeded!\n"); 
    else fprintf(stderr, "Error calling curl_easy_init().\n");
}
answered on Stack Overflow Aug 23, 2015 by mtlynch
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I would say that in a comment, but I am lacking in points. You don't have to copy any .dll into your program run catalog. Go to Project | Properties | Configuration Properties and in line Envrionment write: PATH=$(ExecutablePath)$(LocalDebuggerEnvironment).

From now on, all .dlls from any catalog you mention in Project|Project Properties|VC++ Directories|Binary should be usable without copying them.

The rest is exactly as you written.

answered on Stack Overflow Nov 29, 2013 by Michał • edited Mar 29, 2014 by Michał
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The easiest way to do this that I found is first make sure that nuget is installed.

http://www.nuget.org/

Then create your project.

Then go to http://www.nuget.org/packages/curl/ and follow the instructions which is to go the package manager console and type PM> Install-Package curl

If you then look for the packages directory in your project directory, you will find the include files and the library files. Note that there is a version for Visual Studio 110, not 120, but because libcurl is a C library you can use it with Visual Studio 2013. Make sure the include directory and lib directory are specified under the Visual C++ directories in project properties.

Make sure you have the following files as addition input to the linker libcurl.lib;libeay32.lib;ssleay32.lib;Ws2_32.lib;libssh2.lib;zlib.lib;wldap32.lib;

answered on Stack Overflow Dec 2, 2013 by John Bandela
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Another way to use curl/libcurl is build with CMake v2.8.12+ (assuming that git is already installed on your computer)

Open cmd window and change dir to appropriate folder

git clone https://github.com/bagder/curl.git
mkdir msbuild
cd msbuild
cmake ..\curl -G"Visual Studio 12 Win64" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=C:\curl.vc12 -DCURL_STATICLIB=ON
< ... lots of output here ... >

Open generated CURL.sln in Visual studio and build it.

CMake options I use in example

-G selects build generator. In our case Visual Studio 2013 64 bit target

-DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX - provides root folder where targets should be installed

-DCURL_STATICLIB=ON - generates build for static library

After building install target, your will find bin/include/lib folders in C:\curl.vc12

Provide those path to your solution and build your code with curl lib.

answered on Stack Overflow Dec 3, 2013 by Sergei Nikulov • edited Dec 3, 2013 by Sergei Nikulov
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I tried to do it from scratch with VS2012 (I don't have 2013) and it works perfectly.

So, I'm not sure what your problem is, but:

  • Make sure you download the right archive.
  • Try to put the cURL folder on a path without space.
  • If you know someone who use VS2012 or older, try your code with the same include and lib and see if it works.
  • Paste a minimal working example of your code so I can test it.
answered on Stack Overflow Nov 25, 2013 by Nil
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This is a bit late, but for those who still have problems, this method worked best for me:

  1. Add VS to the system PATH:
    For example: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 12.0\VC\bin.
  2. Download current curl-X.zip from http://curl.haxx.se/download.html and unzip.
  3. Open command line at curl-X/winbuild.
  4. Call vcvars32.bat.
  5. Call nmake /f Makefile.vc mode=static VC=12.
  6. Goto curl-X/builds/libcurl-XXX.

There you find the includes and a libcurl_a.lib. This lib works fine for me.
Remember to define -DCURL_STATICLIB when you compile your code with this lib.

answered on Stack Overflow Feb 21, 2015 by David
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For Visual Studio 2017, the steps in link worked for me. In case the link expires or specifically for those who download the libcurl zip file instead of cloning from GitHub, I will note down the steps here.

  1. Set environment variables with “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Community\VC\Auxiliary\Build\vcvarsall.bat” x64. If the command is successful, you will see a message that says Environment initialized for 'x64'

  2. Download and extract the compressed libcurl file from download libcurl. I used the .zip file.

  3. cd into winbuild directory inside the extracted libcurl folder.
  4. Run nmake /f Makefile.vc mode=dll MACHINE=x64 to build. For more information on build options, please refer to BUILD.WINDOWS text file in winbuild folder.
  5. Go up one directory level and cd into builds folder to find the compiled files.

All the best!

answered on Stack Overflow Dec 26, 2017 by kovac
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The problem is that the targets for the default VS2013 platform tools are not set in the NuGet packages. This is why it works in VS2012 but not VS2013. I manually created replacement targets files. Instructions and download:

https://github.com/evoskuil/curl-nuget-targets

answered on Stack Overflow Mar 11, 2014 by evoskuil
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Download the curl v7.37.0 source code and use the Visual Studio project files provided.

I've spent the last few weeks polishing my own personal project files, that were based off the original VC6 files, and adding them to the repository.

.dsw / .dsp (VC6), .sln / .vcproj (VC7, VC7.1, VC8 and VC9 as well as .sln / .vcxproj (VC10, VC11 and VC12) files are provided for both DLL and Static Library builds with support for OpenSSL and Windows SSPI / SChannel in both Win32 and x64 configurations.

answered on Stack Overflow May 21, 2014 by Steve Holme • edited May 21, 2014 by Jamal
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I found an easy way to get it work in VC++ using the latest package. I basically followed the steps in Using libcurl in Visual Studio. The libcurl and VC++ are very old in the instruction.

First download the ZIP file on download page https://curl.haxx.se/download.html The ZIP package is https://curl.haxx.se/download/curl-7.50.1.zip

Go to projects-> Windows\VC10 (or your version of VC)\lib\libcurl.sln, open the project in VC++.

Build the project in DLL Release. DLL debug doesn't work on my VC++.

Go to build\Win32\VC10\DLL Release, you can find the lib and dll files generated from previous step.

Create a folder new, with include and lib folders. Copy the libcurb.dll and libcurb.lib whatever is in the DLL Release folder to the new\lib. Copy everything in curl-7.50.1\include to new\include folder.

C++ Properties -> Configuration Properties -> VC++ Directories, add new\include to Include Directories, new\lib to Library Directories; add new\lib to Linker -> General -> Additional Library Directories, add libcurl.lib to Linker -> Input -> Additional Dependencies

It seems that I have to put the dll file under the same folder with executable file.

It should work.

answered on Stack Overflow Aug 24, 2016 by Daisy • edited Aug 25, 2016 by Daisy

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