Welcome to a tutorial on how to send JSON data with PHP CURL. Need to send some data using CURL in the JSON format?
To send JSON data with PHP CURL, simply json_encode()
the data before sending it out:
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, "http://site.com");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, ["KEY" => json_encode(["VALUE", "VALUE"])]);
$result = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);
That covers the quick basics, but let us walk through more examples – Read on!
ⓘ I have included a zip file with all the source code at the start of this tutorial, so you don’t have to copy-paste everything… Or if you just want to dive straight in.
QUICK SLIDES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DOWNLOAD & NOTES
Firstly, here is the download link to the example code as promised.
QUICK NOTES
If you spot a bug, feel free to comment below. I try to answer short questions too, but it is one person versus the entire world… If you need answers urgently, please check out my list of websites to get help with programming.
EXAMPLE CODE DOWNLOAD
Click here to download all the example source code, I have released it under the MIT license, so feel free to build on top of it or use it in your own project.
SEND JSON DATA WITH PHP CURL
All right, let us now get into the examples of sending JSON data with PHP CURL.
CURL POST JSON DATA
<?php
// (A) CURL INIT
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, "http://localhost/dummy.php");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
// (B) SET DATA TO SEND
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, [
"name" => "Jon Doe",
"email" => "jon@doe.com",
// NOTE - JSON ENCODE - ARRAY TO STRING
"colors" => json_encode(["Red", "Green", "Blue"])
]);
// (C) CURL SEND
$result = curl_exec($ch);
if (curl_errno($ch)) { echo curl_error($ch); }
else { echo $result; }
curl_close($ch);
This should be pretty self-explanatory.
- Use
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true)
to specify there is POST data. - Then, append the data itself using
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, [KEY => VALUE]
. - Lastly,
json_encode()
whichever field you need to send in JSON format.
CURL GET JSON DATA
<?php
// (A) DATA TO QUERY STRING
$data = [
"name" => "Jon Doe",
"email" => "jon@doe.com",
// TAKE NOTE - JSON ENCODED COLORS
"colors" => json_encode(["Red", "Green", "Blue"])
];
$data = "?" . http_build_query($data);
// (B) CURL INIT
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, "http://localhost/dummy.php" . $data);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
// (C) CURL SEND
$result = curl_exec($ch);
if (curl_errno($ch)) { echo curl_error($ch); }
else { echo $result; }
curl_close($ch);
How about using GET to send data then? This should not be a surprise – Instead of setting CURLOPT_POST
, we directly encode the data array into a query string and append it to the URL.
USEFUL BITS & LINKS
That’s all for the tutorial, and here is a small section on some extras and links that may be useful to you.
LINKS & REFERENCES
- JSON Encode – PHP
- JSON Decode – PHP
- CURL – PHP
INFOGRAPHIC CHEAT SHEET

THE END
Thank you for reading, and we have come to the end. I hope that it has helped you to better understand, and if you want to share anything with this guide, please feel free to comment below. Good luck and happy coding!