cURL and libcurl: Still Actively Developed and Evolving

cURL and libcurl: Yes, Development Continues

One of the most frequent questions I encounter at conferences and presentations about cURL is: "Is cURL still being actively developed?" This question often comes from individuals not deeply familiar with the cURL project or the broader internet protocol landscape, which, frankly, describes much of the general public. Yet, it consistently surprises me. Can software projects ever truly be "finished"? Do people genuinely believe that adding new protocols is the only remaining task for cURL?

Everything Changes

Consider other industries: new car models are released annually despite roads largely remaining the same for decades, and new browser versions ship every few weeks even though the web appears consistent to most casual users. Even products like shoes and bicycles see new iterations each year.

Despite appearances to distant observers, very little in this world remains static over time. This holds especially true for the internet, the web, and data transfer methods. Just five years ago, internet transfers differed significantly from how we approach them today, with new proposals and tweaks emerging monthly.

Stagnation leads to irrelevance and eventually, demise. As standards, browsers, and user expectations evolve, so too must cURL. It needs to adapt and keep pace to maintain its relevance. We are committed to continuously improving cURL, ensuring it meets and surpasses user demands. Our goal is to drive internet transfer technologies forward, helping users achieve better, more efficient, and more secure operations. We embrace the responsibility of supporting much of the world's infrastructure.

Potential for Decades of Evolution

Having worked on this project for decades, one realization, entirely unforeseen in the past, is the potential for cURL to remain alive and widely used for many more decades. This longevity is fueled by the 'nothing-ever-stops' nature of our world and, naturally, by the vast existing user base and usage.

Current development must be approached with care, a strong sense of responsibility, and the foresight that whatever we merge today will likely be carried forward for several decades – at minimum. At a recent cURL meeting, I led a session titled '100-year cURL,' where I explored thoughts on what the project needs to consider and work on if we believe cURL should indeed celebrate its 100th birthday in the future. It's a slightly overwhelming (perhaps even terrifying) prospect, but in my opinion, not entirely unrealistic. When you consider it, we've already covered almost 30% of the journey toward that milestone.

"But It Looks the Same!"

Another common follow-up comment is: 'I first used cURL decades ago, and it still looks the same.' This leads to a related, somewhat amusing question: 'You've said you’ve worked on cURL full-time since 2019, but what do you actually do all day?'

We work hard to maintain backward compatibility and ensure existing use cases remain unbroken. If you don't notice changes and your command lines continue to function seamlessly, it confirms we're doing things right. cURL is designed to perform its function reliably and unobtrusively. It aims to be mostly boring. A dull stack is often a good stack.

We have refactored and rearranged the internal architecture of cURL and libcurl multiple times and continue to do so regularly as we integrate new concepts, ideas, and adapt to an ever-evolving world. However, we never allow this to impact the API, the ABI, or break any previously working cURL tool command lines.

I personally believe this commitment to stability in multiple facets is cURL's secret superpower. It's the one thing we've truly accomplished and consistently upheld: stability in an unstable world.

More Active Than Ever

By any metric of project activity, such as commit frequency, the cURL project is currently undergoing more development and at a higher pace than at any other point in its history. We do this to provide you and everyone else with the best, most reliable, fastest, most feature-rich, best-documented, and most secure internet transfer library on the planet.