Send JSON with cURL in Kotlin
Paste a curl command that sends JSON and get idiomatic Kotlin code. We pick the right serialization for OkHttp and set the correct Content-Type.
Quick answer
To convert a cURL command to Kotlin, paste it into the Toolpaper workbench below. It parses the command in your browser and emits idiomatic Kotlin code — headers, query string, request body, authentication (Bearer, Basic, API key), and cookies are all wired up automatically. No data is uploaded; conversion is fully client-side.
Prefer a different target? See the full cURL to Kotlin reference, or jump to the same guide in JavaScript, Node.js, or Python.
import okhttp3.*
import okhttp3.MediaType.Companion.toMediaTypeOrNull
import okhttp3.RequestBody.Companion.toRequestBody
val client = OkHttpClient.Builder().followRedirects(false).followSslRedirects(false).build()
val body = "{\"name\":\"Ada\",\"email\":\"ada@example.com\"}".toRequestBody("application/json".toMediaTypeOrNull())
val request = Request.Builder()
.url("https://api.example.com/users")
.method("POST", body)
.header("Content-Type", "application/json")
.build()
client.newCall(request).execute().use { response ->
println(response.body?.string())
}Example
A representative curl command for this scenario. Paste your own above to convert an exact match.
curl -X POST https://api.example.com/users \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"name":"Ada","email":"ada@example.com"}'Implementation notes
- Content-Type is detected from -H headers first, then inferred from the body shape when the header is missing.
- JSON bodies are parsed and re-emitted through OkHttp's serializer so quoting stays consistent with what the server expects.
- Charset directives on Content-Type (e.g. application/json; charset=utf-8) survive the round trip.
Common mistakes
- Setting Content-Type manually and then also using OkHttp's helper — you end up with duplicate headers or the wrong one wins.
- Mixing form encoding with JSON headers — the server rejects with 400 and it's easy to miss in code review.
- Trusting the browser DevTools "Copy as cURL" to preserve charset — it often drops it. Clean panel restores common defaults.
Common questions
- How is JSON encoded in the generated Kotlin?
- Toolpaper detects Content-Type: application/json and emits idiomatic OkHttp JSON serialization (json= for requests, Response.json for Go, etc.).
- Does it preserve Content-Type?
- Yes. The Content-Type header is honored and matched against the body so serialization stays consistent.
- Is anything uploaded?
- No. Parsing and generation happen entirely in your browser.
More payload types in Kotlin
Kotlin hub →The same guide in other languages
All guides →In JavaScript
/how-to/send-json-with-curl-in-javascript
In Node.js
/how-to/send-json-with-curl-in-node
In Python
/how-to/send-json-with-curl-in-python
In Go
/how-to/send-json-with-curl-in-go
In PHP
/how-to/send-json-with-curl-in-php
In Ruby
/how-to/send-json-with-curl-in-ruby
In Rust
/how-to/send-json-with-curl-in-rust
In Java
/how-to/send-json-with-curl-in-java
Full Kotlin reference on the cURL to Kotlin hub, or open the main converter for all 18 targets.