alt-svc

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alt-svc
Alternative Services, aka alt-svc, is an HTTP header that lets a server tell the client that there is one or more alternatives for that server at "another place" with the use of the Alt-Svc: response header.
The alternatives the server suggests can include a server running on another port on the same host, on another completely different host name and it can also offer the service over another protocol.
Enable
To make libcurl consider any offered alternatives by serves, you must first enable it in the handle. You do this by setting the correct bitmask to the CURLOPT_ALTSVC_CTRL option. The bitmask allows the application to limit what HTTP versions to allow, and if the "cache" file on disk should only be used to read from (not write).
Enable alt-svc and allow it to switch to either HTTP/1 or HTTP/2:
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_ALTSVC_CTRL, CURLALTSVC_H1|CURLALTSVC_H2);
Tell libcurl to use a specific alt-svc cache file like this:
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_ALTSVC, "altsvc-cache.txt");
libcurl holds the list of alternatives in a memory-based cache, but will load all already existing alternative service entries from the alt-svc file at start-up and consider those when doing its subsequent HTTP requests. If servers responds with new or updated Alt-Svc: headers, libcurl will store those in the cache file at exit (unless the CURLALTSVC_READONLYFILE bit was set).
The alt-svc cache
The alt-svc cache is similar to a cookie jar. It is a text based file that stores one alternative per line and each entry also has an expiry time for which duration that particular alternative is valid.
HTTPS only
Alt-Svc: is only trusted and parsed from servers when connected to over HTTPS.
HTTP/3
The use of Alt-Svc: headers is as of March 2022 still the only defined way to bootstrap a client and server into using HTTP/3. The server then hints to the client over HTTP/1 or HTTP/2 that it also is available over HTTP/3 and then curl can connect to it using HTTP/3 in the subsequent request if the alt-svc cache says so.
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Last modified 4mo ago
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