CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE_LARGE(3) Library Functions Manual
NAME
CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE_LARGE - maximum file size allowed to download
SYNOPSIS
#include <curl/curl.h>
CURLcode curl_easy_setopt(CURL *handle, CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE_LARGE,
curl_off_t size);
DESCRIPTION
Pass a curl_off_t as parameter. This specifies the maximum accepted
size (in bytes) of a file to download. If the file requested is found
larger than this value, the transfer is aborted and
CURLE_FILESIZE_EXCEEDED is returned. Passing a zero size disables
this, and passing a negative size yields a CURLE_BAD_FUNCTION_ARGUMENT.
If the size is known to exceed the limit before the transfer starts,
libcurl aborts before starting the transfer. If the transfer instead
exceeds the limit while it is in progress, libcurl aborts it at that
point.
Since 8.20.0, this option also stops ongoing transfers that would reach
this threshold due to automatic decompression using
CURLOPT_ACCEPT_ENCODING(3).
DEFAULT
0, meaning disabled.
PROTOCOLS
This functionality affects ftp, http and mqtt
EXAMPLE
int main(void)
{
CURL *curl = curl_easy_init();
if(curl) {
CURLcode result;
curl_off_t ridiculous = (curl_off_t)1 << 48;
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, "https://example.com/");
/* refuse to download if larger than ridiculous */
curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE_LARGE, ridiculous);
result = curl_easy_perform(curl);
}
}
AVAILABILITY
Added in curl 7.11.0
HISTORY
Before curl 8.4.0, the limit was not applied to transfers in progress.
RETURN VALUE
curl_easy_setopt(3) returns a CURLcode indicating success or error.
CURLE_OK (0) means everything was OK, non-zero means an error occurred,
see libcurl-errors(3).
SEE ALSO
CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE(3), CURLOPT_MAX_RECV_SPEED_LARGE(3)
libcurl 2026-07-05 CURLOPT_MAXFILESIZE_LARGE(3)
curl 8.21.0 - Generated Mon Jul 6 07:44:59 CDT 2026