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We have a RestFUL API we build in PHP. If we make the request:

curl -u api-key:api-passphrase https://api.domain.com/v1/product -X POST

We get back:

411 - Length Required

Though if we simply add -d "" onto the request it works and no 411 error. Is there a way to not require adding -d to the curl command?

We are using lighttpd web server, and believe its lighttpd NOT php who is returning the 411 error.

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You are correct -- lighttpd doesn't support POST requests with an empty message body without a 'Content-Length' header set to zero, and CURL sends such a request. There's argument back and forth about who's right, but in my opinion, lighttpd is broken. A POST with no Content-Length and no Transfer-Encoding is perfectly legal and has no message body.

Adding -d "" causes CURL to send a Content-Length: 0 header, which resolves the problem.

You could modify lighttp. Find the code that issues the 411 error and instead set the content length to zero.

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Thanks for the great explanation, so there is no flag to pass to curl besides -d "" or a config lighttpd directive to set? -d "" just looks like a hack. – Justin Sep 27 '11 at 8:37
It is a hack. If you want to fix the problem for real, you'd have to modify lighttpd. You can instead use -d @/dev/null if you think that looks better. You can also use -H "Content-Length: 0". (I tested both of these, they work.) – David Schwartz Sep 27 '11 at 8:50
Ok, thanks. -d "" seems to be the best option. – Justin Sep 27 '11 at 8:58
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