Adobe CQ5 AEM cURL Commands

The focus of this tutorial is on basic or most frequently used AEM cURL commands. There are no limit of number of cURL commands that you can use with AEM .In this tutorial, I will show you how to create any custom cURL command and few flavours of basic AEM cURL commands.

After completing this article you will have a clear understanding of :-

What is cUrl ?
How to install cUrl ?
How to find cURL command for any AEM Operation ?
List of useful AEM cURL commands and its usage ?

What is cUrl ?

cURL is an open source command line tool for performing URL Manipulations . It is designed for transferring data using various protocols like FTP, FTPS, Gopher, HTTP, HTTPS, IMAP, IMAPS, LDAP, LDAPS, POP3, POP3S, RTMP, RTSP, SCP, SFTP and many more. cURL was released in 1997 . The name cURL stands for “see URL“.

How to install cUrl ?

You can download cURL executable file from http://curl.haxx.se/dlwiz/ for your operating system or cURL from http://curl.haxx.se/download.html according to your operating system. Windows users can follow below steps if you have downloaded executable file :-

Unzip the tar file.
Set the Environmental Variable. Append the path of cURL.exe directory(D:\cURL\AMD64\) or custom path where you have unzipped the file to “Path variable”.
Open command prompt type curl –help and enter. If everything is ok u will get Curl basic commands syntaxes else you will get an error message “curl” is not recognized as internal or external batch command.

How to find cURL command for any AEM Operation?

In this article i have covered most frequently asked AEM cURL commands . But you are free to find out any cURL command used for any AEM operation. Follow below steps to know any AEM cURL command :-

Use FireFox –> Press F12 and open FireBug console.
Click on “NET” tab in FireBug and enable it by clicking “Enable”.
Perform any AEM operation on webpage.
Click “invoke”.
In FireBug console , you will see the full request URL when you take mouse on top of your request url under POST tab . Copy full path along with parameters from “POST” tab under it.
You got your URL that you can append at the end of cURL command and access the same resource using cURL.

Above process is very much useful for testers to automate AEM operations. Lets have a look at AEM cURL commands.

List of useful AEM cURL commands and its usage

As we all know AEM is based on REST protocol, it supports only http request and cURL can be used as a magical wand to do anything in AEM in just a blink.

I have divided cURL commands based on its usage into following sections :-

AEM User Management cURL commands.
AEM Package Management cURL commands.
AEM OSGI Bundle Management cURL commands.
AEM JCR Query builder cURL commands.
AEM Backup cURL commands.
AEM JCR Node Manangement cURL commands.
AEM Replication cURL commands.
AEM Page Management cURL commands.
Few AEM Miscellaneous cURL Commands.

AEM User Management cURL commands :

Below are the AEM cUrl commands for User Management : –

Create a new User using cURL AEM command

curl -u admin:admin -FcreateUser= -FauthorizableId=ankur-Frep:password=ankur http://localhost:4502/libs/granite/security/post/authorizables

Create a new user under specified folder

curl -u admin:admin -FcreateUser= -FauthorizableId=testuser -Frep:password=testuser -FintermediatePath="/home/users/test/" http://localhost:4502/libs/granite/security/post/authorizables

Create a new Group using cURL AEM command

curl -u admin:admin -FcreateGroup=testgroup -FauthorizableId=testGroup http://localhost:4502/libs/granite/security/post/authorizables

Add a Property to an existing User using cURL AEM command

curl -u admin:admin -Fprofile/age=30 http://localhost:4502/home/users/a/ankur.rw.html

Create a User with a profile using cURL AEM command

curl -u admin:admin -FcreateUser=testuser -FauthorizableId=ankura -Frep:password=ankur -Fprofile/gender=male http://localhost:4502/libs/granite/security/post/authorizables

Create a new User as a member of a Group using cURL AEM command

curl -u admin:admin -FcreateUser=testuser -FauthorizableId=testuser -Frep:password=abcd123 -Fmembership=contributor http://localhost:4502/libs/granite/security/post/authorizables

Add User to a Group using cURL AEM command

curl -u admin:admin -FaddMembers=testuser http://localhost:4502/home/groups/t/testGroup.rw.html

Remove a User from a Group using cURL AEM command

curl -u admin:admin -FremoveMembers=testuser http://localhost:4502/home/groups/t/testGroup.rw.html

Set a User’s Group Memberships using cURL AEM command

curl -u admin:admin -Fmembership=contributor -Fmembership=testgroup http://localhost:4502/home/users/t/testuser.rw.html

Delete user and Group using cURL AEM command

curl -u admin:admin -FdeleteAuthorizable= http://localhost:4502/home/users/t/testuser curl -u admin:admin -FdeleteAuthorizable= http://localhost:4502/home/groups/t/testGroup

Change a user password using cURL AEM command

curl -u testuser:OLD_PWD -F rep:password="NEW_PWD" http://localhost:4502/home/users/t/testuser.rw.html curl rep:password="test" –user admin:admin http://localhost:4502/home/users/a/[email protected]

AEM Package Management cURL commands:

Below are the AEM cUrl commands for Managing Packages in AEM :-

AEM cURL command for accessing Help Menu

curl -u admin:admin http://localhost:4502/crx/packmgr/service.jsp?cmd=help

AEM cURL command to get list of all the packages in your AEM instance

curl -u admin:admin http://localhost:4502/crx/packmgr/service.jsp?cmd=ls

Build or Rebuild an existing package using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -X POST http://localhost:4502/crx/packmgr/service/.json/etc/packages/my_packages/samplepackage.zip?cmd=build

Note:- my_packages/samplepackage.zip is the path of the package which need to be build

Delete a package using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -X POST http://localhost:4502/crx/packmgr/service/.json/etc/packages/my_packages/samplepackage.zip?cmd=delete

Install a package using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -X POST http://localhost:4502/crx/packmgr/service/.json/etc/packages/my_packages/samplepackage.zip?cmd=install

Uninstall a package using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -X POST http://localhost:4502/crx/packmgr/service/.json/etc/packages/my_packages/samplepackage.zip?cmd=uninstall

Download a package into local filesystem using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin http://localhost:4502/etc/packages/my_packages/samplepackage.zip &amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;local filepath&amp;amp;gt;

Upload but don’t install a package from File system using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -F file=@"C:\sample\samplepackage.zip" -F name="samplepackage" -F force=true -F install=false http://localhost:4502/crx/packmgr/service.jsp

Upload and Install a package from File system using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -F file=@"C:\sample\samplepackage.zip" -F name="samplepackage" -F force=true -F install=true http://localhost:4502/crx/packmgr/service.jsp

AEM OSGI Bundle Management cURL commands:

Below are the AEM cUrl commands for OSGI Bundle Management in AEM :-

Build a Bundle using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -F bundleHome=/apps/training/src/com.day.sample -F descriptor=/apps/training/src/com.day.sample/com.day.sample.bnd http://localhost:4502/libs/crxde/build

Start a Bundle using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin http://localhost:4502/system/console/bundles/com.day.sample -Faction=start

Stop a Bundle using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin http://localhost:4502/system/console/bundles/com.day.sample -Faction=stop

Install a Bundle from File system using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -F action=install -F bundlestartlevel=20 -F bundlefile=@"&amp;amp;lt;path of samplejar.jar&amp;amp;gt;" http://localhost:4502/system/console/bundles

AEM JCR Query builder cURL commands:

Below are the AEM cUrl commands for JCR search or JCR query builder in AEM :-

Find an Asset from the JCR using AEM cURL command

curl -s -u admin:admin GET "http://localhost:4502/bin/querybuilder.json?path=%2fcontent%2fgeometrixx%2fen&amp;amp;amp;property=fileReference&amp;amp;amp;property.value=%2fcontent%2fdam%2fgeometrixx%2fshapes%2ftri_equilateral.png&amp;amp;amp;type=nt%3aunstructured"

AEM Backup cURL commands:

Below are the AEM cUrl commands for OSGI Bundle Management in AEM :-

Initiate backup to a folder using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -X POST http://localhost:4502/system/console/jmx/com.adobe.granite%3Atype%3DRepository/op/startBackup/java.lang.String?target=C:\sampleFolder\backupTest.zip

Stop a running Backup using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -X POST http://localhost:4502/libs/granite/backup/content/admin/backups.cancel.html

Note:- You can also initiate backup through AEM Backup Console.

AEM JCR Node Manangement cURL commands:

Below are the AEM cUrl comands for JCR Node Management in AEM :-

Delete a Node using AEM cURL command

curl -X DELETE http://localhost:4502/content/geometrixx/en/products/jcr:content/par/flash -u admin:admin

Note:- You can delete any directory, node and siteusing above command, text after jcr:content is nodeName on which you need to perform action par/flash = Node Name

Create or Add a Node using AEM cURL command

curl --data jcr:primaryType=nt:unstructured --user admin:admin http://localhost:4502/content/geometrixx/en/toolbar/testNode

AEM Replication cURL commands:

Below are the AEM cUrl commands used for replication in AEM :-

Activate Page using cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -X POST -F path="/content/geometrixx/en/pag" -F cmd="activate" http://localhost:4502/bin/replicate.json

Deactivate Page using cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -X POST -F path="/content/geometrixx/en/pag" -F cmd="deactivate" http://localhost:4502/bin/replicate.json

Tree Activation(entire tree structure) using cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -F cmd=activate -F ignoredeactivated=true -F onlymodified=true -F path=/content/geometrixx/en/community http://localhost:4502/etc/replication/treeactivation.html

Note:- Change Path variable in script to activate or deactivate respective page.

AEM Page Management cURL commands:

Below are the AEM cUrl commands used for page management in AEM :-

Lock a Page using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -X POST -F cmd="lockPage" -F path="/content/geometrixx/en/toolbar/contacts" -F "_charset_"="utf-8" http://localhost:4502/bin/wcmcommand

Unlock a Page using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -X POST -F cmd="unlockPage" -F path="/content/geometrixx/en/toolbar/contacts" -F "_charset_"="utf-8" http://localhost:4502/bin/wcmcommand

Copy or Move a Page using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -F:operation=copy -F:dest=/content/geometrixx/en/products/contacts http://localhost:4502/content/geometrixx/en/toolbar/contacts

Few AEM Miscellaneous cURL Commands:

Below are the few miscellaneous AEM cUrl commands :-

Datastore Garbage Collection using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -X POST http://localhost:4502/system/console/jmx/com.adobe.granite:type=Repository/op/runDataStoreGarbageCollection/java.lang.Boolean

Tar Optimization using AEM cURL command

curl -u admin:admin -X POST http://localhost:4502/system/console/jmx/com.adobe.granite:type=Repository/op/startTarOptimization/

Flush Dispatcher Cache using AEM cURL command

curl -H "CQ-Action: Flush" -H "CQ-Handle: /content/geometrixx/en/products" -H "CQ-Path:/content/geometrixx/en/products" -H "Content-Length: 0" -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" http://dispatcher-server-hostname:port/dispatcher/invalidate.cache

Using JQ to log results from curls command and maintain logs.

JQ is a lightweight and flexible command-line JSON processor. Download jq

For example we want to get all assets based on a property under a specific folder and if that property is not present , then update it with node path on asset metadata in dam:newProperty and log them for further analysis.

#!/bin/bash -x
log=log.txt
o="$IFS"
IFS=$(echo -en "\n\b")
for ap in `curl -v -u "admin:admin" "http://localhost:4502/bin/querybuilder.json?path=/content/dam/we-retail/en/features&p.hits=selective&type=dam%3aAsset&property=jcr:content/metadata/dam%3anewProperty&property.operation=not&p.limit=-1" | ./jq-win64.exe '.hits[]."jcr:path"' | tr -d '"' | tr -d '\r'`; do
    cleanap=`echo "$ap" | sed 's/ /\%20/g'`
	responseCode=`curl -v -u "admin:admin" "http://localhost:4502$cleanap/jcr:content/metadata" -w '%{http_code}' --data "dam:newProperty=$ap"`;
	if [ "$responseCode" != "200" ]; then
		echo "`date` -- WARN: curl returned $responseCode status, could not modify $ap... cleaned URL was \"$cleanap\"" | tee -a $log
	else
		echo "`date` -- INFO: update property for $ap" | tee -a $log
	fi
done
IFS="$o"

In order to run above command, save it as .sh file and put jq-win64.exe in the same folder where your script file is present.

Above script mentioned should be executed using windows machine ,Now there is catch on how to run this script. By default when we run this script using Git bash. It adds system path along with node path as shown below

In order to avoid system path to be added to your custom property run above script using below command.

MSYS_NO_PATHCONV=1 ./yourscriptfilename.sh

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22 Responses to "Adobe CQ5 AEM cURL Commands"

Mark Chartov says:
November 12, 2015 at 9:25 pm
Thanks for this. There are precious few good AEM resources on the web, including at Adobe’s site.
Reply
Amit says:
December 7, 2015 at 10:51 am
Hello Ankur
could you please tell me how we can create a bundle in Aem and deploy it .
Reply
1. Ankur Ahlawat says:
  December 7, 2015 at 11:11 am
  I will write a short tutorial on how to create a bundle in aem and share with you soon. Probably by today or tomorrow 🙂
  Reply
  1. Ankur Ahlawat says:
    December 7, 2015 at 6:13 pm
    Hi Amit,
    Here is your Tutorials 🙂
    http://www.aemcq5tutorials.com/tutorials/create-osgi-bundle-in-aem/
    Reply
Dominic says:
December 11, 2015 at 12:08 pm
Thanks for these – very helpful. I’m an AEM newbie and wondering about this:
curl -u admin:admin -F file=@”C:\sample\samplepackage.zip” -F name=”samplepackage” -F force=true -F install=true http://localhost:4502/crx/packmgr/service.jsp
A) is a package just a bunch of files or is there a special config file in there too
B) how can I tell AEM what path to unbundle those files to using curl?
Thanks!
Reply
Krishna says:
January 28, 2016 at 4:26 pm
Hi Ankur,
Nice Article and its very use full.
Reply
SImbu says:
March 9, 2016 at 9:26 pm
This whole website is awesome… Thanks so much Ankur for sharing your knowledge on AEM……
Reply
Shubha Kirani says:
March 31, 2016 at 5:41 pm
Finding curl command myself with firbug is simply awesome. Thank you for such useful article.
Reply
Yoni says:
August 2, 2016 at 7:52 pm
Hi Ankur,
I’m having trouble using the cUrl download command in my Java class. The same command works from the cmd, so I don’t think it’s a syntax issue. Any insights?
Thank you,
Yoni.
Reply
guru says:
November 2, 2016 at 8:33 pm
I used below curl command to Deactivate Page using cURL command, i get 200 response;
In CRXDE Lite , i still see page properties has not changed-isDeactivated= false.
curl -u admin:admin -X POST -F path=”/content/cn/zh_cn/cities/sh/sessions/46003/” -F cmd=”deactivate” http://localhost:4502/bin/replicate.json
how to verify that “page is actually deactivated”?
Thanks
Reply
Parveen says:
November 21, 2016 at 6:18 am
Hi,
is there any curl command to change the target url of publisher in author replication tab. I have done google for it but did not get any luck.
Reply
Max Barrass says:
November 21, 2016 at 11:59 pm
There is also an extensive list here, with these examples and more:
https://github.com/paulrohrbeck/aem-links
Reply
Anshuman says:
May 3, 2017 at 8:31 pm
i am using CURL to install AEM package. After installation , not able to see user and TimeStamp information in console.
is there any away to do it using CURL command?
Reply
venkat says:
May 30, 2017 at 11:52 am
can any one know how to verify whether all the bundles are up or not using curl command?
Regards,
Venkat
Reply
Vinod Junghare says:
June 8, 2017 at 8:27 am
Hi Anhur,
I am have been trying above curl commands though does not get those working, right now I have requirement to kind of replace existing pages and add new pages into CQ which we get from Development team as part of release. Can you please help me with some example here , I tried copy command but this does not work for me.
Reply
Devang Bagora says:
November 13, 2017 at 8:59 am
Hi Ankur
Is there any curl command present for fetching JCR nodes ( including child ) data as JSON.
Thanks
Reply
Michelle Faltz says:
February 28, 2018 at 8:23 pm
Hi Ankur,
I am developing an application outside of our AEM instance(s). I have need of a query to get metadata for a given node in AEM and this is an example of the query I am using.
http://server:port/some/given/path/to/{nodename}.json
Using the browser I get metadata that is current and I can see the modified timestamp cq:lastModified: “Wed Feb 28 2018 13:01:42 GMT-0500”
However, when I perform the same get in Java using HttpGet, I am getting old metadata and the timestamp reflects this
“cq:lastModified”: “Wed Feb 28 2018 12:25:56 GMT-0500”,
Is there a cache issue going on here? And how to get around it? Thanks.
Reply
Kevin Buchs says:
March 16, 2018 at 9:14 pm
You may wish to make a slight correction for the examples for Change a user password using cURL AEM command”
1| curl -u “testuser:OLD_PWD” -F “rep:password=NEW_PWD” http://localhost:4502/home/users/t/testuser.rw.html 
2| curl -u “admin:admin” -F “rep:password=test” http://localhost:4502/home/users/a/[email protected]
That is, make it two lines, keep the parameters in the same order. I’m not sure, but I think the URL for the first line should end with just “/testuser”.
Reply
Meeti says:
March 21, 2018 at 10:07 am
Can i upload multiple packages at same time in my local using CURL command?
Reply
AEM – Best approaches for Maintenance Releases and Validating Packages - Devopscracks says:
May 16, 2018 at 11:02 am
[…] Best URL to prefer : http://www.aemcq5tutorials.com/tutorials/adobe-cq5-aem-curl-commands/ […]
Reply
Chelluri Keshav Vinay says:
December 18, 2018 at 5:05 am
can i create tags using curl?If yes, can any one please help me with that.Im new to aem.
Reply
Neetin says:
July 12, 2021 at 3:10 pm
We are on AEM 6.5.5
We want to delete multiple pages
By using below curl command we are able to do only one page at time
curl -X DELETE “http://localhost:4502/path/to/page” -u admin:admin
Is there any way to delete multiple pages at a time through curl???
Reply