curl/docs/cmdline-opts/trace-ascii.md

---
c: Copyright (C) Daniel Stenberg, <daniel@haxx.se>, et al.
SPDX-License-Identifier: curl
Long: trace-ascii
Arg: <file>
Help: Like --trace, but without hex output
Mutexed: trace verbose
Category: verbose
Added: 7.9.7
Multi: single
Scope: global
See-also:
  - verbose
  - trace
Example:
  - --trace-ascii log.txt $URL
---

# `--trace-ascii`

Enables a full trace dump of all incoming and outgoing data, including
descriptive information, to the given output file. Use `-` as filename to have
the output sent to stdout.

This is similar to --trace, but leaves out the hex part and only shows the
ASCII part of the dump. It makes smaller output that might be easier to read
for untrained humans.

Note that verbose output of curl activities and network traffic might contain
sensitive data, including usernames, credentials or secret data content. Be
aware and be careful when sharing trace logs with others.
docs/cmdline: change to .md for cmdline docs - switch all invidual files documenting command line options into .md, as the documentation is now markdown-looking. - made the parser treat 4-space indents as quotes - switch to building the curl.1 manpage using the "mainpage.idx" file, which lists the files to include to generate it, instead of using the previous page-footer/headers. Also, those files are now also .md ones, using the same format. I gave them underscore prefixes to make them sort separately: _NAME.md, _SYNOPSIS.md, _DESCRIPTION.md, _URL.md, _GLOBBING.md, _VARIABLES.md, _OUTPUT.md, _PROTOCOLS.md, _PROGRESS.md, _VERSION.md, _OPTIONS.md, _FILES.md, _ENVIRONMENT.md, _PROXYPREFIX.md, _EXITCODES.md, _BUGS.md, _AUTHORS.md, _WWW.md, _SEEALSO.md - updated test cases accordingly Closes #12751 2024-01-21 06:18:43 +08:00			`---`
copyright: update all copyright lines and remove year ranges - they are mostly pointless in all major jurisdictions - many big corporations and projects already don't use them - saves us from pointless churn - git keeps history for us - the year range is kept in COPYING checksrc is updated to allow non-year using copyright statements Closes #10205 2023-01-02 20:51:48 +08:00			`c: Copyright (C) Daniel Stenberg, <daniel@haxx.se>, et al.`
docs/cmdline-opts: add copyright and license identifier to each file gen.pl now insists on C: and SPDX-License-Identifier: fields to be present in all files. Closes #9002 2022-06-14 06:12:03 +08:00			`SPDX-License-Identifier: curl`
cmdline-docs: more options converted and fixed Now all options are in the new system. 2016-11-28 08:01:13 +08:00			`Long: trace-ascii`
			`Arg: <file>`
			`Help: Like --trace, but without hex output`
			`Mutexed: trace verbose`
docs: add categories to all cmdline opts Adapted gen.pl with 'listcats' This commit is a part of "--help me if you can" Closes #5680 2020-07-13 20:15:04 +08:00			`Category: verbose`
cmdline-opts: made the 'Added:' field mandatory Since "too old" versions are no longer included in the generated man page, this field is now mandatory so that it won't be forgotten and then not included in the documentation. Closes #7786 2021-09-28 17:50:07 +08:00			`Added: 7.9.7`
cmdline/docs: add a required 'multi' keyword for each option The keyword specifies how option works when specified multiple times: - single: the last provided value replaces the earlier ones - append: it supports being provided multiple times - boolean: on/off values - mutex: flag-like option that disable anoter flag The 'gen.pl' script then outputs the proper and unified language for each option's multi-use behavior in the generated man page. The multi: header is requires in each .d file and will cause build error if missing or set to an unknown value. Closes #9759 2022-10-18 16:39:43 +08:00			`Multi: single`
docs/cmdline-opts: mark all global options gen.pl now outputs a generic explanations for them for each option Fixes #10566 Reported-by: u20221022 on github Closes #10584 2023-02-21 23:42:26 +08:00			`Scope: global`
docs/cmdline: change to .md for cmdline docs - switch all invidual files documenting command line options into .md, as the documentation is now markdown-looking. - made the parser treat 4-space indents as quotes - switch to building the curl.1 manpage using the "mainpage.idx" file, which lists the files to include to generate it, instead of using the previous page-footer/headers. Also, those files are now also .md ones, using the same format. I gave them underscore prefixes to make them sort separately: _NAME.md, _SYNOPSIS.md, _DESCRIPTION.md, _URL.md, _GLOBBING.md, _VARIABLES.md, _OUTPUT.md, _PROTOCOLS.md, _PROGRESS.md, _VERSION.md, _OPTIONS.md, _FILES.md, _ENVIRONMENT.md, _PROXYPREFIX.md, _EXITCODES.md, _BUGS.md, _AUTHORS.md, _WWW.md, _SEEALSO.md - updated test cases accordingly Closes #12751 2024-01-21 06:18:43 +08:00			`See-also:`
			`- verbose`
			`- trace`
			`Example:`
			`- --trace-ascii log.txt $URL`
cmdline-docs: more options converted and fixed Now all options are in the new system. 2016-11-28 08:01:13 +08:00			`---`
docs/cmdline: change to .md for cmdline docs - switch all invidual files documenting command line options into .md, as the documentation is now markdown-looking. - made the parser treat 4-space indents as quotes - switch to building the curl.1 manpage using the "mainpage.idx" file, which lists the files to include to generate it, instead of using the previous page-footer/headers. Also, those files are now also .md ones, using the same format. I gave them underscore prefixes to make them sort separately: _NAME.md, _SYNOPSIS.md, _DESCRIPTION.md, _URL.md, _GLOBBING.md, _VARIABLES.md, _OUTPUT.md, _PROTOCOLS.md, _PROGRESS.md, _VERSION.md, _OPTIONS.md, _FILES.md, _ENVIRONMENT.md, _PROXYPREFIX.md, _EXITCODES.md, _BUGS.md, _AUTHORS.md, _WWW.md, _SEEALSO.md - updated test cases accordingly Closes #12751 2024-01-21 06:18:43 +08:00
			# `--trace-ascii`

cmdline-docs: more options converted and fixed Now all options are in the new system. 2016-11-28 08:01:13 +08:00			`Enables a full trace dump of all incoming and outgoing data, including`
cmdline-docs: quote and angle bracket cleanup - make sure angle brackets are escaped - remove a lot of superfluous double quotes - replace several double quotes with backticks To make nicer-looking markdown. Closes #12884 2024-02-07 01:07:07 +08:00			descriptive information, to the given output file. Use `-` as filename to have
cmdline-docs: more options converted and fixed Now all options are in the new system. 2016-11-28 08:01:13 +08:00			`the output sent to stdout.`

docs: reduce use of "very" "Very" should be avoided in most texts. If intensifiers are needed, try find better words instead. Closes #7936 2021-11-01 20:43:11 +08:00			`This is similar to --trace, but leaves out the hex part and only shows the`
			`ASCII part of the dump. It makes smaller output that might be easier to read`
			`for untrained humans.`
docs/cmdline: add small "warning" to verbose options "Note that verbose output of curl activities and network traffic might contain sensitive data, including user names, credentials or secret data content. Be aware and be careful when sharing trace logs with others." Closes #11596 2023-08-04 22:07:16 +08:00
			`Note that verbose output of curl activities and network traffic might contain`
docs: more language cleanups - present tense - avoid bad words Closes #13003 2024-02-27 17:35:28 +08:00			`sensitive data, including usernames, credentials or secret data content. Be`
docs/cmdline: add small "warning" to verbose options "Note that verbose output of curl activities and network traffic might contain sensitive data, including user names, credentials or secret data content. Be aware and be careful when sharing trace logs with others." Closes #11596 2023-08-04 22:07:16 +08:00			`aware and be careful when sharing trace logs with others.`