# lexiforest/curl_cffi

Python binding for curl-impersonate fork via cffi. A http client that can impersonate browser tls/ja3/http2 fingerprints.

Repository: https://github.com/lexiforest/curl_cffi
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/curl_cffi
Homepage: https://curl-cffi.readthedocs.io/
Language: Python
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: curl, http-client, curl-impersonate, http, https, ja3, ja3-fingerprint, tls-fingerprint, fingerprinting, web-scraping, akamai-fingerprint, http2-fingerprint, http3-fingerprints, quic-fingerprints, ja4, ja4-fingerprint
Last push: 2026-08-25T10:57:50+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 99/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 99, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1638, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 8, "gap_med": 10, "n_releases_24m": 50}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6390, forks 543 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:43.017770+00:00)

## What it is
curl_cffi is a Python binding for a curl-impersonate fork via cffi, providing an HTTP client that can impersonate browser TLS/JA3, HTTP/2, and HTTP/3 fingerprints. It serves as a drop-in alternative to requests or httpx when websites block requests based on client fingerprinting.

## Use cases
- scrape websites that block requests based on TLS fingerprints
- make HTTP requests that look like a real Chrome browser
- bypass Cloudflare or Akamai bot detection in Python
- replace requests/httpx when getting blocked for no obvious reason
- send requests with custom JA3/JA4 fingerprints
- test HTTP/3 and QUIC fingerprint behavior
- debug TLS fingerprinting with a curl CLI

## When to choose
- your Python HTTP requests are blocked by anti-bot systems like Cloudflare or Akamai
- you need browser-like TLS/JA3/HTTP2 fingerprints from Python
- you want a fast curl-based client with requests-like API

## When to avoid
- you just need a simple HTTP client with no fingerprint requirements
- you need a pure-Python dependency without native binaries
- you target Python versions older than 3.10

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: http-client, web-scraping, security
- domain: web-development, crawlers, security, developer-tools
- platform: python, cross-platform, cli
- tags: curl-impersonate, tls-fingerprint, ja3, ja4, http2-fingerprint, anti-bot-bypass, cffi, browser-impersonation

## Member repositories
- lexiforest/curl_cffi (main) score 99

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:43.017770+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:45:03.285730+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/lexiforest/curl_cffi (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:43.017770+00:00, sha 78ed9a37e891)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.