curl_global_cleanup(3) Introduction to Library Functions
curl_global_cleanup - global libcurl cleanup
#include <curl/curl.h>
void curl_global_cleanup(void);
This function releases resources acquired by curl_global_init(3).
You should call curl_global_cleanup(3) once for each call you make to
curl_global_init(3), after you are done using libcurl.
This function is thread-safe since libcurl 7.84.0 if
curl_version_info(3) has the CURL_VERSION_THREADSAFE feature bit set
(most platforms).
If this is not thread-safe, you must not call this function when any
other thread in the program (i.e. a thread sharing the same memory)
is running. This does not just mean no other thread that is using
libcurl. Because curl_global_cleanup(3) calls functions of other
libraries that are similarly thread-unsafe, it could conflict with
any other thread that uses these other libraries.
See the description in libcurl(3) of global environment requirements
for details of how to use this function.
curl_global_cleanup(3) does not block waiting for any libcurl-created
threads to terminate (such as threads used for name resolving). If a
module containing libcurl is dynamically unloaded while
libcurl-created threads are still running then your program may crash
or other corruption may occur. We recommend you do not run libcurl
from any module that may be unloaded dynamically. This behavior may
be addressed in the future.
libcurl may not be able to fully clean up after multi-threaded
OpenSSL depending on how OpenSSL was built and loaded as a library.
It is possible in some rare circumstances a memory leak could occur
unless you implement your own OpenSSL thread cleanup. Refer to
libcurl-thread(3).
This functionality affects all supported protocols
int main(void)
{
curl_global_init(CURL_GLOBAL_DEFAULT);
/* use libcurl, then before exiting... */
curl_global_cleanup();
}
Added in curl 7.8
None
curl_global_init(3), libcurl(3), libcurl-thread(3)
libcurl 2026-01-08 curl_global_cleanup(3)
NAME
curl_global_cleanup - global libcurl cleanup
SYNOPSIS
#include <curl/curl.h>
void curl_global_cleanup(void);
DESCRIPTION
This function releases resources acquired by curl_global_init(3).
You should call curl_global_cleanup(3) once for each call you make to
curl_global_init(3), after you are done using libcurl.
This function is thread-safe since libcurl 7.84.0 if
curl_version_info(3) has the CURL_VERSION_THREADSAFE feature bit set
(most platforms).
If this is not thread-safe, you must not call this function when any
other thread in the program (i.e. a thread sharing the same memory)
is running. This does not just mean no other thread that is using
libcurl. Because curl_global_cleanup(3) calls functions of other
libraries that are similarly thread-unsafe, it could conflict with
any other thread that uses these other libraries.
See the description in libcurl(3) of global environment requirements
for details of how to use this function.
CAUTION
curl_global_cleanup(3) does not block waiting for any libcurl-created
threads to terminate (such as threads used for name resolving). If a
module containing libcurl is dynamically unloaded while
libcurl-created threads are still running then your program may crash
or other corruption may occur. We recommend you do not run libcurl
from any module that may be unloaded dynamically. This behavior may
be addressed in the future.
libcurl may not be able to fully clean up after multi-threaded
OpenSSL depending on how OpenSSL was built and loaded as a library.
It is possible in some rare circumstances a memory leak could occur
unless you implement your own OpenSSL thread cleanup. Refer to
libcurl-thread(3).
PROTOCOLS
This functionality affects all supported protocols
EXAMPLE
int main(void)
{
curl_global_init(CURL_GLOBAL_DEFAULT);
/* use libcurl, then before exiting... */
curl_global_cleanup();
}
AVAILABILITY
Added in curl 7.8
RETURN VALUE
None
SEE ALSO
curl_global_init(3), libcurl(3), libcurl-thread(3)
libcurl 2026-01-08 curl_global_cleanup(3)