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AWS CloudTrail VS cURL

Compare AWS CloudTrail VS cURL and see what are their differences

AWS CloudTrail logo AWS CloudTrail

AWS CloudTrail is a web service that records AWS API calls for your account and delivers log files to you.

cURL logo cURL

cURL is a computer software project providing a library and command-line tool for transferring data...
  • AWS CloudTrail Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18
  • cURL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-13

AWS CloudTrail features and specs

  • Comprehensive Logging
    AWS CloudTrail provides detailed logging of all API calls made within your AWS environment, helping you maintain accountability and transparency.
  • Enhanced Security
    By logging activities, CloudTrail helps in detecting unusual behavior and potential security threats, allowing for timely response.
  • Compliance and Auditing
    CloudTrail logs are crucial for regulatory compliance and auditing purposes, supporting frameworks such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS.
  • Integration
    CloudTrail integrates seamlessly with other AWS services like CloudWatch and AWS Lambda, enabling automated responses to specific activities.
  • Event History
    Access historical event records for your AWS account, enabling analysis and troubleshooting of past issues.
  • Data Retention
    CloudTrail allows you to define policies for retaining log data, ensuring that logs are available as long as needed for audits and investigations.

Possible disadvantages of AWS CloudTrail

  • Costs
    While CloudTrail's basic tier is free, there are costs associated with advanced features and long-term log storage, which can add up for large organizations.
  • Complexity
    Managing and analyzing a large volume of logs can become complex and time-consuming, especially without additional tools and expertise.
  • Performance Impact
    While minimal, there may be a slight performance overhead associated with logging large volumes of AWS API calls.
  • Incomplete Coverage
    Not all AWS services and features support CloudTrail logging, potentially leaving gaps in visibility for certain activities.
  • Latency
    There is some latency involved in the delivery of log data, which might delay real-time monitoring and response in critical scenarios.
  • Data Exposure Risk
    If not properly secured, CloudTrail logs themselves could become a target for attackers seeking sensitive information about your AWS environment.

cURL features and specs

  • Versatility
    cURL supports a wide range of protocols including HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and many more, making it a highly versatile tool for developers.
  • Cross-Platform
    cURL can be used on various operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing consistency across different environments.
  • Command-Line Usage
    It can be easily used from the command line, enabling quick and powerful interactions with web services without the need for a graphical interface.
  • Automation
    cURL can be incorporated into scripts for automation, making it essential for repetitive tasks such as automated testing or continuous integration.
  • Support for Multiple Data Formats
    It can work with multiple data formats such as JSON, XML, and form-urlencoded, making it flexible for interacting with various APIs.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source tool, cURL is free to use and has a large community that contributes to its continuous improvement and support.

Possible disadvantages of cURL

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For beginners, the variety of options and parameters available can be overwhelming, requiring time and effort to become proficient.
  • Limited Error Messages
    cURL sometimes provides minimal error messages, which can make debugging issues more complicated, especially for new users.
  • Security Concerns
    Improper handling of SSL certificates or sensitive data could lead to security vulnerabilities, requiring users to be cautious and knowledgeable.
  • Not User-Friendly
    As a command-line tool, it lacks a graphical user interface, which can make it less accessible for users who are not comfortable with terminal commands.
  • Manual Configuration
    Requires manual configuration for advanced options, which can be time-consuming and cumbersome for complex tasks.

AWS CloudTrail videos

AWS Cloudtrail vs Cloudwatch in 15 minutes | AWS tutorial for beginners

More videos:

  • Review - AWS re:Invent 2018: Augmenting Security & Improving Operational Health w/ AWS CloudTrail (SEC323)

cURL videos

BOUNCE CURL REVIEW | Curl Review Series #2

More videos:

  • Review - CURLS BLUEBERRY BLISS REVIEW | Curl Review Series #1
  • Review - Curls Triple Threat Review // Frizz Free Curly Hair
  • Tutorial - How to use CURL

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to AWS CloudTrail and cURL)
API Tools
47 47%
53% 53
APIs
65 65%
35% 35
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Web Service Automation
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare AWS CloudTrail and cURL

AWS CloudTrail Reviews

We have no reviews of AWS CloudTrail yet.
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cURL Reviews

Top 20 Open Source & Cloud Free Postman Alternatives (2024 Updated)
cURL is a widely used command-line tool for transferring data with URLs. It supports a multitude of protocols, making it a versatile choice for API testing.
Source: medium.com
Top 10 HTTP Client and Web Debugging Proxy Tools (2023)
The uniqueness of cURL above others is that it supports different types of protocols, like HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, SFTP, POP3 SCP, and more. As a developer, you have to understand how cURL works.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, cURL should be more popular than AWS CloudTrail. It has been mentiond 121 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

AWS CloudTrail mentions (15)

  • Strengthening Security and Compliance in AWS Cloud Services & The Essential Role of AI Verification.
    AWS CloudTrail AWS IAM: A service that allows you to manage access to AWS services and resources securely. https://aws.amazon.com/cloudtrail/. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Serverless AWS Account Watcher
    All actions in your account get recorded in the AWS CloudTrail application in AWS. This trail of everything that happens in your account will likely have a huge number of entries in it as it records pretty much everything that happens in your account. You can do queries on it and also download the logs and perform whatever processing you wish. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Programmatically reacting to S3 bucket external access exposures
    It uses CloudTrail events up to 90 days in the past and creates a tailor-made policy for the role based on the activity. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • AWS Security Survival Kit
    We know that CloudTrail is the bare minimum service to activate on a newly created AWS Account to track all activities on your AWS account. It helps, but this will not alert you to suspicious activities by itself. You still have to check periodically if something has gone wrong in multiple services and the console. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Receiving Slack notifications when CloudTrail logging gets turned off
    Amazon CloudTrail is the surveillance camera for our accounts. It records every API call that any users or roles make. If we have multiple accounts set up in AWS Organizations, we can create a central trail in the management account. We can then enable logging to all accounts and all regions. Or, if we use Control Tower to set up the account structure, we don't need to do anything because it will automatically... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
View more

cURL mentions (121)

  • Most Effective Approaches for Debugging Applications
    Complex applications, with their interwoven layers of front-end, back-end, and database logic, often obscure bugs. Simplifying the problem by isolating components—such as a React component, a REST API endpoint, or a PostgreSQL query—helps developers focus on the failure point. Spencer Romenco, Chief Growth Strategist at Growth Spurt, shares a case study: “Simplifying and isolating the problem has always been the... - Source: dev.to / 6 days ago
  • The Inflation of "Security Researchers" and Its Consequences for Open Source
    A well-documented case that illustrates this problem is CVE-2020-19909, which was recently reassigned as a "critical" vulnerability in Curl — despite being a decades-old, non-exploitable bug. This case exposes the systemic flaws in how CVEs are assigned and scored [Daniel Stenberg’s blog][Hacker News discussion]. - Source: dev.to / 29 days ago
  • Python for Beginners: Chapter 2 – Building Your First REST API with Flask
    For POST, PUT, and DELETE, you'll need a tool like Postman or curl. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • How to Build a CRUD API with Laravel for Beginners
    To test the API, you can use a tool like Postman or cURL. Here are the routes you can test:. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Open Source Developer Patronage Programs: A Sustainable Future for FOSS
    Projects like curl and Homebrew have successfully leveraged patronage programs to achieve financial sustainability. These examples highlight the potential for other projects to follow suit and secure the funding necessary for continued innovation. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing AWS CloudTrail and cURL, you can also consider the following products

Postman - The Collaboration Platform for API Development

Insomnia REST - Design, debug, test, and mock APIs locally, on Git, or cloud. Build better APIs collaboratively for the most popular protocols with a dev‑friendly UI, built-in automation, and an extensible plugin ecosystem.

DreamFactory - DreamFactory is an API management platform used to generate, secure, document, and extend APIs.

Sentinet - API Management and SOA Governance for enterprises and developers

HTTPie - CLI HTTP that will make you smile. JSON support, syntax highlighting, wget-like downloads, extensions, and more.

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform - Anypoint Platform is a unified, highly productive, hybrid integration platform that creates an application network of apps, data and devices with API-led connectivity.