Print the GitHub Octocat With curl

Fetch GitHub's ASCII mascot from the public API.

LinuxcurlnetworkapiLow risk

Run curl -s https://api.github.com/octocat to print an ASCII Octocat.

01Command

Command

$ curl -s https://api.github.com/octocat

02What it does

GitHub's public meta endpoint returns the Octocat as ASCII art and is a harmless way to test HTTP access from a new machine. Add -H 'Accept: text/plain' to get clean text and combine it with a shell greeting for a fun login banner.

03Risk

RiskLow risk

Requirementscurl (preinstalled on most Linux distributions)

!Warning: GitHub rate-limits unauthenticated API requests, so avoid calling it in a tight loop.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

Get Octocat — GitHub REST API
GitHub · vendor-doc · 2026-09-20
Evidence: Official endpoint documentation for GET /octocat.

Last verified: 2026-09-20 · Category: Network

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