Can curl make a connection to any TCP ports, not just HTTP/HTTPS?

Question

Can curl make a connection to any TCP ports not just HTTP/HTTPS

I need to check for an open port, for example: 11740.

Is this possible?

Answer 1

Yes, it's possible, the syntax is curl [protocol://]<host>[:port], for example:

curl example.com:1234 

If you're using Bash, you can also use pseudo-device /dev files to open a TCP connection, e.g.:

exec 5<>/dev/tcp/127.0.0.1/1234 echo "send some stuff" >&5 cat <&5 # Receive some stuff. 

^{See also: More on Using Bash's Built-in /dev/tcp File (TCP/IP).}