When documenting URL redirections for legal purposes, we need a verifiable command-line method that produces timestamped evidence. Here's a comprehensive approach using standard tools available in Windows:
curl -v -L http://example.com/old-url 2>&1 | tee redirection_log.txt
This command will:
- -v: Show verbose output including HTTP headers
- -L: Follow redirects automatically
- 2>&1: Combine stderr and stdout
- tee: Save output to file while displaying it
[System.Net.HttpWebRequest] $request = [System.Net.WebRequest]::Create("http://example.com/old-url")
$request.AllowAutoRedirect = $false
$response = $request.GetResponse()
$response.StatusCode
$response.Headers["Location"]
telnet example.com 80 GET /old-url HTTP/1.1 Host: example.com
This manual approach shows raw HTTP responses including 301/302 status codes and Location headers.
For legal documentation, include:
- Full command with timestamp
- Complete output including headers
- Network conditions (public/private IP)
- Verification of SSL certificates when present
===================================== URL Redirection Trace Report Date: 2023-11-15 14:30 UTC Tool: curl 7.83.1 Command: curl -v -L http://ex.com/old 2>&1 ===================================== * Connected to ex.com (192.0.2.1) port 80 > GET /old HTTP/1.1 > Host: ex.com > < HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently < Location: https://ex.com/new < * Connection #0 left intact * Connecting to ex.com (192.0.2.1) port 443 > GET /new HTTP/2 > Host: ex.com > < HTTP/2 200
For complex redirect chains:
curl -v -L --max-redirs 10 --post301 --post302 --post303 http://start.url 2>&1
Parameters control redirect behavior and prevent infinite loops while documenting each hop.
When documenting URL redirections for legal purposes, we need to generate immutable evidence that clearly shows:
- The initial HTTP request
- The server's redirect response (status code 3xx)
- The final destination URL
For Windows systems, these command line tools provide the most reliable way to document redirections:
curl -v http://example.com/oldurl > redirect_log.txt
Example output that would be valuable for legal documentation:
> GET /oldurl HTTP/1.1
> Host: example.com
>
< HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
< Location: https://example.com/newurl
PowerShell provides more detailed control and output formatting:
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "http://example.com/oldurl" -MaximumRedirection 0 -UseBasicParsing | Select-Object StatusCode, Headers, RawContent | Out-File -FilePath .\redirect_evidence.txt
For complex cases with multiple hops:
curl -L -v http://example.com/starturl 2>&1 | tee full_redirect_chain.log
To create legally valid documentation:
1. Run commands in clean CMD/PowerShell session
2. Pipe output to timestamped log files
3. Include system information:
systeminfo > system_information.txt
4. Create MD5 checksums of output files:
certutil -hashfile redirect_evidence.txt MD5
For web developers needing more detailed analysis:
# Using HTTPie (modern curl alternative)
http --follow --headers --verbose example.com/oldurl
# Using WFetch (GUI tool that generates logs)
When collecting this evidence:
- Document exact date/time of tests
- Note network conditions
- Capture full HTTP headers (including cookies if relevant)
- Store raw output without modifications