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curl cannot handle the x402 payment flow automatically — it does not have an x402 client library. However, you can use sandbox mode to test DocketLayer’s response structure from the command line without spending USDC.

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Check coverage (free, no payment)

curl https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/status
Find the court_code for the court you want to query in the courts array.

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Query in sandbox mode

Sandbox mode returns fixture data with no payment required. Add ?test=1 to any endpoint. 
# Basic context — case header and primary parties
curl "https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/case?test=1&case_id=1:24-cv-01234&court_code=nysd"

# With last_checked — includes delta block
curl "https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/case?test=1&case_id=1:24-cv-01234&court_code=nysd&last_checked=2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"

# Full context
curl "https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/case?test=1&case_id=1:24-cv-01234&court_code=nysd&context=full"

# Monitor endpoint
curl "https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/monitor?test=1&case_id=1:24-cv-01234&court_code=nysd&last_checked=2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"

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Batch in sandbox mode

curl -X POST "https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/cases/batch?test=1" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "queries": [
      {"case_id": "1:24-cv-01234", "court_code": "nysd"},
      {"case_id": "1:22-bk-11068", "court_code": "deb"}
    ]
  }'
For live paid queries, use the Python or JavaScript x402 client library — they handle the 402 challenge, transaction signing, and retry automatically. curl cannot replicate this flow without manual construction of the x402-payment header. See the Python quickstart or JavaScript quickstart for live query examples.

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Pretty-printing responses

Pipe responses through jq for readable output: 
curl -s "https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/case?test=1&case_id=1:24-cv-01234&court_code=nysd" | jq .

# Extract specific fields
curl -s "https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/status" | jq '.courts[] | {code: .court_code, name: .name, coverage: .coverage}'