Common API calls

The following examples address common scenarios of using the Cloudflare API to manage and configure WAF content scanning.

If you are using Terraform, refer to Terraform configuration examples.

General operations

The following API examples cover basic operations such as enabling and disabling WAF content scanning.

Enable WAF content scanning

To enable content scanning, use a POST request similar to the following:

Required API token permissions

At least one of the following token permissions is required:

• Zone WAF Write
• Account WAF Write

Enable Content Scanning

curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/content-upload-scan/enable" \
  --request POST \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN"

Disable WAF content scanning

To disable content scanning, use a POST request similar to the following:

Required API token permissions

At least one of the following token permissions is required:

• Zone WAF Write
• Account WAF Write

Disable Content Scanning

curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/content-upload-scan/disable" \
  --request POST \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN"

Get WAF content scanning status

To obtain the current status of the content scanning feature, use a GET request similar to the following:

Required API token permissions

At least one of the following token permissions is required:

• Zone WAF Write
• Zone WAF Read
• Account WAF Write
• Account WAF Read

Get Content Scanning Status

curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/content-upload-scan/settings" \
  --request GET \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN"

Custom expression operations

The following API examples cover operations on custom scan expressions for content scanning.

Get existing custom scan expressions

To get a list of existing custom scan expressions, use a GET request similar to the following:

Required API token permissions

At least one of the following token permissions is required:

• Zone WAF Write
• Zone WAF Read
• Account WAF Write
• Account WAF Read

List Existing Custom Scan Expressions

curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/content-upload-scan/payloads" \
  --request GET \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN"

{
  "result": [
    {
      "id": "<EXPRESSION_ID>",
      "payload": "lookup_json_string(http.request.body.raw, \"file\")"
    }
  ],
  "success": true,
  "errors": [],
  "messages": []
}

Add a custom scan expression

Use a POST request similar to the following:

Required API token permissions

At least one of the following token permissions is required:

• Zone WAF Write
• Account WAF Write

Add Custom Scan Expressions

curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/content-upload-scan/payloads" \
  --request POST \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  --json '[
    {
        "payload": "lookup_json_string(http.request.body.raw, \"file\")"
    }
  ]'

Delete a custom scan expression

Use a DELETE request similar to the following:

Required API token permissions

At least one of the following token permissions is required:

• Zone WAF Write
• Account WAF Write

Delete a Custom Scan Expression

curl "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/content-upload-scan/payloads/$EXPRESSION_ID" \
  --request DELETE \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN"