---
title: "408 error (Request Timeout)"
description: "The HTTP 408 error appears when a client fails to send its request within the server's time limit. See common causes, fixes and how 408 differs from 504."
url: "https://nodea.io/en/glossary/http-408-error"
lang: "en"
updated: "2026-07-13"
---

# 408 error (Request Timeout)

> The 408 Request Timeout error is an HTTP status code returned when the server closes a connection because the client failed to deliver a complete request within the allowed time window.

**The 408 error** (Request Timeout) is an [HTTP](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/http) status code indicating that the server closed a connection because the client failed to transmit a complete request within the allotted time. Unlike most 4xx errors it says nothing about the request's content — only about its pace. The server simply stopped waiting.

## How the 408 error works

A web server keeps an idle connection open only for a configured period, governed by directives such as RequestReadTimeout in Apache or client\_header\_timeout and client\_body\_timeout in Nginx. If the request headers or body do not arrive within that window, the server responds with 408 and drops the connection. Common scenarios include a slow or unstable client connection, an interrupted upload of a large file, a mobile app that opened a socket and went silent, or an overloaded proxy or [load balancer](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/load-balancer) aggressively reaping idle sessions. Note that some browsers pre-open spare connections they never use, so an occasional 408 in the logs is perfectly normal.

## Practical applications

For end users the remedy is usually trivial: reload the page, check the connection quality or disable a flaky VPN. Administrators should look at patterns instead of single events. If 408s cluster around file uploads, raise the body-read timeouts and size limits; if they appear in bursts under normal traffic, the limits may be too strict or the server too busy — monitoring [TTFB](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/ttfb) and connection counts helps pinpoint which. A flood of deliberately slow requests is the signature of a slowloris attack, mitigated with modules like mod\_reqtimeout, per-IP connection caps and rate limiting at the reverse proxy or CDN layer.

### What is the difference between a 408 and a 504 error?

A 408 concerns the client-to-server leg: the client did not deliver its request in time. A 504 (Gateway Timeout) happens between servers — a gateway or reverse proxy gave up waiting for a response from the upstream application server behind it.

## Related

- [500 error (Internal Server Error)](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/http-500-error)
- [HTTP](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/http)
- [TTFB](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/ttfb)
- [Load balancer](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/load-balancer)
- [Bandwidth](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/bandwidth)

---

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