5xx Server errors

504 Gateway Timeout

A proxy waited too long for the server behind it. The request may still finish on the server.

Common causes

A slow request: a large report, an external API that hangs, a slow database query.
A proxy timeout (Cloudflare: about 100 seconds) shorter than the request.

How to fix a 504 error

1
Move long work to a queue job and show progress instead of waiting.
2
Add timeouts to external HTTP calls (Http::timeout(10)).
3
Find slow queries with the query log or EXPLAIN and add indexes.

Search error fixes for 504

In Laravel

Http::timeout(10)->retry(2, 200)->get($url) keeps a hanging API from holding the request.

Check the status of a URL

The first line of the response shows the status code; -L follows redirects and shows each step.

curl -I https://example.com/page
curl -IL https://example.com/old-page

Frequently asked questions

What does HTTP 504 mean?

A proxy waited too long for the server behind it. The request may still finish on the server.

How do I fix a 504 error?

Move long work to a queue job and show progress instead of waiting. Add timeouts to external HTTP calls (Http::timeout(10)). Find slow queries with the query log or EXPLAIN and add indexes.

How does Laravel handle 504?

Http::timeout(10)->retry(2, 200)->get($url) keeps a hanging API from holding the request.