Articles/HTTP

HTTP 504 Gateway Timeout — What It Means

What HTTP status code 504 Gateway Timeout means, when servers return it, and how to handle it correctly.

Published September 26, 2026

HTTP 504 Gateway Timeout — A gateway or proxy server didn't receive a timely response from an upstream server.

Key points

  • Means a proxy or gateway timed out waiting for a response from an upstream server
  • Common when a backend request takes longer than the proxy's configured timeout, e.g. a slow database query
  • Increasing the timeout only helps if the slow operation is expected — otherwise fix the underlying slowness
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