How to Handle Timeouts in an HTTP Request

Ever had your Laravel app freeze because an external API decided to take a coffee break? Here's how to prevent those awkward moments:

Use Laravel's HTTP client timeout methods to set appropriate limits:

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;

// Set timeout for single request
$response = Http::timeout(30) // 30 seconds
    ->get('https://api.slow-service.com/data');

// Connection timeout (separate from read timeout)
$response = Http::connectTimeout(5) // 5 seconds to connect
    ->timeout(30) // 30 seconds total
    ->get('https://api.example.com/data');

// Handle timeout exceptions
try {
    $response = Http::timeout(10)
        ->get('https://api.external.com/users');
        
    if ($response->successful()) {
        return $response->json();
    }
} catch (\Illuminate\Http\Client\ConnectionException $e) {
    // Connection failed or timeout
    Log::error('API request timeout: ' . $e->getMessage());
    return []; // Fallback response
}

Advanced timeout handling with retries:

class ExternalApiService
{
    public function fetchData($url)
    {
        try {
            return Http::timeout(15)
                ->connectTimeout(5)
                ->retry(3, 1000) // 3 retries with 1 second delay
                ->get($url)
                ->throw()
                ->json();
                
        } catch (\Illuminate\Http\Client\RequestException $e) {
            if ($e->getCode() === CURLE_OPERATION_TIMEOUTED) {
                Log::warning("Request timeout for URL: {$url}");
                throw new ApiTimeoutException('External service timeout');
            }
            
            throw $e;
        }
    }
}

Table Of Contents

• The Magic Behind Timeouts

The Magic Behind Timeouts

Timeouts are your safety net against unreliable external services. Laravel's HTTP client (powered by Guzzle) gives you two types: connection timeouts (how long to wait for initial connection) and read timeouts (how long to wait for the response).

Configuration for different scenarios:

// Quick health checks
$response = Http::timeout(5)->get('https://api.example.com/health');

// File uploads (longer timeout)
$response = Http::timeout(120)
    ->attach('file', $fileContent, 'document.pdf')
    ->post('https://api.example.com/upload');

// Bulk operations
$response = Http::timeout(300) // 5 minutes
    ->post('https://api.example.com/bulk-import', $largeDataset);

// Global timeout configuration
// In a service provider or base service class
Http::macro('apiClient', function () {
    return Http::timeout(30)
        ->connectTimeout(10)
        ->retry(2, 500)
        ->withHeaders(['User-Agent' => 'MyApp/1.0']);
});

// Usage
$response = Http::apiClient()->get('https://api.example.com/data');

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