504 Gateway Timeout in nginx - Rocketeers app

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504 Gateway Timeout in nginx
============================

### [\#Errors](https://rocketeersapp.com/knowledge/errors)

A 504 Gateway Timeout means nginx reached your application, but the application took too long to respond. Unlike a 502, the backend is alive, it is just slow.

 Published by [Mark van Eijk](https://rocketeersapp.com/author/mark-van-eijk) on June 23, 2026 · 1 minute read

1. [About error 504](#content-about-error-504)
2. [Why do I see this error](#content-why-do-i-see-this-error)
3. [Solution](#content-solution)

[\#](#content-about-error-504 "Permalink")About error 504
---------------------------------------------------------

A `504 Gateway Timeout` is returned when nginx, acting as a reverse proxy, successfully connects to the upstream server but does not receive a complete response within the configured timeout window.

This is the key difference with a [502 Bad Gateway](/502-bad-gateway-nginx): with a 502 the backend gave a bad or no connection, with a 504 the connection was fine but the response never arrived in time.

[\#](#content-why-do-i-see-this-error "Permalink")Why do I see this error
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The backend is taking longer than nginx is willing to wait. Common reasons:

- A slow database query or a missing index.
- A long running job (report generation, export, image processing) handled inside the request instead of a queue.
- A slow external API call the request depends on.
- PHP's own `max_execution_time` is lower than the work needs.

By default nginx waits 60 seconds (`proxy_read_timeout` for proxied apps, `fastcgi_read_timeout` for PHP-FPM) before giving up.

[\#](#content-solution "Permalink")Solution
-------------------------------------------

For a PHP-FPM application, raise the FastCGI read timeout in your `server` or `location` block:

 ```
location ~ \.php$ {
    fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
    fastcgi_read_timeout 120s;
    include fastcgi_params;
}

```

For a proxied application (Node, Octane, a separate service), raise the proxy timeouts instead:

 ```
location / {
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
    proxy_read_timeout 120s;
    proxy_send_timeout 120s;
}

```

PHP has its own limit too, so raise that as well or nginx will outwait a script that PHP already killed:

 ```
; php.ini
max_execution_time = 120

```

Reload after changing the configuration:

 ```
systemctl reload nginx
systemctl reload php8.3-fpm

```

Raising timeouts is a bandage, not a cure. The real fix is to make the request fast: add the missing database index, or move slow work (emails, exports, third-party calls) into a background queue so the request returns immediately. See [optimizing server performance](/optimize-server-performance) for more.

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