HTTP status · 4xx — client error
413 Content Too Large
The request body exceeds the limit the server is willing to process.
Key facts
| Class | 4xx — client error |
|---|---|
| Standard | RFC 9110 §15.5.14 |
| Renamed from | Payload Too Large |
| Cause | Body larger than the server limit |
| May include | Retry-After or Connection: close |
| Fix | Compress, paginate or raise the limit |
The limit is configured, not universal
Every proxy, application server and framework has its own request-body ceiling. A 413 can come from an edge proxy that never reaches your code, which is why application logs sometimes show nothing. The response may arrive before the client finishes uploading; servers are allowed to close the connection early.
Fixing it safely
Compress text payloads, split large collections into pages, upload files directly to object storage with a presigned URL, or raise the limit deliberately. Raising a limit without adding timeouts and size validation shifts the problem to memory exhaustion. Check both the proxy and the application layer.
Frequently asked questions
Is 413 a server bug?
Usually not. It means the request exceeded a configured limit. The fix is on the sending side or in the limit configuration.
Why does curl show 413 immediately?
The server can reject based on Content-Length before reading the body, and may close the connection at once.
What is the difference between 413 and 431?
413 concerns the body; 431 concerns oversized request headers.