HTTP 413 Payload Too Large — Request Entity Size Limit

Overview

HTTP 413 Payload Too Large means the request body exceeds the server's configured maximum size limit for uploads or POST data.

Key Details

• Server rejected the request because the body exceeds its size limit
• Common with file uploads, large form submissions, and API payloads
• Nginx default is 1MB (client_max_body_size), Apache default is ~2GB
• Cloudflare free plan limits uploads to 100MB
• The server may close the connection before the full body is received

Common Causes

• Uploading files larger than the server or proxy allows
• Nginx client_max_body_size set too low for your use case
• CDN or WAF enforcing upload size limits
• PHP post_max_size or upload_max_filesize too small

Steps

1. 1For Nginx: increase client_max_body_size in nginx.conf (e.g., client_max_body_size 50M;)
2. 2For Apache: increase LimitRequestBody in httpd.conf or .htaccess
3. 3For PHP: increase both upload_max_filesize and post_max_size in php.ini
4. 4For Node.js/Express: set bodyParser limit (app.use(express.json({ limit: '50mb' })))
5. 5If using a CDN, check their upload limits (Cloudflare: 100MB free, 500MB pro)

Tags

More in 4xx Client Error

Frequently Asked Questions