HTTP 414 URI Too Long — Request URL Exceeds Server Limit
Warning4xx client error
Overview
HTTP 414 URI Too Long occurs when the URL exceeds the server's maximum length, typically due to excessive query parameters or misconfigured redirects.
Key Details
- Most servers limit URL length to 2,048-8,192 characters
- nginx defaults to 4,096 characters for the URI
- Apache defaults to 8,190 characters
- GET requests encode all data in the URL, which can exceed limits
- Redirect loops can append parameters until the URL exceeds the limit
Common Causes
- GET request with too many or too long query parameters
- Redirect loop appending parameters on each iteration
- Form using GET method with large data payload
- Base64-encoded data passed in the URL
- Server configured with a very low URI length limit
Steps
- 1Convert GET requests with large data to POST requests (data goes in the body)
- 2Check for redirect loops that accumulate query parameters
- 3Increase server URI limit: nginx: large_client_header_buffers 4 16k; Apache: LimitRequestLine 16384
- 4Shorten URLs by using path parameters instead of query strings where possible
- 5If passing large data, use request body instead of URL parameters
Tags
http414uri-too-longurl-limitrequest
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ErrorFrequently Asked Questions
There is no official HTTP limit. Browsers cap at around 2,000-65,000 characters. Servers have configurable limits, typically 4,000-8,000 characters.