413 Content Too Large
The request body (typically a file upload) exceeds the server's configured limit. The server may close the connection after responding. This is a 413 in RFC 9110 (previously called "Payload Too Large" in RFC 7231).
What can I do?
- The file you're trying to upload is too large. Try compressing it or using a smaller file.
- If the problem persists after retrying, contact the site owner.
How to debug & fix
- Increase the limit in your server config (nginx: client_max_body_size; express: body-parser limit)
- Implement client-side size checks before upload
- Return the maximum allowed size in the response body
- Consider multipart streaming for very large files
- Implement client-side validation before upload: check file.size against the known limit to give instant feedback.
Code Example
// Express: increase body limit
app.use(express.json({ limit: '10mb' }));
app.use(express.urlencoded({ limit: '10mb' }));
// Return 413 explicitly:
app.post('/upload', (req, res) => {
if (req.headers['content-length'] > MAX_SIZE) {
return res.status(413).json({ error: 'File too large', maxBytes: MAX_SIZE });
}
});Related Status Codes
How HTTP Status Codes Work
Every HTTP response carries a three-digit status code that tells the client — browser, API consumer, or search-engine crawler — exactly what happened. The first digit defines the class: 1xx informational (request in progress), 2xx success, 3xx redirection, 4xx client error (bad request, missing auth, not found), and 5xx server failure.
Status codes are standardised in RFC 9110 (HTTP Semantics, 2022). Extensions like WebDAV (RFC 4918) and rate-limit headers (RFC 6585) added codes beyond the core set. When a client receives an unrecognised code, the rule is to treat it as the generic x00 of its class.
Why the Right Code Matters
Semantically correct codes help search engines index accurately (301 passes link equity; 410 removes pages faster than 404), allow API clients to implement correct retry logic (429 + Retry-After, 503 + Retry-After), and let monitoring systems distinguish bugs (500) from load issues (503) from auth failures (401/403).
Looking up a different status code? The full reference covers all HTTP codes with causes, fix guides, and copyable code examples for Node.js and Python.
Browse the full HTTP Status Code reference →