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Troubleshooting 504 Gateway Timeout

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What is a 504 Error?

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Common Causes

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1. Slow Upstream Service

• Check your backend service logs
• Optimize slow database queries
• Add caching for expensive operations
• Scale your backend infrastructure

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2. Network Issues

• Verify your target URL is correct
• Check firewall rules
• Test connectivity: curl your-backend-url
• Ensure your backend is accessible from the internet

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3. Timeout Too Short

• Contact support to increase timeout limits
• Consider async processing for long-running tasks
• Use webhooks for callbacks instead of long-polling

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4. Backend Service Down

• Check if your backend is running
• Review your backend service health checks
• Check your hosting provider status page

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Debugging Steps

1. Check Recent Errors
   • Go to Logs in the dashboard
   • Filter by status code: 504
   • Look for patterns in timing
2. Test Direct Connection
   Copy

   curl -v https://your-backend.com/api/endpoint
   
3. Check Alerts
   • Review any triggered alerts
   • Look for error rate spikes
4. Review Metrics
   • Check P95/P99 latency
   • Identify slow endpoints

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Prevention

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Set Up Alerts

• Threshold: P95 > 5 seconds
• Action: Get notified immediately

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Add Health Checks

app.get("/health", (req, res) => {
  res.json({ status: "healthy" });
});

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Use Caching

• Redis cache
• CDN for static content
• Application-level caching

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Optimize Queries

• Add database indexes
• Use query pagination
• Implement connection pooling

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Still Having Issues?

1. Check the support chat
2. Create a support ticket with:
   • Route name
   • Timestamp of errors
   • Sample requests that fail
3. Contact support for timeout limit increases