How To Fix 413

How to Fix 413 Request Entity Too Large in Nginx

The 413 Request Entity Too Large error occurs when a client sends a request to the server that exceeds the maximum size allowed by the server. This error is usually caused by large file uploads or requests with large data payloads. Nginx, a popular web server, can be configured to handle this error in various ways. In this post, we will go over a few ways to fix the 413 error in Nginx.

Method 1: Increase client_max_body_size directive

The client_max_body_size directive in Nginx specifies the maximum size of the client request body. By default, this value is set to 1 megabyte. If your client request body is larger than this limit, you will get a 413 error. To fix this, you can increase the value of the client_max_body_size directive in your Nginx configuration file.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Open your Nginx configuration file. On Ubuntu or Debian, the file is located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf. On CentOS or Fedora, the file is located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf.

  2. Inside the http block, add the following line: client_max_body_size 20M; This sets the maximum client request body size to 20 megabytes. You can adjust this value to suit your needs.

  3. Save the file and exit.

  4. Restart Nginx to apply the changes:

sudo service nginx restart Or

sudo systemctl restart nginx

This method should fix the 413 error caused by large client request bodies.

Method 2: Increase the buffer size

The client_body_buffer_size and client_header_buffer_size directives in Nginx control the size of the buffer used to store the client request body and headers. By default, these values are set to 1K each. If your request body or headers are larger than these values, you will get a 413 error. To fix this, you can increase the buffer size.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Open your Nginx configuration file.

  2. Inside the http block, add the following lines:

client_body_buffer_size 10M; client_header_buffer_size 1k; This sets the buffer size for client request bodies to 10 megabytes and the buffer size for headers to 1 kilobyte. You can adjust these values to suit your needs.

  1. Save the file and exit.

  2. Restart Nginx to apply the changes: sudo service nginx restart Or sudo systemctl restart nginx

This method should fix the 413 error caused by large client request bodies or headers.

Method 3: Reverse proxy

Configuring Nginx as a reverse proxy is a common setup for web servers. A reverse proxy server is a server that sits between client devices and a web server, forwarding client requests to the web server and returning the server’s responses to the clients.

Here are the steps to configure Nginx as a reverse proxy:

  1. Open the configuration file you just created in a text editor and add the following code
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    }
}

This code creates a new server block for example.com that listens on port 80. The location / block defines the reverse proxy configuration. The proxy_pass directive specifies the IP address and port of the server you want to proxy requests to. In this case, it’s http://127.0.0.1:8080. The proxy_set_header directives add the necessary headers to the request.

  1. Save the configuration file and exit the text editor.

  2. Enable the new configuration: Use the following command to create a symbolic link to the /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ directory:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ Replace example.com with the name of your configuration file.

  1. Test the configuration: Use the following command to test the configuration: sudo nginx -t If there are no syntax errors, use the following command to restart Nginx: sudo service nginx restart