414 URI Too Long
4xx client error
The URL is longer than the server is willing to process.
414 means the request target — the path plus the query string — is longer than the server allows. Common limits sit around 8 KB: nginx's large_client_header_buffers defaults to 8k per line and Apache's LimitRequestLine to 8190 bytes. The usual culprit is data in the query string that belongs in a request body.
| Class | 4xx Client Error |
|---|---|
| Retry? | No — change the request first |
| Cacheable by default | Yes (heuristically, per RFC 9110) |
| Response body | Allowed |
| Defined in | RFC 9110 §15.5.15 — 414 URI Too Long |
HTTP/1.1 414 URI Too Long
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 24
{"error":"URI Too Long"}Common causes
- Huge query strings: long id lists, filters, or base64 data in the URL.
- Redirect loops that append a parameter on every hop.
- Forms using GET with very large fields.
How to fix it
- Move large inputs into a POST body.
- Fix redirect loops that keep growing the URL.
- Raise
large_client_header_buffers(nginx) orLimitRequestLine(Apache) only if long URLs are genuinely needed.
Useful here: URL Encoder / Decoder
Send a 414 from your server
res.status(414).json({ error: "URI Too Long" });return Response.json({ error: "URI Too Long" }, { status: 414 });return {"error": "URI Too Long"}, 414http.Error(w, "URI Too Long", http.StatusRequestURITooLong)
return 414;
Check what a URL returns
Print just the status line from the command line, or check a whole list of URLs at once, with their response headers, in the HTTP Status Checker.
curl -sI https://example.com/your-path | head -n 1
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum URL length?
HTTP sets no fixed limit; RFC 9110 recommends supporting at least 8,000 octets. Browsers handle far longer URLs, but servers, proxies and CDNs commonly cap around 8 KB, so stay well below that.