414 🌐 HTTP

HTTP 414 URI Too Long

The request URL (usually the query string) is longer than the server will accept.

Seen on: Nginx Apache

Meaning

Servers cap URL length — around 8 KB in Nginx/Apache by default, and browsers/CDNs have their own limits. Long URLs usually come from stuffing data (filters, IDs, base64) into GET parameters or from redirect loops that keep appending parameters.

Common causes

  • Large data sent as GET query parameters (long ID lists, JSON, base64)
  • Redirect loop appending ?next= or ?redirect= repeatedly
  • Tracking parameters accumulating
  • Search/filter UIs encoding all state into the URL

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Send large payloads in a POST body instead
  2. Fix redirect loops that keep growing the URL
  3. Store filter state server-side and pass a short ID
  4. Raise server limits only as a last resort

Detailed fix by platform

Nginx

  1. Raise header buffer (URL is part of the request line):
    nginx
    large_client_header_buffers 4 32k;

Apache

  1. LimitRequestLine 16384 in the server config (not .htaccess).

How to diagnose

  1. Length — How long is the URL?
  2. Content — What is in the query string?
  3. Loop — Is it growing on each redirect?

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