---
title: "C13. Set an Overall Timeout"
order: 13
status: "draft"
---

The three timeouts from [C12. Set timeouts](../c12-timeouts) all apply to a single `send` or `recv` call. To cap the total time a request can take, use `set_max_timeout()`.

## Basic usage

```cpp
httplib::Client cli("http://localhost:8080");

cli.set_max_timeout(5000); // 5 seconds (in milliseconds)

auto res = cli.Get("/slow-endpoint");
```

The value is in milliseconds. Once that much time has passed since the request started, waiting for the response is cut off. The limit does not shorten the connection and write waits themselves, so bound those with `set_connection_timeout` and `set_write_timeout`.

## Use `std::chrono`

There's also an overload that takes a `std::chrono` duration.

```cpp
using namespace std::chrono_literals;
cli.set_max_timeout(5s);
```

## When to use which

`set_read_timeout` fires when no data arrives for a while. If data keeps trickling in bit by bit, it will never fire. An endpoint that sends one byte per second can make `set_read_timeout` useless no matter how short you set it.

`set_max_timeout` caps elapsed time, so it handles those cases cleanly. It's great for calls to external APIs or anywhere you don't want users waiting forever.

```cpp
cli.set_connection_timeout(3s);
cli.set_read_timeout(10s);
cli.set_max_timeout(30s); // abort if the whole request takes over 30s
```

> **Note:** `set_max_timeout()` works alongside the regular timeouts. Short stalls get caught by `set_read_timeout`; long-running requests get capped by `set_max_timeout`. Use both for a safety net.