WordPress REST API Timeout Fix

Understanding the Problem

The REST API timeout error (cURL error 28: Operation timed out after 10001 milliseconds with 0 bytes received) typically occurs when:

Your server is experiencing high load
There's a plugin or theme conflict
Your server configuration is too restrictive
There are DNS or network issues
Your WordPress installation has performance problems

Solutions to Fix REST API Timeout

1. Increase PHP Time Limit

Add this code to your wp-config.php file:

                        // Increase PHP time limit

                        set_time_limit(120);

                        // Increase max execution time

                        ini_set('max_execution_time', 120);

2. Increase WordPress Memory Limit

Add this to your wp-config.php file:

                        // Increase WordPress memory limit

                        define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

                        define('WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M');

3. Optimize Your Server Configuration

If you have access to your php.ini file, adjust these settings:

                        max_execution_time = 120

                        max_input_time = 120

                        memory_limit = 256M

                        upload_max_filesize = 64M

                        post_max_size = 64M

4. Identify Problematic Plugins/Themes

Temporarily disable plugins and switch to a default theme to identify conflicts:

Disable all plugins and check if the issue persists
If fixed, enable plugins one by one to find the culprit
Switch to a default theme (Twenty Twenty-One) to rule out theme issues

5. Add Fix to Your Theme's functions.php

Add this code to your theme's functions.php file:

                        // Increase REST API timeout

                        add_filter('http_request_args', function($args) {

                            $args['timeout'] = 30; // Increase timeout to 30 seconds

                            return $args;

                        });

                        // Bypass SSL verification for local requests (if needed)

                        add_filter('https_ssl_verify', function($verify) {

                            if (strpos(home_url(), 'localhost') !== false || 

                                strpos(home_url(), '.local') !== false) {

                                return false;

                            }

                            return $verify;

                        });

6. Check for DNS Issues

Add this to your wp-config.php to bypass DNS issues:

                        // Bypass DNS issues

                        define('WP_HTTP_BLOCK_EXTERNAL', false);

                        // If you need to allow specific hosts

                        define('WP_ACCESSIBLE_HOSTS', 'api.wordpress.org,*.github.com');

7. Use a Plugin to Monitor Performance

Install one of these plugins to identify performance bottlenecks:

Query Monitor
Debug Bar
New Relic (server-level monitoring)

Warning: Always test changes on a staging environment before applying them to your live site.

Additional Resources

Server Configuration Check

Contact your hosting provider and ask them to:

Check server load and resource allocation
Verify PHP-FPM configuration (if using Nginx)
Check for firewall restrictions
Review Apache/Nginx timeout settings

WordPress Optimization

Improve overall WordPress performance:

Implement caching (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache)
Use a CDN for static assets
Optimize your database regularly
Limit the number of active plugins

Debugging Mode

Enable WordPress debugging to identify issues:

                        // Enable debugging in wp-config.php

                        define('WP_DEBUG', true);

                        define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);

                        define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);

                        @ini_set('display_errors', 0);

Check the wp-content/debug.log file for errors after enabling this.