OpenAI API Timeout error

Question

We have sufficient credits, but we are still intermittently receiving the following error.

openai.APIStatusError: Error code: 408 - {'error': {'code': 'Timeout', 'message': 'The operation was timeout.'}}

Answer 1

Hi Piyush Chopra,

Thanks for reaching out on Microsoft Q&A.

Your timeout error means the API didn’t respond within the default 600-second window—this could be due to network hiccups, high load, or a slow request. Try these steps:

• Increase Retry Logic: Add a short delay and retry your request.
• Adjust the Timeout: Lower the request_timeout (say to 10–15 seconds) and loop your calls.
• Check Network Stability: Make sure your connection is solid.

For more info, see: Stack Overflow Discussion on Request Timeout OpenAI API Error Codes Documentation

I hope this helps! If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

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