Getting 504? Here’s why it happens and the exact fix.
You are seeing 504 because the proxy waited too long for the target server to respond. The fix: increase your client timeout, try a geographically closer proxy exit, or use a proxy exit with lower latency.
Set your HTTP client timeout to 60 seconds minimum. Some targets legitimately take 10-30 seconds to respond.
Match your proxy exit country to the target server location. This reduces the round-trip time through the proxy.
The target may have silently dropped the connection from the previous exit IP. Retry with rotation to get a fresh exit.
Catch timeout exceptions and retry with exponential backoff. Most 504s are transient network issues.
import requests
proxy = "http://USER:PASS@gw.knoxproxy.com:7000"
r = requests.get("https://jp-target.example/api",
proxies={"https": proxy},
headers={"x-kx-country": "jp"}, # exit near the target
timeout=60) # generous timeout for slow targetsTest your setup with our proxy checker, then contact support if 504 still won’t clear.
A 504 Gateway Timeout means the proxy gateway waited for the target to respond but the target took too long. The proxy has its own timeout window -- typically 60-90 seconds -- and if the target does not respond within that window, the proxy returns 504 to your client. The target may be slow, overloaded, or the network path between the proxy exit and the target may be poor.
Increase your client-side timeout to accommodate slow targets. Set timeout to at least 60 seconds.
Use a proxy exit in the same country or region as the target server. Set x-kx-country to match the target location.
Retry with a different exit IP. The target may have silently blocked the previous exit.
If 504 errors persist with matched exits and generous timeouts, the target may be intentionally slow-responding to proxy traffic. Contact KnoxProxy support with the target URL, proxy exit used, and your timeout setting.
502 means the proxy got an invalid response from the target. 504 means the proxy got no response at all within the timeout. Both are retryable.
No. The proxy is working -- it reached the target and waited. The target is what failed to respond. Try a closer exit or increase your timeout.
The gateway timeout is 90 seconds. If the target does not respond within 90 seconds, you get a 504. Set your client timeout to match.
KnoxProxy comes pre-configured to avoid the most common errors. Start a free trial and fix 504 for good.