discordjs/discord.js · error · Error

Request timed out

Error message

Request timed out

What it means

This error is thrown by the gateway REQUEST_GUILD_MEMBERS flow when the library's timeout elapses before enough guild member chunk responses arrive. The library sends a Gateway Request Members command and awaits chunk dispatches; if the gateway does not reply (or not fully) within the timeout, the AbortController fires, the iterator sees an AbortError, and it rethrows a generic 'Request timed out' error. It means the operation was abandoned client-side, not that Discord rejected the request.

Source

Thrown at packages/core/src/client.ts:304

					nonce,
					notFound: data.not_found ?? null,
					presences: data.presences ?? null,
					chunkIndex: data.chunk_index,
					chunkCount: data.chunk_count,
				};

				if (data.chunk_index >= data.chunk_count - 1) break;

				// eslint-disable-next-line require-atomic-updates
				timer = createTimer(controller, timeout);
			}
		} catch (error) {
			if (error instanceof Error && error.name === 'AbortError') {
				if (error.cause instanceof GatewayRateLimitError) {
					throw error.cause;
				}

				throw new Error('Request timed out');
			}

			throw error;
		} finally {
			cleanup();
		}
	}

	/**
	 * Requests guild members from the gateway.
	 *
	 * @see {@link https://discord.com/developers/docs/topics/gateway-events#request-guild-members}
	 * @param options - The options for the request
	 * @param timeout - The timeout for waiting for each guild members chunk event
	 * @example
	 * Requesting specific members from a guild
	 * ```ts
	 * const { members } = await client.requestGuildMembers({ guild_id: '1234567890', user_ids: ['9876543210'] });

View on GitHub (pinned to a81ed8a306)

Solutions

1. Check gateway connectivity (shard Events) and ensure the client is fully ready (READY/GUILD_CREATE) before calling requestGuildMembers.
2. Increase the timeout passed to requestGuildMembers and consume the full iterator instead of breaking early.
3. Verify the guild id is correct and the bot is a member of that guild on the connected shard.
4. Retry the request only after confirming the shard is not reconnecting; requests during RESUME are unreliable.
5. Narrow the request (userIds, or query+limit) so fewer chunks are needed before the timeout.

Example fix

// before
const members = await client.guilds.cache.get(id).members.fetch({ query: '' });
// after
const guild = client.guilds.cache.get(id);
if (!guild) throw new Error('Bot is not in guild');
const members = await guild.members.fetch({ query: '', time: 120_000 }); // longer timeout

if (!client.isReady()) throw new Error('Client not ready');
const guild = client.guilds.cache.get(guildId);
if (!guild) throw new Error(`Bot not in guild ${guildId}`);

function isKnownGuild(client, id) {
  return typeof id === 'string' && /^\d{17,20}$/.test(id) && client.guilds.cache.has(id);
}

try {
  await client.requestGuildMembers({ guild: guildId, query: '', limit: 0 });
} catch (err) {
  if (err.message === 'Request timed out') {
    // shard degraded: schedule retry after checking shard status
    return retryLater(guildId);
  }
  throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling requestGuildMembers when the gateway connection is degraded or reconnecting, when the request targets a guild the bot is not in on that shard, when fetching all members of a very large guild and not all chunks arrive before the timeout, or when awaiting presences that were never requested.

Common situations: Bots doing member caching on startup across many large guilds; network hiccups or gateway RESUME/RESUMING mid-request; accidentally requesting a guild the shard is not subscribed to; overly short timeout configured in the call.

Understand the failure class

• Timeouts: ETIMEDOUT, deadlines, and hung requests — what actually expires when a request times out.

Related errors

• InteractionAlreadyReplied
• InteractionNotReplied
• HTTPError(status, res.statusText, method, url, requestData)
• Not enough sessions remaining to spawn ${shardIds.length} sh

AI-assisted analysis of discordjs/discord.js@a81ed8a306 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5cce6256981f50eb. Report an issue: GitHub.