Read Timeout Error When Creating Customer Using Square API

Questions
1

Hello,

I’m encountering an issue when trying to create a customer using the Square API. Here is the traceback error I’m receiving:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/urllib3/connectionpool.py", line 537, in _make_request
    response = conn.getresponse()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/urllib3/connection.py", line 466, in getresponse
    httplib_response = super().getresponse()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/http/client.py", line 1345, in getresponse
    response.begin()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/http/client.py", line 307, in begin
    version, status, reason = self._read_status()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/http/client.py", line 268, in _read_status
    line = str(self.fp.readline(_MAXLINE + 1), "iso-8859-1")
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/socket.py", line 704, in readinto
    return self._sock.recv_into(b)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/ssl.py", line 1241, in recv_into
    return self.read(nbytes, buffer)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/ssl.py", line 1099, in read
    return self._sslobj.read(len, buffer)
socket.timeout: The read operation timed out

The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/requests/adapters.py", line 486, in send
    resp = conn.urlopen(
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/urllib3/connectionpool.py", line 847, in urlopen
    retries = retries.increment(
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/urllib3/util/retry.py", line 470, in increment
    raise reraise(type(error), error, _stacktrace)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/urllib3/util/util.py", line 39, in reraise
    raise value
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/urllib3/connectionpool.py", line 793, in urlopen
    response = self._make_request(
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/urllib3/connectionpool.py", line 539, in _make_request
    self._raise_timeout(err=e, url=url, timeout_value=read_timeout)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/urllib3/connectionpool.py", line 370, in _raise_timeout
    raise ReadTimeoutError(
urllib3.exceptions.ReadTimeoutError: HTTPSConnectionPool(host='connect.squareup.com', port=443): Read timed out. (read timeout=120)

This error occurs regularly and seems to be related to a read timeout. I am not sure what might be causing this issue. Could anyone provide some guidance on how to resolve this or what might be the underlying problem?

Thank you for your assistance.

2

:wave: I’m Square Dev AI, here to help answer your question!
Based on the information you’ve provided, the following documentation will help answer your question:

Additional Documentation

Using the REST API
https://developer.squareup.com/docs/build-basics/using-rest-api
Python SDK

If this documentation helped you find a solution, please check the box indicating that this reply solves the problem.
Otherwise one of our Developer Advocates will provide additional assistance shortly.

3

The error you’re encountering is a ReadTimeoutError, which typically occurs when a client does not receive a response from the server within a specified timeout period. In your case, the timeout is set to 120 seconds.

This could be due to a variety of reasons such as network issues, server-side delays, or high latency in the connection.

One way to handle this in the Square Python SDK is by configuring the timeout value when you create a client. By default, the Square SDK sets the default timeout to 60 seconds. You have the option to configure a different value when you create a client.

However, please note that configuring a client with long timeout values can cause some SDK operations to appear unresponsive. There are several considerations that apply when configuring the timeout. For network issues (decrease in network connectivity and response speed), you need to decide how the application should respond. Do you want the call to fail fast, or do you want the application to retry the failed call?

If the issue persists, it might be worth checking your network connection or reaching out to your internet service provider.

This answer was reviewed by @Bryan-Square.

4

Hello, @cyoun

The error message you’re encountering—specifically the “socket.timeout: The read operation timed out”—indicates that the connection to the Square API server took longer than the specified timeout. There are a few potential reasons for this, and I’ll walk you through some steps to troubleshoot:

Network Issues:
First, let’s rule out any network-related problems. Ensure that your internet connection is stable and that there are no firewalls or proxies blocking the connection.
Also, consider testing the API request from a different network or location to see if the issue persists.
Server-Side Delays:
Sometimes, the Square API server might experience delays due to high traffic or other server-side issues. These delays can cause timeouts.
Check if Square has any ongoing maintenance or known service disruptions. You can find this information on their status page or developer forums.
Timeout Configuration:
By default, the Square Python SDK sets a timeout of 60 seconds for API requests. If your requests consistently take longer, you can adjust this timeout value.
When creating a client using the Square SDK, you have the option to configure a different timeout value. However, be cautious not to set excessively long timeouts, as it might make some operations appear unresponsive See here: https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/read-timeout-error-when-creating-customer-using-square-api/17945.
For example, if you’re using the requests library directly, you can increase the timeout like this:
import requests
response = requests.get(“https:// api .example.com”, timeout=30)mySedgwick # Adjust the timeout value as needed
High Latency:
If the Square API server is experiencing high latency, it could lead to timeouts. Unfortunately, this is beyond your control.

I hope this info is helpful to you.

Best Regard,
Gregory Chavez

5

Is this with the Python SDK? It looks like there is a socket timeout. :slightly_smiling_face: