Axios will not timeout on idle sockets

Describe the bug

On nodejs the timeout mechanism does not work correctly. It is only concerned with the time to receive the first byte. If the server sends a few bytes across the socket, but leaves it open the request will never timeout.

This only happens with node, not in the browser.

To Reproduce

1. Create a web server which writes a few bytes and then stops :

const http = require('http');

const hostname = '127.0.0.1';
const port = 3000;

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
    res.statusCode = 200;
    res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain');

    res.write('h');
//    res.end();
});

server.listen(port, hostname, () => {
    console.log(`Server running at http://${hostname}:${port}/`);
});

1. Make a get request to the server with axios, with a timeout setting.

const axios = require('axios');

axios.get('http://localhost:3000', { timeout: 1000 })
.then(() => console.log('hello there'));

1. The request will never timeout.

Expected behavior If a socket stops writing for long period of time, the request should timeout.

nodejs get requests can detect this. You need to use their timeout event instead of just using a timer.

https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_event_timeout

Environment:

• Axios Version [e.g. 0.18.0]
• OS: Linux (Ubuntu 18)

Looking at the code, I believe this is independent of environment.

[aarcangeli]

I agree, an infinite fetching time can be problematic, especially if you expect a small response.

My workaround is to use a cancel token.

const CancelToken = axios.CancelToken;
const source = CancelToken.source();
let timeout = setTimeout(() => source.cancel('Timeout'), 5000);

axios.get('http://localhost:3000', { timeout: 1000, cancelToken: source.token })
    .then(() => { clearTimeout(timeout); console.log('hello there') });

[jesse23]

+2 cents to this issue:

Test env: macOS Monterey
Node version: v16.13.1

0.18.0 -> not working for test case at the top even with workaround.
0.21.4 -> works fine even without workaround