# Agent API \`/v1/responses\` consistently times out with zero bytes while \`/v1/models\` and \`/chat/completions\` are healthy

**URL:** <https://community.perplexity.ai/t/agent-api-v1-responses-consistently-times-out-with-zero-bytes-while-v1-models-and-chat-completions-are-healthy/5394>\
**Category:** Bug Reports\
**Tags:** agent-api\
**Created:** [June 18, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/agent-api-v1-responses-consistently-times-out-with-zero-bytes-while-v1-models-and-chat-completions-are-healthy/5394 "2026-06-18T18:20:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Adam\_Klingbaum](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.perplexity.ai/adam_klingbaum/32/109_2.png) [@Adam\_Klingbaum](https://community.perplexity.ai/u/Adam_Klingbaum)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/agent-api-v1-responses-consistently-times-out-with-zero-bytes-while-v1-models-and-chat-completions-are-healthy/5394/1 "2026-06-18T18:20:21Z")

</div>

## Pre-flight checklist

- This is about the Perplexity API, not the Perplexity app, Comet, or web UI.
- I have removed API keys, secrets, and private data.
- I have included enough information for someone else to reproduce the issue.

## Bug type

- Error response or failed request
- Incorrect or unexpected model output
- Missing, invalid, or stale citations/search results
- Streaming issue
- Structured output or JSON schema issue
- SDK issue
- Billing, credits, or rate limit issue
- Dashboard, API key, or auth issue
- Other API bug

## Affected API area

- Agent API
- Search API
- Sonar API
- Embeddings API
- SDKs
- Dashboard, API keys, or auth
- Billing or credits
- Not sure

## Summary

Agent API `/v1/responses` is consistently timing out with zero response bytes, while other Perplexity API endpoints are healthy. This appears isolated to Agent API response generation, not auth or general connectivity.

## Expected behavior

`POST /v1/responses` should return a normal Agent API response or an explicit HTTP error response.

## Actual behavior

The TCP connection succeeds quickly, but no response headers/body are received before the client timeout. Curl reports HTTP code `000` and zero bytes received.

## Minimal reproduction

```bash
curl -m 30 https://api.perplexity.ai/v1/responses \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PERPLEXITY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "google/gemini-3-flash-preview",
    "input": "Return exactly: pong",
    "max_output_tokens": 32
  }'

```

Also reproduced with:

```json
{
  "model": "openai/gpt-5.1",
  "input": "Return exactly: pong",
  "max_output_tokens": 32
}

```

And with a production-shaped Agent API request:

```json
{
  "model": "google/gemini-3-flash-preview",
  "input": "Find one current source for today's date and return exactly one short sentence.",
  "tools": [
    { "type": "web_search", "search_context_size": "high" },
    { "type": "fetch_url", "max_urls": 1 }
  ],
  "max_steps": 4,
  "max_output_tokens": 128
}

```

## Response or error

For minimal `google/gemini-3-flash-preview` Agent API request:

```bash
curl: (28) Operation timed out after 30004 milliseconds with 0 bytes received
agent_minimal_metrics=000 0.024262 0.000000 30.004658

```

Earlier probes showed the same pattern:

```bash
curl: (28) Operation timed out after 20006 milliseconds with 0 bytes received
HTTP code: 000
time_connect: ~0.041s
time_starttransfer: 0
time_total: ~20.0s

```

Production-shaped request:

```bash
curl: (28) Operation timed out after 35003 milliseconds with 0 bytes received
prod_shape_metrics=000 0.019721 0.000000 35.003952

```

Control checks from the same machine/key succeeded:

```bash
GET https://api.perplexity.ai/v1/models
HTTP 200
~48-73ms

POST https://api.perplexity.ai/chat/completions
model: sonar
HTTP 200
~1.7-1.9s
returned expected "pong"

```

## Request details

- Endpoint: `POST https://api.perplexity.ai/v1/responses`
- Model or preset: `google/gemini-3-flash-preview`; also reproduced with `openai/gpt-5.1`
- SDK/language/version: Reproduced with `curl`. Production issue was originally observed via the Perplexity Python SDK calling `client.responses.create(...)`.
- Request ID: Not available because no response headers/body are received before timeout.
- Approximate time and timezone: June 18, 2026, roughly 1:45-2:00 PM America/Toronto / 17:45-18:00 UTC.
- Consistent or intermittent: Consistent across repeated `/v1/responses` probes during this window.

## Additional context

This is blocking a production fact-check verification pipeline that uses Agent API `/v1/responses` with `google/gemini-3-flash-preview`, `web_search`, and `fetch_url`. We paused the pipeline after repeated Lambda/client timeouts.

The issue does not look like a bad API key or general network failure: `/v1/models` responds quickly with HTTP 200, and legacy `/chat/completions` with `sonar` also responds successfully.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![albert\_pplx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@albert\_pplx](https://community.perplexity.ai/u/albert_pplx)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 4:16am UTC](https://community.perplexity.ai/t/agent-api-v1-responses-consistently-times-out-with-zero-bytes-while-v1-models-and-chat-completions-are-healthy/5394/2 "2026-06-19T04:16:40Z")

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Hey Adam,

There was a now-resolved incident which caused this for a few requests. You shouldn’t be seeing any more timeouts going forward, but please let us know if you encounter further issues.