HTTP API Node Returns a Connection Timeout (http_code 0)

If the HTTP API node fails with a connection timeout and http_code 0, the external provider is most likely blocking WhatChimp's IP. Whitelist WhatChimp's IPs to fix it.

Updated 25 June 2026

If your bot's HTTP API node cannot reach an external API and Test & Verify returns a connection timeout, the most common cause is that the external provider only allows whitelisted IP addresses and is blocking WhatChimp.

The symptom

When you run Test & Verify on the HTTP API node, you get a response like:

"data_error": "Connection timeout after 20001 ms"
"http_code": 0

An http_code of 0 means WhatChimp never received any response at all, the request simply timed out. The endpoint itself may be perfectly healthy.

Why it happens

Many APIs restrict access to a list of approved (whitelisted) source IPs. If WhatChimp's outbound IP is not on that list, the provider's firewall silently drops the request instead of replying. Because nothing comes back, WhatChimp waits until the request times out, which is why you see a timeout and http_code: 0 rather than a 401 or 403 error.

How to confirm it is an IP issue

The same endpoint works from a tool like Postman or curl on a machine the provider has allowed, but times out from WhatChimp.
The provider's documentation or support mentions IP whitelisting or an IP allowlist.
Your credentials (for example the X-API-USER and X-API-PASS headers) are correct, but you still get a timeout, not an authentication error.

The fix

Ask your provider to whitelist WhatChimp's outbound IP addresses, then add all of them on their side. The full, current list is here: WhatChimp's IP Addresses to Whitelist.

Add every IP in that list. WhatChimp's requests can go out from multiple servers, so whitelisting only one makes the call succeed intermittently and time out the rest of the time.

Verify

After the provider has allowed all of WhatChimp's IPs, re-run Test & Verify on the HTTP API node. The timeout should be gone and you should get a real response with a non-zero http_code.