diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index f90c5aa..1eba49b 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -34,9 +34,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "anstream"
-version = "0.6.4"
+version = "0.6.5"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "2ab91ebe16eb252986481c5b62f6098f3b698a45e34b5b98200cf20dd2484a44"
+checksum = "d664a92ecae85fd0a7392615844904654d1d5f5514837f471ddef4a057aba1b6"
 dependencies = [
  "anstyle",
  "anstyle-parse",
@@ -54,30 +54,30 @@ checksum = "7079075b41f533b8c61d2a4d073c4676e1f8b249ff94a393b0595db304e0dd87"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "anstyle-parse"
-version = "0.2.2"
+version = "0.2.3"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "317b9a89c1868f5ea6ff1d9539a69f45dffc21ce321ac1fd1160dfa48c8e2140"
+checksum = "c75ac65da39e5fe5ab759307499ddad880d724eed2f6ce5b5e8a26f4f387928c"
 dependencies = [
  "utf8parse",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "anstyle-query"
-version = "1.0.0"
+version = "1.0.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "5ca11d4be1bab0c8bc8734a9aa7bf4ee8316d462a08c6ac5052f888fef5b494b"
+checksum = "e28923312444cdd728e4738b3f9c9cac739500909bb3d3c94b43551b16517648"
 dependencies = [
- "windows-sys 0.48.0",
+ "windows-sys 0.52.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "anstyle-wincon"
-version = "3.0.1"
+version = "3.0.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "f0699d10d2f4d628a98ee7b57b289abbc98ff3bad977cb3152709d4bf2330628"
+checksum = "1cd54b81ec8d6180e24654d0b371ad22fc3dd083b6ff8ba325b72e00c87660a7"
 dependencies = [
  "anstyle",
- "windows-sys 0.48.0",
+ "windows-sys 0.52.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -172,9 +172,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "clap"
-version = "4.4.10"
+version = "4.4.12"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "41fffed7514f420abec6d183b1d3acfd9099c79c3a10a06ade4f8203f1411272"
+checksum = "dcfab8ba68f3668e89f6ff60f5b205cea56aa7b769451a59f34b8682f51c056d"
 dependencies = [
  "clap_builder",
  "clap_derive",
@@ -182,9 +182,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "clap_builder"
-version = "4.4.9"
+version = "4.4.12"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "63361bae7eef3771745f02d8d892bec2fee5f6e34af316ba556e7f97a7069ff1"
+checksum = "fb7fb5e4e979aec3be7791562fcba452f94ad85e954da024396433e0e25a79e9"
 dependencies = [
  "anstream",
  "anstyle",
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "heck",
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.39",
+ "syn 2.0.43",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -264,12 +264,12 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "ctrlc"
-version = "3.4.1"
+version = "3.4.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "82e95fbd621905b854affdc67943b043a0fbb6ed7385fd5a25650d19a8a6cfdf"
+checksum = "b467862cc8610ca6fc9a1532d7777cee0804e678ab45410897b9396495994a0b"
 dependencies = [
  "nix",
- "windows-sys 0.48.0",
+ "windows-sys 0.52.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -591,9 +591,9 @@ checksum = "8f518f335dce6725a761382244631d86cf0ccb2863413590b31338feb467f9c3"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "itoa"
-version = "1.0.9"
+version = "1.0.10"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "af150ab688ff2122fcef229be89cb50dd66af9e01a4ff320cc137eecc9bacc38"
+checksum = "b1a46d1a171d865aa5f83f92695765caa047a9b4cbae2cbf37dbd613a793fd4c"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "js-sys"
@@ -612,9 +612,9 @@ checksum = "e2abad23fbc42b3700f2f279844dc832adb2b2eb069b2df918f455c4e18cc646"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "libc"
-version = "0.2.150"
+version = "0.2.151"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "89d92a4743f9a61002fae18374ed11e7973f530cb3a3255fb354818118b2203c"
+checksum = "302d7ab3130588088d277783b1e2d2e10c9e9e4a16dd9050e6ec93fb3e7048f4"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "linux-raw-sys"
@@ -636,9 +636,9 @@ checksum = "3e2e65a1a2e43cfcb47a895c4c8b10d1f4a61097f9f254f183aee60cad9c651d"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "memchr"
-version = "2.6.4"
+version = "2.7.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "f665ee40bc4a3c5590afb1e9677db74a508659dfd71e126420da8274909a0167"
+checksum = "523dc4f511e55ab87b694dc30d0f820d60906ef06413f93d4d7a1385599cc149"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "mime"
@@ -735,9 +735,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "once_cell"
-version = "1.18.0"
+version = "1.19.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "dd8b5dd2ae5ed71462c540258bedcb51965123ad7e7ccf4b9a8cafaa4a63576d"
+checksum = "3fdb12b2476b595f9358c5161aa467c2438859caa136dec86c26fdd2efe17b92"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "openssl"
@@ -762,7 +762,7 @@ checksum = "a948666b637a0f465e8564c73e89d4dde00d72d4d473cc972f390fc3dcee7d9c"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.39",
+ "syn 2.0.43",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -826,7 +826,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "pest_meta",
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.39",
+ "syn 2.0.43",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -866,9 +866,9 @@ checksum = "5b40af805b3121feab8a3c29f04d8ad262fa8e0561883e7653e024ae4479e6de"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "proc-macro2"
-version = "1.0.70"
+version = "1.0.71"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "39278fbbf5fb4f646ce651690877f89d1c5811a3d4acb27700c1cb3cdb78fd3b"
+checksum = "75cb1540fadbd5b8fbccc4dddad2734eba435053f725621c070711a14bb5f4b8"
 dependencies = [
  "unicode-ident",
 ]
@@ -980,17 +980,17 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "ryu"
-version = "1.0.15"
+version = "1.0.16"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "1ad4cc8da4ef723ed60bced201181d83791ad433213d8c24efffda1eec85d741"
+checksum = "f98d2aa92eebf49b69786be48e4477826b256916e84a57ff2a4f21923b48eb4c"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "schannel"
-version = "0.1.22"
+version = "0.1.23"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "0c3733bf4cf7ea0880754e19cb5a462007c4a8c1914bff372ccc95b464f1df88"
+checksum = "fbc91545643bcf3a0bbb6569265615222618bdf33ce4ffbbd13c4bbd4c093534"
 dependencies = [
- "windows-sys 0.48.0",
+ "windows-sys 0.52.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1033,7 +1033,7 @@ checksum = "43576ca501357b9b071ac53cdc7da8ef0cbd9493d8df094cd821777ea6e894d3"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.39",
+ "syn 2.0.43",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1144,9 +1144,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "syn"
-version = "2.0.39"
+version = "2.0.43"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "23e78b90f2fcf45d3e842032ce32e3f2d1545ba6636271dcbf24fa306d87be7a"
+checksum = "ee659fb5f3d355364e1f3e5bc10fb82068efbf824a1e9d1c9504244a6469ad53"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
@@ -1176,35 +1176,35 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "tempfile"
-version = "3.8.1"
+version = "3.9.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "7ef1adac450ad7f4b3c28589471ade84f25f731a7a0fe30d71dfa9f60fd808e5"
+checksum = "01ce4141aa927a6d1bd34a041795abd0db1cccba5d5f24b009f694bdf3a1f3fa"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
  "fastrand",
  "redox_syscall",
  "rustix",
- "windows-sys 0.48.0",
+ "windows-sys 0.52.0",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "thiserror"
-version = "1.0.51"
+version = "1.0.52"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "f11c217e1416d6f036b870f14e0413d480dbf28edbee1f877abaf0206af43bb7"
+checksum = "83a48fd946b02c0a526b2e9481c8e2a17755e47039164a86c4070446e3a4614d"
 dependencies = [
  "thiserror-impl",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "thiserror-impl"
-version = "1.0.51"
+version = "1.0.52"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "01742297787513b79cf8e29d1056ede1313e2420b7b3b15d0a768b4921f549df"
+checksum = "e7fbe9b594d6568a6a1443250a7e67d80b74e1e96f6d1715e1e21cc1888291d3"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.39",
+ "syn 2.0.43",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1297,7 +1297,7 @@ checksum = "34704c8d6ebcbc939824180af020566b01a7c01f80641264eba0999f6c2b6be7"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.39",
+ "syn 2.0.43",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1445,7 +1445,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "once_cell",
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.39",
+ "syn 2.0.43",
  "wasm-bindgen-shared",
 ]
 
@@ -1479,7 +1479,7 @@ checksum = "f0eb82fcb7930ae6219a7ecfd55b217f5f0893484b7a13022ebb2b2bf20b5283"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
- "syn 2.0.39",
+ "syn 2.0.43",
  "wasm-bindgen-backend",
  "wasm-bindgen-shared",
 ]
diff --git a/src/errors.rs b/src/errors.rs
index 78d42fe..2fbfad6 100644
--- a/src/errors.rs
+++ b/src/errors.rs
@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ pub enum SevaError {
     UriTooLong,
     #[error("Missing value for header: {0}")]
     MissingHeaderValue(HeaderName),
+    #[error("timed out while reading data")]
+    ReadTimeOut,
+    #[error("timed out while writing data")]
+    WriteTimeOut,
 }
 
 #[derive(Error, Debug)]
@@ -53,10 +57,18 @@ impl fmt::Display for ParsingError {
 pub trait IoErrorUtils {
     fn kind(&self) -> io::ErrorKind;
 
+    fn is_addr_in_use(&self) -> bool {
+        self.kind() == io::ErrorKind::AddrInUse
+    }
+
     fn is_blocking(&self) -> bool {
         self.kind() == io::ErrorKind::WouldBlock
     }
 
+    fn is_timed_out(&self) -> bool {
+        self.kind() == io::ErrorKind::TimedOut
+    }
+
     fn is_not_found(&self) -> bool {
         self.kind() == io::ErrorKind::NotFound
     }
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index fe82aab..a76171c 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ struct Args {
     /// Log Level
     #[arg(long, default_value = "INFO")]
     log_level: Level,
+
+    /// Timeout duration in seconds
+    #[arg(long, default_value = "60")]
+    timeout: u64,
 }
 
 fn expand_tilde(path: &str) -> String {
@@ -81,7 +85,8 @@ fn main() -> errors::Result<()> {
         port = args.port,
     );
 
-    let mut server = server::HttpServer::new(&args.host, args.port, dir, false)?;
+    let mut server =
+        server::HttpServer::new(&args.host, args.port, dir, false, args.timeout)?;
     server.run()?;
     Ok(())
 }
diff --git a/src/server.rs b/src/server.rs
index 042c33a..7d923dd 100644
--- a/src/server.rs
+++ b/src/server.rs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use std::{
         atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering},
         Arc,
     },
+    time::{Duration, Instant},
 };
 
 use bytes::{BufMut, BytesMut};
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@ use chrono::Local;
 use clap::crate_version;
 use contracts::debug_requires;
 use handlebars::Handlebars;
-use tracing::{debug, error, info, trace};
+use tracing::{debug, error, info, trace, warn};
 
 use crate::{
     errors::{IoErrorUtils, ParsingError, Result, SevaError},
@@ -56,6 +57,7 @@ pub struct HttpServer {
     listener: TcpListener,
     shutdown: Arc<AtomicBool>,
     test_mode: bool,
+    timeout: Duration,
 }
 
 impl HttpServer {
@@ -64,10 +66,12 @@ impl HttpServer {
         port: u16,
         dir: PathBuf,
         test_mode: bool,
+        timeout: u64,
     ) -> Result<HttpServer> {
         debug!("binding to {host} on port: {port}");
         let listener = TcpListener::bind((host, port))?;
         listener.set_nonblocking(true)?;
+
         let shutdown = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false));
         let s = shutdown.clone();
         if !test_mode {
@@ -78,6 +82,7 @@ impl HttpServer {
             listener,
             shutdown,
             test_mode,
+            timeout: Duration::from_secs(timeout),
         })
     }
     fn shut_down(&mut self) -> Result<()> {
@@ -86,22 +91,23 @@ impl HttpServer {
     }
 
     pub fn run(&mut self) -> Result<()> {
-        let start = std::time::Instant::now();
+        let start = Instant::now();
         loop {
             match self.listener.accept() {
                 Ok((stream, client_addr)) => {
+                    stream.set_read_timeout(Some(self.timeout))?;
+                    stream.set_write_timeout(Some(self.timeout))?;
                     let dir = self.dir.clone();
-                    let mut handler = RequestHandler::new(stream, client_addr, dir);
+                    let mut handler =
+                        RequestHandler::new(stream, client_addr, dir, self.timeout);
                     match handler.handle() {
                         Ok(_) => {}
-                        // TODO: return 500
                         Err(e) => {
                             error!("got error while handling request: {e}")
                         }
                     }
                 }
                 Err(e) => {
-                    // handle error
                     if !e.is_blocking() {
                         error!("failed to accept new tcp connection. Reason: {e}");
                     }
@@ -111,8 +117,7 @@ impl HttpServer {
                 self.shut_down()?;
                 break;
             }
-            if self.test_mode && start.elapsed() > std::time::Duration::from_secs(1)
-            {
+            if self.test_mode && start.elapsed() > Duration::from_secs(1) {
                 break;
             }
         }
@@ -124,17 +129,20 @@ struct RequestHandler {
     stream: TcpStream,
     client_addr: SocketAddr,
     dir: PathBuf,
+    timeout: Duration,
 }
 impl RequestHandler {
     fn new(
         stream: TcpStream,
         client_addr: SocketAddr,
         dir: PathBuf,
+        timeout: Duration,
     ) -> RequestHandler {
         Self {
             stream,
             client_addr,
             dir,
+            timeout,
         }
     }
 
@@ -153,6 +161,12 @@ impl RequestHandler {
                         Some(&format!("invalid range: {hdr}")),
                     )?
                 }
+                SevaError::ReadTimeOut => {
+                    warn!("timed out while reading request data")
+                }
+                SevaError::WriteTimeOut => {
+                    warn!("timed out while writing request data")
+                }
                 _ => {
                     error!("internal server error: {e}");
                     self.send_error(
@@ -353,16 +367,21 @@ impl RequestHandler {
     //TODO: optimize
     fn read_line(&mut self, buf: &mut BytesMut, limit: usize) -> Result<()> {
         let mut sz = 0usize;
+        let t = Instant::now();
         loop {
             if sz == limit {
                 break;
             } else {
                 let mut b = [0u8; 1];
-                //TODO: possible to get stuck infinitely
-                // fix by adding timeout
                 loop {
                     match self.stream.read_exact(&mut b) {
                         Ok(_) => break,
+                        Err(e) if e.is_blocking() && t.elapsed() > self.timeout => {
+                            return Err(SevaError::ReadTimeOut)
+                        }
+                        Err(e) if e.is_timed_out() => {
+                            return Err(SevaError::ReadTimeOut)
+                        }
                         Err(e) if e.is_blocking() => continue,
                         Err(e) => return Err(SevaError::Io(e)),
                     }
@@ -388,13 +407,22 @@ impl RequestHandler {
         self.send_headers(response.headers)?;
         self.end_headers()?;
 
+        let t = Instant::now();
+
         let bytes_sent = if request.method == HttpMethod::Head {
             0
         } else {
             trace!("RequestHandler::send_response body io::copy");
             // TODO: can we do this w/o blocking
             self.stream.set_nonblocking(false)?;
-            let count = io::copy(&mut response.body, &mut self.stream)? as usize;
+            let count =
+                io::copy(&mut response.body, &mut self.stream).map_err(|e| {
+                    if e.is_timed_out() || t.elapsed() > self.timeout {
+                        SevaError::WriteTimeOut
+                    } else {
+                        SevaError::Io(e)
+                    }
+                })? as usize;
             self.stream.set_nonblocking(true)?;
             count
         };
@@ -580,10 +608,20 @@ mod tests {
             .collect()
     }
 
+    fn create_server() -> Result<(HttpServer, u16)> {
+        loop {
+            let path = current_dir()?;
+            let port = get_random_port();
+            match HttpServer::new("127.0.0.1", port, path, true, 30) {
+                Ok(svr) => return Ok((svr, port)),
+                Err(SevaError::Io(e)) if e.is_addr_in_use() => continue,
+                Err(e) => return Err(e),
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     fn start_server() -> Result<u16> {
-        let path = current_dir()?;
-        let port = get_random_port();
-        let mut server = HttpServer::new("127.0.0.1", port, path, true)?;
+        let (mut server, port) = create_server()?;
         thread::spawn(move || server.run());
         let subscriber = FmtSubscriber::builder()
             .with_max_level(Level::INFO)
@@ -600,7 +638,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn shutdown_works() -> Result<()> {
         let path = current_dir()?;
         let port = get_random_port();
-        let mut server = HttpServer::new("127.0.0.1", port, path, false)?;
+        let mut server = HttpServer::new("127.0.0.1", port, path, false, 30)?;
         let shutdown = server.shutdown.clone();
         let handle = thread::spawn(move || server.run());
         shutdown.store(true, Ordering::SeqCst);