The Problem
Your users request a large CSV export of 50,000 orders. You build the file synchronously in a controller:
public function export()
{
$file = fopen('php://temp', 'w+');
Order::chunk(1000, function ($orders) use ($file) {
foreach ($orders as $order) {
fputcsv($file, [$order->id, $order->total, $order->status]);
}
});
rewind($file);
return response()->stream(function() use ($file) {
fpassthru($file);
}, 200, [
'Content-Type' => 'text/csv',
'Content-Disposition' => 'attachment; filename="orders.csv"',
]);
}The request times out after 30 seconds. The user sees a 504 Gateway Timeout error.
The Fix
Dispatch a queued job that emails the file when it’s ready:
// Controller
public function export(Request $request)
{
GenerateOrdersReport::dispatch($request->user());
return back()->with('success', 'Report is being generated. We\'ll email you when it\'s ready.');
}
// app/Jobs/GenerateOrdersReport.php
class GenerateOrdersReport implements ShouldQueue
{
public $timeout = 600; // 10 minutes
public $tries = 1;
public function __construct(
private User $user
) {}
public function handle()
{
ini_set('memory_limit', '512M');
$filename = 'orders-' . now()->format('Y-m-d-His') . '.csv';
$path = storage_path('app/exports/' . $filename);
$file = fopen($path, 'w');
fputcsv($file, ['Order ID', 'Total', 'Status']); // header
Order::chunk(1000, function ($orders) use ($file) {
foreach ($orders as $order) {
fputcsv($file, [$order->id, $order->total, $order->status]);
}
});
fclose($file);
$this->user->notify(new ReportReady($filename));
}
}The notification email includes a download link:
// app/Notifications/ReportReady.php
class ReportReady extends Notification
{
public function __construct(
private string $filename
) {}
public function via($notifiable)
{
return ['mail'];
}
public function toMail($notifiable)
{
$url = route('reports.download', $this->filename);
return (new MailMessage)
->subject('Your report is ready')
->line('Your export has been generated.')
->action('Download Report', $url)
->line('This link expires in 24 hours.');
}
}Why It Works
- No timeout — The job can run for minutes without hitting HTTP limits
- User feedback — Instant response (“We’re working on it”) instead of a hanging request
- Memory control — Explicit
ini_set('memory_limit')prevents runaway processes - Retry safety —
$tries = 1prevents duplicate reports if the job fails midway
Best Practices
- Set explicit timeouts — Don’t let jobs run forever
- Clean up old files — Schedule a daily job to delete exports older than 7 days
- Rate limit export requests — Prevent users from queuing 10 exports at once
- Track job status — Store
$job->getJobId()in the database so you can show “In Progress” UI
For any operation that takes more than 5 seconds, move it to a queue. Users appreciate instant feedback more than waiting for a loading spinner.