diff --git a/syftbox/client/base.py b/syftbox/client/base.py
index 0d4d82db..ca12b83d 100644
--- a/syftbox/client/base.py
+++ b/syftbox/client/base.py
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ def from_config(
             base_url=str(config.server_url),
             follow_redirects=True,
             headers=cls._make_headers(config),
-            timeout=10,
+            timeout=config.client_timeout,
             transport=transport,
         )
         return cls(conn)
diff --git a/syftbox/lib/client_config.py b/syftbox/lib/client_config.py
index fb3f9fc7..640a8fa8 100644
--- a/syftbox/lib/client_config.py
+++ b/syftbox/lib/client_config.py
@@ -62,6 +62,9 @@ class SyftClientConfig(BaseModel):
     path: Path = Field(exclude=True, description="Path to the config file")
     """Path to the config file"""
 
+    client_timeout: float = Field(default=5, description="Timeout used by the client connection to the SyftBox server")
+    """Timeout used by the client connection to the SyftBox server"""
+
     @field_validator("client_url", mode="before")
     def port_to_url(cls, val: Union[int, str]) -> Optional[str]:
         if isinstance(val, int):