diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 5ab1387..6bd5674 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 SRC = $(wildcard src/*.c)
 OBJ = $(subst .c,.o,$(subst src,work,$(SRC)))
-LIBS = -pthread -pie $(shell pkg-config --libs gnutls)
+LIBS = -pthread -pie -lrt $(shell pkg-config --libs gnutls)
 CFLAGS := -O2 -pipe -Wall -Wpedantic -Werror
 CFLAGS += -Isrc/include -fpie $(shell pkg-config --cflags gnutls)
 INSTALLDIR := /usr/bin
diff --git a/documentation/sitefiles.md b/documentation/sitefiles.md
index 2cb55d4..be158cd 100644
--- a/documentation/sitefiles.md
+++ b/documentation/sitefiles.md
@@ -31,3 +31,4 @@ sitefiles also allow comments with #
 	* TLS
 * ```key``` - The filepath of the private key to use if transport == TLS
 * ```cert``` - The filepath of the certificate to use if transport == TLS
+* ```timeout``` - The amount of time to wait for data before closing the connection in ms
diff --git a/example/sitefile b/example/sitefile
index 3a17673..846e3a7 100644
--- a/example/sitefile
+++ b/example/sitefile
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 define transport TLS
 define key domain.key
 define cert domain.crt
+define timeout 2000
 
 set host localhost:8000
 read ^/$ site/index.html
diff --git a/src/connections.c b/src/connections.c
index b444e2b..08ed7b0 100644
--- a/src/connections.c
+++ b/src/connections.c
@@ -53,6 +53,13 @@ int newConnection(Stream *stream, Connection *ret) {
 	ret->body = NULL;
 	//pointers to things that are allocated within functions should be
 	//initialized to NULL so that free() doens't fail.
+
+	struct timespec currentTime;
+	if (clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &currentTime) < 0) {
+		free(ret->currLine);
+		return 1;
+	}
+	memcpy(&ret->lastdata, &currentTime, sizeof(struct timespec));
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -195,14 +202,26 @@ static int processChar(Connection *conn, char c, Sitefile *site) {
 	return 0;
 }
 
+long diff(struct timespec *t1, struct timespec *t2) {
+	return (t2->tv_sec - t1->tv_sec) * 1000 +
+		(t2->tv_nsec - t1->tv_nsec) / 1000000;
+}
+
 int updateConnection(Connection *conn, Sitefile *site) {
 	char buff[300];
 	for (;;) {
+		struct timespec currentTime;
+		if (clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &currentTime) < 0)
+			return 1;
+		if (site->timeout > 0 &&
+		    diff(&conn->lastdata, &currentTime) > site->timeout)
+			return 1;
 		ssize_t received = recvStream(conn->stream, buff, sizeof(buff));
 		if (received < 0)
 			return errno != EAGAIN;
 		if (received == 0)
 			break;
+		memcpy(&conn->lastdata, &currentTime, sizeof(struct timespec));
 		for (unsigned long i = 0; i < received; i++) {
 			if (processChar(conn, buff[i], site))
 				return 1;
diff --git a/src/include/connections.h b/src/include/connections.h
index a84266e..6c76a29 100644
--- a/src/include/connections.h
+++ b/src/include/connections.h
@@ -37,6 +37,9 @@ typedef struct Connection {
 	Stream *stream;
 	ConnectionSteps progress;
 
+	struct timespec lastdata;
+	//the last time that data was received from this connection.
+
 	RequestType type;
 	char *path;
 	//ephemeral
diff --git a/src/include/sitefile.h b/src/include/sitefile.h
index 4704b69..b93faf7 100644
--- a/src/include/sitefile.h
+++ b/src/include/sitefile.h
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ typedef struct {
 	SocketType type;
 	char *key;
 	char *cert;
+	int timeout;
 } Sitefile;
 
 Sitefile *parseSitefile(char *path);
diff --git a/src/include/sockets.h b/src/include/sockets.h
index 942ce05..f4b1c2b 100644
--- a/src/include/sockets.h
+++ b/src/include/sockets.h
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ Listener *createListener(SocketType type, uint16_t port, int backlog, ...);
 //extra arguments depend on type (similar to fcntl):
 //tcp: (void)
 //tls: (char *keyfile, char *certfile, char *ocspfile)
-Stream *acceptStream(Listener *listener, int flags);
+Stream *acceptStream(Listener *listener);
 //returns 1 on error, accepts fcntl flags
 
 void freeListener(Listener *listener);
diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index c1af31c..944c8be 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
 	createLog("swebs started");
 
 	for (;;) {
-		Stream *stream = acceptStream(listener, O_NONBLOCK);
+		Stream *stream = acceptStream(listener);
 		if (stream == NULL) {
 			createLog("Accepting a stream failed");
 			continue;
diff --git a/src/runner.c b/src/runner.c
index 4e93863..43ea5fd 100644
--- a/src/runner.c
+++ b/src/runner.c
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
    along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 */
+#define _GNU_SOURCE
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
@@ -49,15 +50,21 @@ void *runServer(RunnerArgs *args) {
 		poll(fds, connCount, -1);
 
 		for (int i = 1; i < connCount; i++) {
-			if (updateConnection(connections + i, site)) {
-				connCount--;
-				memcpy(fds + i, fds + connCount,
-						sizeof(struct pollfd));
-				pending[id]--;
-			}
+			if (fds[i].revents & POLLRDHUP)
+				goto remove;
+			if (updateConnection(connections + i, site))
+				goto remove;
+			continue;
+remove:
+			connCount--;
+			memcpy(fds + i, fds + connCount,
+					sizeof(struct pollfd));
+			memcpy(connections + i, fds + connCount,
+					sizeof(struct pollfd));
+			pending[id]--;
 		}
 
-		if (fds[0].revents == POLLIN) {
+		if (fds[0].revents & POLLIN) {
 			if (connCount >= allocConns) {
 				allocConns *= 2;
 				struct pollfd *newfds = realloc(fds,
@@ -76,7 +83,7 @@ void *runServer(RunnerArgs *args) {
 			if (read(notify, &stream, sizeof(stream)) < sizeof(stream))
 				exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
 			fds[connCount].fd = stream->fd;
-			fds[connCount].events = POLLIN;
+			fds[connCount].events = POLLIN | POLLRDHUP;
 
 			if (newConnection(stream, connections + connCount))
 				exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
diff --git a/src/sitefile.c b/src/sitefile.c
index f66b95b..7710709 100644
--- a/src/sitefile.c
+++ b/src/sitefile.c
@@ -175,6 +175,7 @@ Sitefile *parseSitefile(char *path) {
 	ret->type = TCP;
 	ret->key = NULL;
 	ret->cert = NULL;
+	ret->timeout = 0;
 	int allocatedLength = 50;
 	ret->size = 0;
 	ret->content = malloc(allocatedLength * sizeof(SiteCommand));
@@ -237,6 +238,8 @@ setValue:
 				ret->key = copyString(argv[2]);
 			else if (strcmp(argv[1], "cert") == 0)
 				ret->cert = copyString(argv[2]);
+			else if (strcmp(argv[1], "timeout") == 0)
+				ret->timeout = atoi(argv[2]);
 			else
 				goto error;
 			continue;
diff --git a/src/sockets.c b/src/sockets.c
index 1bad478..12d6b44 100644
--- a/src/sockets.c
+++ b/src/sockets.c
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ error:
 	return NULL;
 }
 
-Stream *acceptStream(Listener *listener, int flags) {
+Stream *acceptStream(Listener *listener) {
 	Stream *ret = malloc(sizeof(Stream));
 	if (ret == NULL)
 		return NULL;
@@ -126,10 +126,6 @@ Stream *acceptStream(Listener *listener, int flags) {
 				goto error;
 			break;
 	}
-	{
-		int flags = fcntl(ret->fd, F_GETFD);
-		fcntl(ret->fd, F_SETFD, flags | O_NONBLOCK);
-	}
 	return ret;
 error:
 	close(ret->fd);