@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ program
   .option('--cors-proxy-max-bytes <n>', 'CORS proxy upstream response size cap (default 50MB)', parseInt)
   .option('--cors-proxy-timeout-ms <ms>', 'CORS proxy upstream request timeout (default 30s)', parseInt)
   .option('--cors-proxy-max-redirects <n>', 'CORS proxy max redirect hops, each re-validated (default 5)', parseInt)
-  .option('--body-limit <size>', 'Maximum request body size, e.g. 100MB or 1GB (default 10MB). Raise to accept larger `git push`; lower for tighter memory-DoS protection.')
+  .option('--body-limit <size>', 'Maximum request body size, e.g. 100MB or 1GB (default 20MB). Raise to accept larger `git push`; lower for tighter memory-DoS protection.')
   .option('--nostr', 'Enable Nostr relay')
   .option('--no-nostr', 'Disable Nostr relay')
   .option('--nostr-path <path>', 'Nostr relay WebSocket path (default: /relay)')

@@ -20,11 +20,12 @@ export const defaults = {
   host: '0.0.0.0',
   root: './data',
   // Maximum request body size in bytes (or a size string when supplied
-  // via CLI / config file, e.g. "100MB"). Default 10 MiB matches the
-  // previous hard-coded Fastify limit. Operators hosting personal pods
-  // may want to raise this so that large `git push` of an established
-  // app repo doesn't 413 — see #474.
-  bodyLimit: 10 * 1024 * 1024,
+  // via CLI / config file, e.g. "100MB"). 20 MiB default (#563) — a
+  // generous out-of-the-box limit for common workloads (larger `git
+  // push`, media uploads, bigger RDF documents). Raise via --body-limit
+  // / JSS_BODY_LIMIT for established app repos (#474); lower it for
+  // tighter memory-DoS protection.
+  bodyLimit: 20 * 1024 * 1024,
 
   // SSL
   sslKey: null,

@@ -187,8 +187,8 @@ export function createServer(options = {}) {
   // already coerced by parseEnvValue) pass through unchanged; strings
   // ("100MB" from CLI / config files) go through parseSize for
   // size-shorthand support. The typeof check matters because parseSize
-  // calls `.match` on its input and would throw on a raw number. Default
-  // matches the previous hard-coded 10 MiB cap. See #474.
+  // calls `.match` on its input and would throw on a raw number. Falls
+  // back to defaults.bodyLimit (20 MiB, #563) when unset. See #474.
   const bodyLimit = options.bodyLimit == null
     ? defaults.bodyLimit
     : (typeof options.bodyLimit === 'number' ? options.bodyLimit : parseSize(options.bodyLimit));

@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@
  *
  * Tests here verify the surface end-to-end — server actually rejects
  * over-size requests with 413, AND the size-string parsing path works
- * the same as the numeric path. The default (10 MiB) is covered
- * implicitly by every other test in the suite continuing to pass.
+ * the same as the numeric path. The out-of-the-box default (20 MiB
+ * since #563) is pinned explicitly via Fastify's initialConfig.
  */
 
 import { describe, it, before, after, afterEach } from 'node:test';
@@ -102,4 +102,14 @@ describe('configurable bodyLimit (#474)', () => {
     assert.notStrictEqual(res.status, 413,
       `100-byte body under a 10KB cap should not 413; got ${res.status}`);
   });
+
+  it('defaults to a 20 MiB body limit when none is configured (#563)', async () => {
+    await fs.emptyDir(TEST_DATA_DIR);
+    server = createServer({ logger: false, forceCloseConnections: true, root: TEST_DATA_DIR });
+    // Pin the EFFECTIVE wired default, not the constant in isolation:
+    // Fastify freezes resolved options into initialConfig, so this
+    // exercises config.defaults.bodyLimit → createServer → Fastify.
+    assert.strictEqual(server.initialConfig.bodyLimit, 20 * 1024 * 1024,
+      `expected the out-of-the-box default to be 20 MiB; got ${server.initialConfig.bodyLimit}`);
+  });
 });