diff --git a/src/ai_typewriter/config.py b/src/ai_typewriter/config.py
index cef092b..f661699 100644
--- a/src/ai_typewriter/config.py
+++ b/src/ai_typewriter/config.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ class AppConfig:
     api_key: str = ""
     server_url: str = "http://localhost:11434"
     hotkey: str = "ctrl+alt+a"
-    request_timeout_seconds: float = 120.0
+    request_timeout_seconds: float | None = 300.0
     copy_wait_seconds: float = 1.0
     type_delay_seconds: float = 0.0
     restore_clipboard: bool = True
@@ -33,6 +33,13 @@ def _coerce_provider(value: Any) -> Provider:
     return provider  # type: ignore[return-value]
 
 
+def _coerce_timeout(value: Any) -> float | None:
+    timeout = float(value)
+    if timeout <= 0:
+        return None
+    return timeout
+
+
 def load_config(path: str | Path = "config.json") -> AppConfig:
     cfg_path = Path(path)
     if not cfg_path.exists():
@@ -46,7 +53,7 @@ def load_config(path: str | Path = "config.json") -> AppConfig:
         api_key=str(data.get("api_key", "")),
         server_url=str(data.get("server_url", "http://localhost:11434")).rstrip("/"),
         hotkey=str(data.get("hotkey", "ctrl+alt+a")).lower(),
-        request_timeout_seconds=float(data.get("request_timeout_seconds", 120)),
+        request_timeout_seconds=_coerce_timeout(data.get("request_timeout_seconds", 300)),
         copy_wait_seconds=float(data.get("copy_wait_seconds", 1)),
         type_delay_seconds=float(data.get("type_delay_seconds", 0)),
         restore_clipboard=bool(data.get("restore_clipboard", True)),