diff --git a/.docs/README.md b/.docs/README.md
index 42a821a..13bc655 100644
--- a/.docs/README.md
+++ b/.docs/README.md
@@ -101,6 +101,19 @@ webpack:
 You can also implement your own mapper, simply extend `Contributte\Webpack\Manifest\ManifestMapper` and implement its `map()` method. It takes the parsed JSON content of the manifest file and is expected to return a flat array mapping asset names to file names.
 
 
+
+#### Manifest loading timeout
+
+You can specify a timeout for manifest loading from webpack-dev-server. The timeout defaults to 1 second.
+
+```neon
+webpack:
+	manifest:
+		name: manifest.json
+		timeout: 0.5
+```
+
+
 ### Debugger
 
 In development environment, this package registers its own debug bar panel into Tracy, giving you the overview of
diff --git a/src/DI/WebpackExtension.php b/src/DI/WebpackExtension.php
index 69510af..26ffbf5 100644
--- a/src/DI/WebpackExtension.php
+++ b/src/DI/WebpackExtension.php
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ public function getConfigSchema(): Schema
 				'name' => Expect::string()->nullable(),
 				'optimize' => Expect::bool(!$this->debugMode && (!$this->consoleMode || (bool) \getenv('CONTRIBUTTE_WEBPACK_OPTIMIZE_MANIFEST'))),
 				'mapper' => Expect::anyOf(Expect::string(), Expect::type(Statement::class))->default(WebpackManifestPluginMapper::class),
+				'timeout' => Expect::anyOf(Expect::float(), Expect::int())->default(1),
 			])->castTo('array'),
 		])->castTo('array');
 	}
@@ -151,7 +152,8 @@ private function setupAssetResolver(array $config): ServiceDefinition
 			if (!$config['manifest']['optimize']) {
 				$loader = $builder->addDefinition($this->prefix('manifestLoader'))
 					->setFactory(ManifestLoader::class, [
-						1 => new Statement($config['manifest']['mapper']),
+						'manifestMapper' => new Statement($config['manifest']['mapper']),
+						'timeout' => $config['manifest']['timeout'],
 					])
 					->setAutowired(false);
 
@@ -165,7 +167,7 @@ private function setupAssetResolver(array $config): ServiceDefinition
 				$mapperInstance = new $config['manifest']['mapper']();
 
 				$directoryProviderInstance = new BuildDirectoryProvider($config['build']['directory'], $devServerInstance);
-				$loaderInstance = new ManifestLoader($directoryProviderInstance, $mapperInstance);
+				$loaderInstance = new ManifestLoader($directoryProviderInstance, $mapperInstance, $config['manifest']['timeout']);
 				$manifestCache = $loaderInstance->loadManifest($config['manifest']['name']);
 
 				$assetResolver->setFactory(AssetNameResolver\StaticAssetNameResolver::class, [$manifestCache]);
diff --git a/src/Manifest/ManifestLoader.php b/src/Manifest/ManifestLoader.php
index 05cedca..9404776 100644
--- a/src/Manifest/ManifestLoader.php
+++ b/src/Manifest/ManifestLoader.php
@@ -16,10 +16,16 @@ final class ManifestLoader
 
 	private ManifestMapper $manifestMapper;
 
-	public function __construct(BuildDirectoryProvider $directoryProvider, ManifestMapper $manifestMapper)
-	{
+	private float $timeout;
+
+	public function __construct(
+		BuildDirectoryProvider $directoryProvider,
+		ManifestMapper $manifestMapper,
+		float $timeout
+	) {
 		$this->directoryProvider = $directoryProvider;
 		$this->manifestMapper = $manifestMapper;
+		$this->timeout = $timeout;
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -39,9 +45,16 @@ public function loadManifest(string $fileName): array
 				$manifest = false;
 			} else {
 				\curl_setopt_array($ch, [
+					\CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => 'GET',
+					\CURLOPT_PROTOCOLS => \CURLPROTO_HTTP | \CURLPROTO_HTTPS,
+
 					\CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
 					\CURLOPT_FAILONERROR => true,
 
+					// setup timeout; this requires NOSIGNAL for values below 1s
+					\CURLOPT_TIMEOUT_MS => $this->timeout * 1000,
+					\CURLOPT_NOSIGNAL => $this->timeout < 1 && \PHP_OS_FAMILY !== 'Windows',
+
 					// allow self-signed certificates
 					\CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST => 0,
 					\CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER => false,
@@ -61,7 +74,7 @@ public function loadManifest(string $fileName): array
 			throw new CannotLoadManifestException(\sprintf(
 				"Manifest file '%s' could not be loaded: %s",
 				$path,
-				$errorMessage ?? (\error_get_last()['message'] ?? 'unknown error')
+				$errorMessage ?? \error_get_last()['message'] ?? 'unknown error',
 			));
 		}
 
diff --git a/tests/AssetNameResolver/ManifestAssetNameResolverTest.phpt b/tests/AssetNameResolver/ManifestAssetNameResolverTest.phpt
index 7aa8af8..f90de14 100644
--- a/tests/AssetNameResolver/ManifestAssetNameResolverTest.phpt
+++ b/tests/AssetNameResolver/ManifestAssetNameResolverTest.phpt
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ final class ManifestAssetNameResolverTest extends TestCase
 		$manifestLoader = new ManifestLoader(
 			createBuildDirectoryProvider(__DIR__),
 			new WebpackManifestPluginMapper(),
+			1,
 		);
 
 		$resolver = new ManifestAssetNameResolver('manifest.json', $manifestLoader);
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ final class ManifestAssetNameResolverTest extends TestCase
 			// parent directory doesn't contain manifest.json => throws CannotLoadManifestException
 			createBuildDirectoryProvider(__DIR__ . '/Webpack'),
 			new WebpackManifestPluginMapper(),
+			1,
 		);
 
 		$resolver = new ManifestAssetNameResolver('manifest.json', $manifestLoader);
diff --git a/tests/Manifest/ManifestLoaderTest.phpt b/tests/Manifest/ManifestLoaderTest.phpt
index bf0e7b7..689651a 100644
--- a/tests/Manifest/ManifestLoaderTest.phpt
+++ b/tests/Manifest/ManifestLoaderTest.phpt
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ final class ManifestLoaderTest extends TestCase
 			}
 		};
 
-		$manifestLoader = new ManifestLoader($buildDirProvider, $manifestMapper);
+		$manifestLoader = new ManifestLoader($buildDirProvider, $manifestMapper, 1);
 
 		Assert::same(__DIR__ . '/manifest.json', $manifestLoader->getManifestPath('manifest.json'));
 		Assert::same(['asset.js' => 'mapped.asset.js'], $manifestLoader->loadManifest('manifest.json'));