diff --git a/include/ircd/server/request.h b/include/ircd/server/request.h
index d38b80274..7fbe0fd69 100644
--- a/include/ircd/server/request.h
+++ b/include/ircd/server/request.h
@@ -61,6 +61,12 @@ struct ircd::server::in
 	/// received so far. This is only invoked for content, not for the head;
 	/// however the first time it is invoked it is safe to view the in.head
 	std::function<void (const_buffer, const_buffer) noexcept> progress;
+
+	/// The dynamic buffer is a convenience that allows for the content buffer
+	/// to be allocated on demand once the head is received and the length is
+	/// known. To use dynamic, set the content buffer to nothing (i.e default
+	/// constructed mutable_buffer).
+	unique_buffer<mutable_buffer> dynamic;
 };
 
 /// This is a handle for being a client to another server. This handle will
@@ -108,6 +114,12 @@ struct ircd::server::request::opts
 	/// received is returned in the value and exceptions are thrown when no
 	/// code can be returned.
 	bool http_exceptions {true};
+
+	/// Only applies when using the dynamic content allocation feature; this
+	/// limits the size of that allocation in case the remote sends a larger
+	/// content-length value. If the remote sends more content, the behavior
+	/// is the same as if specifying an in.content buffer of this size.
+	size_t content_length_maxalloc {256_MiB};
 };
 
 inline
diff --git a/ircd/server.cc b/ircd/server.cc
index 6c4196e7e..09c0393c2 100644
--- a/ircd/server.cc
+++ b/ircd/server.cc
@@ -1944,6 +1944,25 @@ ircd::server::tag::read_head(const const_buffer &buffer,
 		data(beyond_head) + size(partial_content), beyond_content_len
 	};
 
+	// We branch for a feature that allows dynamic allocation of the content
+	// buffer if the user did not specify any buffer.
+	const bool dynamic
+	{
+		null(req.in.content)
+	};
+
+	if(dynamic)
+	{
+		assert(req.opts);
+		const size_t alloc_size
+		{
+			std::min(head.content_length, req.opts->content_length_maxalloc)
+		};
+
+		req.in.dynamic = unique_buffer<mutable_buffer>{alloc_size};
+		req.in.content = req.in.dynamic;
+	}
+
 	// Reduce the user's content buffer to the content-length. This is sort of
 	// how we convey the content-length back to the user. The buffer size will
 	// eventually reflect how much content was actually received; the user can