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In this guide, you’ll learn how to set a job-level timeout in GitLab CI/CD. Long-running or stalled jobs—caused by script errors, network issues, or unresolved dependencies—can block pipelines and consume resources. By defining a timeout, any job that exceeds the allotted time is automatically terminated.

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Sample Pipeline Without Timeout

Here’s a basic pipeline that deploys an application but uses a sleep command to simulate a long-running step: 
workflow:
  name: Exploring GitLab CI Concepts
  rules:
    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"'
  variables:
    DEPLOY_VARIABLE: PRODUCTION

deploy-job:
  resource_group: production
  script:
    - echo "Deploying application..."
    - sleep 30s
    - echo "Application successfully deployed to $DEPLOY_VARIABLE environment"
A stalled or infinite loop in script can cause your pipeline to hang. Always test long-running commands locally before adding them to CI.

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Why Use Job-Level Timeouts?

  • Prevent rogue or hung jobs from consuming runner resources
  • Ensure faster pipeline feedback and fail-fast behavior
  • Avoid billing surprises on shared or cloud runners
Defining too-short a timeout may lead to unexpected job failures. Choose a duration that accommodates normal execution time plus a buffer.

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Adding a Timeout to a Job

To configure a timeout, add the timeout keyword to any job. GitLab supports human-readable durations in a variety of formats: 
build:
  script: ./build.sh
  timeout: 3 hours 30 minutes

test:
  script: rspec
  timeout: 3h 30m

lint:
  script: ./lint.sh
  timeout: 3600 seconds

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Supported Duration Formats

FormatExamples
Hours and minutes3 hours 30 minutes
Compact (h/m/s)3h30m, 45m, 10s
Full words1 hour, 90 seconds
Combined units1h 15m, 2h5m30s
For more details, see GitLab CI/CD Timeout Settings.

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Example: Forcing a Fast Failure

If you want your deploy-job to be canceled after 10 seconds, add timeout: 10s: 
workflow:
  name: Exploring GitLab CI Concepts
  rules:
    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"'
  variables:
    DEPLOY_VARIABLE: PRODUCTION

deploy-job:
  resource_group: production
  timeout: 10s
  script:
    - echo "Deploying application..."
    - sleep 300s
    - echo "Application successfully deployed to $DEPLOY_VARIABLE environment"
When the job exceeds 10 seconds, the runner will terminate it and you’ll see: 
ERROR: Job failed: execution took longer than 10 seconds

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Final Pipeline Configuration

Below is the complete pipeline configured with a 10-second timeout for deploy-job: 
workflow:
  name: Exploring GitLab CI Concepts
  rules:
    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"'
  variables:
    DEPLOY_VARIABLE: PRODUCTION

deploy-job:
  resource_group: production
  timeout: 10s
  script:
    - echo "Deploying application..."
    - sleep 360s
    - echo "Application successfully deployed to $DEPLOY_VARIABLE environment"
Choose a timeout value that aligns with your job’s expected duration to maintain pipeline reliability and resource efficiency.

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