Bolt api

Long-Running Job Timeout - Background Tasks Interrupted

Long-running operations (file processing, email sending, bulk updates) timeout. Tasks don't complete.

Operations that take >30 seconds fail on serverless deployments.

Error Messages You Might See

Operation timeout after 60 seconds Function execution terminated Task interrupted by timeout Job never completed
Operation timeout after 60 secondsFunction execution terminatedTask interrupted by timeoutJob never completed

Common Causes

  1. Running long task synchronously in API route
  2. Serverless timeout shorter than task duration
  3. No background job queue (Bull, RabbitMQ)
  4. Task killed before cleanup code runs
  5. No retry mechanism for failed jobs

How to Fix It

Use background job queue: Bull, RabbitMQ, or cloud services (Google Tasks, AWS SQS)

Pattern: API returns immediately with job ID, frontend polls for status

Implement retry logic with exponential backoff

Add timeout to job: if not complete in 5 min, mark failed and retry

Process jobs outside request context: cron job, worker service, or queue consumer

Real developers can help you.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I handle long tasks?

Queue the job, return immediately with ID. Frontend polls /api/job/id for status

What's a good job timeout?

Set longer than expected: if usually 2min, set 5min timeout. Prevents premature kills

Should I retry failed jobs?

Yes. Retry with exponential backoff: 1min, 5min, 30min. Max 3-5 retries

Related Bolt Issues

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