fix: correct default timeout docs from 360 to 20 minutes (#21663)#21673
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fix: correct default timeout docs from 360 to 20 minutes (#21663)#21673
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The gh-aw compiler enforces a 20-minute default timeout for agentic workflow steps (DefaultAgenticWorkflowTimeout in constants.go), but several doc pages incorrectly stated the GitHub Actions platform default of 360 minutes. Fixed in: - docs/reference/rate-limiting-controls.md - docs/reference/glossary.md - docs/reference/frontmatter.md (table row) - docs/reference/custom-safe-outputs.md (table row) - docs/guides/github-actions-primer.md (clarified platform vs agentic default)
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Pull request overview
Updates documentation to reflect that gh-aw applies a 20-minute default timeout to agentic workflow execution (via timeout-minutes), rather than the GitHub Actions platform’s commonly cited 360-minute default.
Changes:
- Updates multiple reference docs to state a 20-minute default for
timeout-minutes. - Updates glossary/primer wording around default timeouts for agentic workflows vs standard GitHub Actions jobs.
- Adjusts
timeout-minutesdefault values in reference tables.
Reviewed changes
Copilot reviewed 5 out of 5 changed files in this pull request and generated 5 comments.
Show a summary per file
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| docs/src/content/docs/reference/rate-limiting-controls.md | Updates timeout default in the “Timeouts” section. |
| docs/src/content/docs/reference/glossary.md | Updates glossary definition of “Timeout” default for agentic workflows. |
| docs/src/content/docs/reference/frontmatter.md | Updates timeout-minutes default in the custom jobs supported-fields table. |
| docs/src/content/docs/reference/custom-safe-outputs.md | Updates timeout-minutes default in the safe job properties table. |
| docs/src/content/docs/guides/github-actions-primer.md | Clarifies platform vs agentic default timeout in the primer. |
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| Jobs have maximum execution times (default: 20 minutes) controlled by the top-level `timeout-minutes` field: | ||
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| ```yaml wrap | ||
| timeout-minutes: 120 # Apply 120-minute timeout to all jobs |
| ### Timeout | ||
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| Maximum duration a workflow can run before automatic cancellation. Configured via `timeout-minutes:` in frontmatter. Default is 360 minutes (6 hours); workflows can specify shorter timeouts to fail faster. | ||
| Maximum duration a workflow can run before automatic cancellation. Configured via `timeout-minutes:` in frontmatter. Default is 20 minutes for agentic workflows; workflows can specify longer timeouts if needed. |
| | `outputs` | Values exposed to downstream jobs | | ||
| | `env` | Environment variables available to all steps | | ||
| | `timeout-minutes` | Maximum job duration (default: 360) | | ||
| | `timeout-minutes` | Maximum job duration (default: 20) | |
| | `env` | object | No | Environment variables for all steps | | ||
| | `if` | string | No | Conditional execution expression | | ||
| | `timeout-minutes` | number | No | Maximum job duration (default: 360) | | ||
| | `timeout-minutes` | number | No | Maximum job duration (default: 20) | |
| ### Jobs | ||
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| A **job** is a set of steps that execute on the same runner (virtual machine). Jobs run in parallel by default but can depend on each other with `needs:`. Each job runs in a fresh VM, and results are shared between jobs using artifacts. Default timeout is 360 minutes. | ||
| A **job** is a set of steps that execute on the same runner (virtual machine). Jobs run in parallel by default but can depend on each other with `needs:`. Each job runs in a fresh VM, and results are shared between jobs using artifacts. Default timeout is 360 minutes for standard GitHub Actions jobs; agentic workflow jobs default to 20 minutes. |
Contributor
|
@copilot the timeout-minutes only applies to the |
… all jobs Co-authored-by: pelikhan <4175913+pelikhan@users.noreply.github.com>
Contributor
Fixed in 70271e5. Updated all five doc pages to clarify that the 20-minute default applies only to the agent execution step — custom jobs and safe-output jobs now correctly document the GitHub Actions platform default of 360 minutes. |
This was referenced Mar 18, 2026
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Fixes #21663
Summary
Several doc pages incorrectly stated the GitHub Actions platform default of 360 minutes for
timeout-minutes. The gh-aw compiler actually enforces a 20-minute default for agentic workflow steps (DefaultAgenticWorkflowTimeoutinpkg/constants/constants.go).Changes
docs/reference/rate-limiting-controls.mddocs/reference/glossary.mddocs/reference/frontmatter.mddocs/reference/custom-safe-outputs.mddocs/guides/github-actions-primer.md