BoundaryML/baml · error · VmBamlError

timeout: {message}

Error message

timeout: {message}

What it means

An error value from the BAML standard library, mapping to the `baml.errors.Timeout` class. It is raised when a bounded operation (e.g. an LLM call, I/O with a deadline) exceeds its allotted time; the optional `duration_ms` records the configured limit that was exceeded.

Source

Thrown at baml_language/crates/bex_vm_types/src/errors.rs:122

        message: String,
        class_name: Option<String>,
        language: Option<String>,
    },
}

/// An error value from the BAML standard library. Maps 1:1 to a `baml.errors.*` class.
#[derive(Debug, Error, PartialEq, Clone)]
pub enum VmBamlError {
    #[error("invalid argument: {message}")]
    InvalidArgument { message: String },

    #[error("parse error: {message}")]
    ParseError { message: String },

    #[error("I/O error: {message}")]
    Io { message: String },

    #[error("timeout: {message}")]
    Timeout {
        message: String,
        duration_ms: Option<i64>,
    },

    #[error("unsupported: {message}")]
    Unsupported { message: String },

    #[error("access error: {message}")]
    AccessError { message: String },

    #[error("render prompt: {message}")]
    RenderPrompt { message: String },

    #[error("LLM client error: {message}")]
    LlmClient { message: String },

    /// An error value from the host language that has no direct BAML

View on GitHub (pinned to bd85ce9dee)

Solutions

1. Increase the configured timeout for the operation (fix unit mistakes — ms vs s).
2. Catch `baml.errors.Timeout` and retry with backoff, possibly with a longer limit.
3. Check the upstream service's latency/health; timeouts often indicate an outage or rate limiting.
4. Move long work off the critical path or split it into smaller bounded steps.

Example fix

// before
let r = client.call(req, timeout_ms: 500); // too short
// after
let r = client.call(req, timeout_ms: 30000);

// BAML: ensure configured timeout is sane before the call
if timeout_ms <= 0 || timeout_ms > 600000 {
  return err("timeout_ms out of range");
}

try {
  let r = op(args, timeout_ms);
} catch e: baml.errors.Timeout {
  let r = retry_with_backoff(op, args, timeout_ms * 2);
}

When it happens

Trigger: A stdlib call with an associated timeout/duration parameter runs longer than the configured limit and is aborted; `duration_ms` is populated when a specific limit was configured, `None` when no explicit duration applies.

Common situations: Slow LLM endpoints under load; network calls without generous-enough timeouts in CI; setting timeouts too low (e.g. milliseconds vs seconds confusion) when configuring clients.

Understand the failure class

Background: Request timed out: what client-side request timeouts mean across libraries (Request timed out, TIMED_OUT, APITimeoutError) — this error's family across 39 libraries.

• Timeouts: ETIMEDOUT, deadlines, and hung requests — what actually expires when a request times out.

Related errors

• Request timed out after {0:?}
• baml.panics.Cancelled
• baml.panics.UserPanic
• baml.errors.InvalidArgument
• parse error: {message}

AI-assisted analysis of BoundaryML/baml@bd85ce9dee (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0af661467dfd90c1. Report an issue: GitHub.