HangfireIO/Hangfire · error · ArgumentException

Timeout argument value should be greater than zero.

Error message

Timeout argument value should be greater than zero.

What it means

DisableConcurrentExecutionAttribute's constructor (DisableConcurrentExecutionAttribute.cs:30) validates that the timeout (in seconds) is non-negative. A negative timeout is meaningless for a distributed lock acquisition and would produce invalid TimeSpan behavior, so an ArgumentException is thrown. Note: the message says 'greater than zero' but the check is '< 0', so 0 is permitted (meaning no wait / immediate fail).

Source

Thrown at src/Hangfire.Core/DisableConcurrentExecutionAttribute.cs:30

// 
// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public 
// License along with Hangfire. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

using System;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Linq;
using Hangfire.Annotations;
using Hangfire.Common;
using Hangfire.Server;
using Newtonsoft.Json;

namespace Hangfire
{
    public class DisableConcurrentExecutionAttribute : JobFilterAttribute, IServerFilter
    {
        public DisableConcurrentExecutionAttribute(int timeoutInSeconds)
        {
            if (timeoutInSeconds < 0) throw new ArgumentException("Timeout argument value should be greater than zero.");

            TimeoutSec = timeoutInSeconds;
        }
        
        [JsonConstructor]
        public DisableConcurrentExecutionAttribute(string resource, int timeoutSec)
            : this(timeoutSec)
        {
            Resource = resource;
        }

        [CanBeNull]
        public string Resource { get; }
        public int TimeoutSec { get; }

        public void OnPerforming(PerformingContext context)
        {
            var resource = GetResource(context.BackgroundJob.Job);

View on GitHub (pinned to c236dd0f93)

Solutions

1. Use a non-negative timeout value (>= 0).
2. Validate configuration-sourced timeout values before applying the attribute.
3. Use a meaningful positive timeout (e.g. 30 or 60 seconds) to allow reasonable wait time for the lock.

Example fix

// before
[DisableConcurrentExecution(-5)]
public void ProcessJob(int id) { ... }

// after
[DisableConcurrentExecution(30)]
public void ProcessJob(int id) { ... }

if (timeoutInSeconds < 0)
    throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(timeoutInSeconds),
        "Timeout must be non-negative.");
// then apply attribute or configure dynamically

When it happens

Trigger: Applying [DisableConcurrentExecution(timeoutInSeconds)] with a negative value, e.g. [DisableConcurrentExecution(-1)].

Common situations: Config-driven timeout value parsed as negative due to a sign error or missing config default; arithmetic that subtracts producing a negative result.

Understand the failure class

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

Related errors

• Can not release a distributed lock: it was not acquired.
• Unable to obtain resource identifier: {ex.Message}
• Could not release a lock on the resource '{lockCommand.Item3
• Attempts value must be equal or greater than zero.
• DelaysInSeconds value must be an array of non-negative numbe

AI-assisted analysis of HangfireIO/Hangfire@c236dd0f93 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2addffcaaa33b911. Report an issue: GitHub.