flippercloud/flipper · error · ArgumentError

:max_timeout_ms must be >= 0 but was #{@max_timeout_ms.inspe

Error message

:max_timeout_ms must be >= 0 but was #{@max_timeout_ms.inspect}

What it means

Error ":max_timeout_ms must be >= 0 but was #{@max_timeout_ms.inspect}" thrown in flippercloud/flipper.

Source

Thrown at lib/flipper/cloud/telemetry/backoff_policy.rb:53

          @min_timeout_ms = options.fetch(:min_timeout_ms) {
            ENV.fetch("FLIPPER_BACKOFF_MIN_TIMEOUT_MS", MIN_TIMEOUT_MS).to_i
          }
          @max_timeout_ms = options.fetch(:max_timeout_ms) {
            ENV.fetch("FLIPPER_BACKOFF_MAX_TIMEOUT_MS", MAX_TIMEOUT_MS).to_i
          }
          @multiplier = options.fetch(:multiplier) {
            ENV.fetch("FLIPPER_BACKOFF_MULTIPLIER", MULTIPLIER).to_f
          }
          @randomization_factor = options.fetch(:randomization_factor) {
            ENV.fetch("FLIPPER_BACKOFF_RANDOMIZATION_FACTOR", RANDOMIZATION_FACTOR).to_f
          }

          unless @min_timeout_ms >= 0
            raise ArgumentError, ":min_timeout_ms must be >= 0 but was #{@min_timeout_ms.inspect}"
          end

          unless @max_timeout_ms >= 0
            raise ArgumentError, ":max_timeout_ms must be >= 0 but was #{@max_timeout_ms.inspect}"
          end

          unless @min_timeout_ms <= max_timeout_ms
            raise ArgumentError, ":min_timeout_ms (#{@min_timeout_ms.inspect}) must be <= :max_timeout_ms (#{@max_timeout_ms.inspect})"
          end

          @attempts = 0
        end

        # Public: Returns the next backoff interval in milliseconds.
        def next_interval
          interval = @min_timeout_ms * (@multiplier**@attempts)
          interval = add_jitter(interval, @randomization_factor)

          @attempts += 1

          # cap the interval to the max timeout
          result = [interval, @max_timeout_ms].min

View on GitHub (pinned to 1f86de3ec9)

Solutions

1. Pass max_timeout_ms as a non-negative number (>= 0)
2. Remove the option to use the default backoff policy values
3. Fix the configuration value; a negative or nil max_timeout_ms is invalid

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/flipper/cloud/telemetry/backoff_policy.rb:53 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

Understand the failure class

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

AI-assisted analysis of flippercloud/flipper@1f86de3ec9 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0232e08370dc38e6. Report an issue: GitHub.