microsoft/autogen · error · ValueError

Pip install timed out

Error message

Pip install timed out

What it means

Raised during LocalCommandLineCodeExecutor's lazy function setup: the pip install subprocess (installing dependencies extracted from registered functions) exceeded self._timeout seconds while communicating, so asyncio.wait_for cancelled it and the ValueError wraps the asyncio.TimeoutError.

Source

Thrown at python/packages/autogen-ext/src/autogen_ext/code_executors/local/__init__.py:307

                py_executable = self._virtual_env_context.env_exe
            else:
                py_executable = sys.executable

            task = asyncio.create_task(
                asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
                    py_executable,
                    *cmd_args,
                    cwd=self.work_dir,
                    stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
                    stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
                )
            )
            cancellation_token.link_future(task)
            try:
                proc = await task
                stdout, stderr = await asyncio.wait_for(proc.communicate(), self._timeout)
            except asyncio.TimeoutError as e:
                raise ValueError("Pip install timed out") from e
            except asyncio.CancelledError as e:
                raise ValueError("Pip install was cancelled") from e

            if proc.returncode is not None and proc.returncode != 0:
                raise ValueError(f"Pip install failed. {stdout.decode()}, {stderr.decode()}")

        # Attempt to load the function file to check for syntax errors, imports etc.
        exec_result = await self._execute_code_dont_check_setup(
            [CodeBlock(code=func_file_content, language="python")], cancellation_token
        )

        if exec_result.exit_code != 0:
            raise ValueError(f"Functions failed to load: {exec_result.output}")

        self._setup_functions_complete = True

    async def execute_code_blocks(
        self, code_blocks: List[CodeBlock], cancellation_token: CancellationToken

View on GitHub (pinned to 027ecf0a37)

Solutions

1. Increase the executor's timeout (e.g. timeout=600) so setup has room for the pip install.
2. Pre-install heavy dependencies into the environment the executor uses (its virtual_env_context or the interpreter running the app) so pip is a no-op.
3. Warm the pip cache or use a local index mirror to speed the install.

Example fix

# before
executor = LocalCommandLineCodeExecutor(timeout=60)
# first execute_code_blocks triggers pip install of torch -> ValueError: Pip install timed out

# after
executor = LocalCommandLineCodeExecutor(timeout=600)

HEAVY = {"torch", "tensorflow", "transformers", "numpy", "pandas"}

def needs_generous_timeout(imports: set[str]) -> bool:
    return bool(imports & HEAVY)

try:
    await executor.execute_code_blocks(blocks, token)
except ValueError as e:
    if "Pip install timed out" in str(e):
        executor = LocalCommandLineCodeExecutor(timeout=600, functions=functions)
        await executor.execute_code_blocks(blocks, CancellationToken())
    else:
        raise

When it happens

Trigger: Registering functions whose dependencies trigger a large pip install (numpy, torch, etc.) while timeout is small (e.g. the 60s default); slow networks or cold pip caches make proc.communicate() exceed the executor timeout on the first execute_code_blocks call.

Common situations: First execution after construction with heavy dependencies (setup is deferred to the first code block), CI with cold caches, restricted networks where PyPI is slow, default 60s timeout with torch/transformers installs.

Understand the failure class

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

Related errors

• Pip install failed. {stdout.decode()}, {stderr.decode()}
• Pip install was cancelled
• Functions failed to load: {exec_result.output}
• Invalid message type
• No such element.

AI-assisted analysis of microsoft/autogen@027ecf0a37 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2521a8c18044bece. Report an issue: GitHub.