n8n-io/n8n · error · ConfigurationError

Task timeout must be positive, got {task_timeout}

Error message

Task timeout must be positive, got {task_timeout}

What it means

Thrown by TaskRunnerConfig.from_env when the task timeout read from N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_TIMEOUT is zero or negative. The task timeout is the maximum wall-clock seconds a Python code task may run before being killed; a non-positive value would mean immediate or never-ending timeout, neither of which is sensible.

Source

Thrown at packages/@n8n/task-runner-python/src/config/task_runner_config.py:82

    builtins_deny: set[str]
    env_deny: bool
    allow_transitive_imports: bool

    @property
    def is_auto_shutdown_enabled(self) -> bool:
        return self.auto_shutdown_timeout > 0

    @classmethod
    def from_env(cls):
        grant_token = read_str_env(ENV_GRANT_TOKEN, "")
        if not grant_token:
            raise ConfigurationError(
                "Environment variable N8N_RUNNERS_GRANT_TOKEN is required"
            )

        task_timeout = read_int_env(ENV_TASK_TIMEOUT, DEFAULT_TASK_TIMEOUT)
        if task_timeout <= 0:
            raise ConfigurationError(
                f"Task timeout must be positive, got {task_timeout}"
            )

        auto_shutdown_timeout = read_int_env(
            ENV_AUTO_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT, DEFAULT_AUTO_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT
        )
        if auto_shutdown_timeout < 0:
            raise ConfigurationError(
                f"Auto shutdown timeout must be non-negative, got {auto_shutdown_timeout}"
            )

        graceful_shutdown_timeout = read_int_env(
            ENV_GRACEFUL_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT, DEFAULT_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT
        )
        if graceful_shutdown_timeout <= 0:
            raise ConfigurationError(
                f"Graceful shutdown timeout must be positive, got {graceful_shutdown_timeout}"
            )

View on GitHub (pinned to 5ac6606e81)

Solutions

1. Set N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_TIMEOUT to a positive integer (e.g. 60 for 60 seconds).
2. If you want a very long timeout, use a large positive value (e.g. 3600) rather than 0 or negative.
3. Check the environment variable for accidental negative signs or zero values.
4. Restart the runner after correcting the value.

Example fix

# before
export N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_TIMEOUT=0
# after
export N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_TIMEOUT=60

task_timeout = int(os.environ.get('N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_TIMEOUT', '60'))
if task_timeout <= 0:
    raise ValueError(f'Task timeout must be positive, got {task_timeout}')

from config.task_runner_config import ConfigurationError

try:
    config = TaskRunnerConfig.from_env()
except ConfigurationError as e:
    print(f'Fix configuration: {e}')
    sys.exit(1)

When it happens

Trigger: The environment variable ENV_TASK_TIMEOUT is set to 0, a negative number, or left unset but the default DEFAULT_TASK_TIMEOUT was somehow overridden to a non-positive value. The check `if task_timeout <= 0` fires in from_env.

Common situations: Setting the timeout to 0 intending 'no timeout' (use a large number instead). Accidentally setting a negative value through a miscalculation in a deployment script. The default constant was changed incorrectly in a fork or custom build.

Understand the failure class

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

Related errors

• Auto shutdown timeout must be non-negative, got {auto_shutdo
• Graceful shutdown timeout must be positive, got {graceful_sh
• Environment variable N8N_RUNNERS_GRANT_TOKEN is required
• Max payload size of {max_payload_size} bytes exceeds pipe me
• Failed to read {env_name}_FILE from file {file_path}: {e}

AI-assisted analysis of n8n-io/n8n@5ac6606e81 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0e63c615b3ab5b75. Report an issue: GitHub.