remotion-dev/remotion · error · TypeError

parameter 'timeoutInSeconds' must be a number, but got a ${t

Error message

parameter 'timeoutInSeconds' must be a number, but got a ${typeof timeoutInSeconds}

What it means

Thrown by validateTimeout() in @remotion/lambda when the 'timeoutInSeconds' option is not a number. This is the per-function execution timeout (in whole seconds) used when deploying the Remotion Lambda function; valid range is MIN_TIMEOUT (15) to MAX_TIMEOUT (900).

Source

Thrown at packages/lambda/src/shared/validate-timeout.ts:5

import {MAX_TIMEOUT, MIN_TIMEOUT} from '@remotion/lambda-client/constants';

export const validateTimeout = (timeoutInSeconds: unknown) => {
	if (typeof timeoutInSeconds !== 'number') {
		throw new TypeError(
			`parameter 'timeoutInSeconds' must be a number, but got a ${typeof timeoutInSeconds}`,
		);
	}

	if (Number.isNaN(timeoutInSeconds)) {
		throw new TypeError(`parameter 'timeoutInSeconds' must not be NaN, but is`);
	}

	if (!Number.isFinite(timeoutInSeconds)) {
		throw new TypeError(
			`parameter 'timeoutInSeconds' must be finite, but is ${timeoutInSeconds}`,
		);
	}

	if (timeoutInSeconds < MIN_TIMEOUT || timeoutInSeconds > MAX_TIMEOUT) {
		throw new TypeError(
			`parameter 'timeoutInSeconds' must be between ${MIN_TIMEOUT} and ${MAX_TIMEOUT}, but got ${timeoutInSeconds}`,
		);

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

Pass a number literal: timeoutInSeconds: 120.
Coerce from config: const timeoutInSeconds = Number(config.timeout); then verify it is a finite integer in [15,900].
If using env vars, parse and validate before passing.

Example fix

// before
await deployFunction({ timeoutInSeconds: process.env.LAMBDA_TIMEOUT }); // string | undefined

// after
const timeoutInSeconds = Number(process.env.LAMBDA_TIMEOUT) || 120;
await deployFunction({ timeoutInSeconds });

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const raw = Number(config.timeout);
const timeoutInSeconds = Number.isFinite(raw) ? raw : 120; // then validate range/integer

Type guard

const isNumber = (v: unknown): v is number => typeof v === 'number';

Prevention

Type timeoutInSeconds as number in config schemas (not string).
Always pair the field with a numeric default.
Convert env vars with Number() and check isFinite before passing.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling deployFunction() (or any API that propagates timeoutInSeconds) with a non-number value: a string like '120', undefined (when not defaulted), null, or an object.

Common situations: Reading the timeout from a JSON/YAML config or env var and passing the raw string; allowing the field to be optional without a default; passing undefined because the field name was misspelled.

Understand the failure class

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

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d3f468278b90b877. Report an issue: GitHub.