risingwavelabs/risingwave · error · PsqlError

terminating connection due to idle-in-transaction timeout

Error message

terminating connection due to idle-in-transaction timeout

What it means

The server terminates the connection because the session stayed inside a transaction (idle-in-transaction) longer than the configured timeout. This mirrors Postgres's `idle_in_transaction_session_timeout` behavior.

Solutions

1. Ensure transactions are committed or rolled back promptly; don't hold them while idle.
2. Increase the idle-in-transaction timeout setting if the current limit is too aggressive.
3. Fix application code that leaks open transactions (check for missing COMMIT/ROLLBACK on error paths).
4. Reconnect after termination; the connection cannot be reused once this error is raised.

Example fix

// before: BEGIN then long idle, no commit
conn.begin(); awaitUserInput();
// after: only open the txn when ready
awaitUserInput(); conn.begin(); doWork(); conn.commit();

-- before running long work, check the setting
SHOW idle_in_transaction_session_timeout;
-- ensure no txn left open:
SELECT state FROM pg_stat_activity WHERE state = 'idle in transaction';

match err {
    PsqlError::IdleInTxnTimeout => reconnect_and_replay(),
    other => return Err(other),
}

When it happens

Trigger: A client opens a transaction (BEGIN) and then remains idle — issuing no further statements — past the idle-in-transaction timeout configured on the server.

Common situations: Applications that BEGIN a transaction and forget to COMMIT/ROLLBACK; connection poolers holding open transactions; hung application logic mid-transaction; long pauses in interactive psql sessions inside a transaction.

Understand the failure class

Background: Request timed out: what client-side request timeouts mean across libraries (Request timed out, TIMED_OUT, APITimeoutError) — this error's family across 39 libraries.

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

Related errors

• all request confluent registry all timeout
• apply iceberg fast_append
• apply iceberg pk-index sink overwrite_files action
• {batch write failure, with context()}
• failed to generate AWS MSK IAM token

AI-assisted analysis of risingwavelabs/risingwave@6469eb736d (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/867df1f3bf323a34. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/utils/pgwire/src/error.rs:84

    IoError(#[from] IoError),

    /// Uncategorized error for describe, bind.
    #[error(transparent)]
    Uncategorized(
        #[from]
        #[backtrace]
        BoxedError,
    ),

    #[error("Panicked when handling the request: {0}
This is a bug. We would appreciate a bug report at:
  https://github.com/risingwavelabs/risingwave/issues/new?labels=type%2Fbug&template=bug_report.yml")]
    Panic(String),

    #[error("Unable to setup an SSL connection")]
    SslError(#[from] openssl::ssl::Error),

    #[error("terminating connection due to idle-in-transaction timeout")]
    IdleInTxnTimeout,

    #[error("Server throttled: {0}")]
    ServerThrottle(String),
}

#[derive(Debug)]
pub struct ProtocolViolationError(String);

impl fmt::Display for ProtocolViolationError {
    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
        self.0.fmt(f)
    }
}

impl std::error::Error for ProtocolViolationError {
    fn provide<'a>(&'a self, request: &mut std::error::Request<'a>) {
        request.provide_value(PostgresErrorCode::ProtocolViolation);

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