Looking for a Way to Set a Global Task Timeout in Ansible

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1

Hi Everyone,

I’m looking for a module or keyword in Ansible that can enforce a global task timeout.

Purpose:
We want to ensure that if a running Ansible task takes too long or hangs, it gets automatically timed out, allowing the rest of the tasks in the playbook to continue.

Given that our Ansible framework is quite large, it’s not feasible to go and add --timeout=600 or similar timeouts to each task manually.

Is there a recommended way to implement this kind of global timeout behavior across all tasks?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

2

Hi!

You can use the TASK_TIMEOUT config to set a global timeout. You can set it via an environment variable or in ansible.cfg. There’s no way to set that config in a play(book) or role, though.

From your writing, ansible.cfg sounds like a good place to add this.

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3

HI felixfontein,

Thanks for replying

With your suggestion i tried with TASK_TIMEOUT -

 cat /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg
# Since Ansible 2.12 (core):
# To generate an example config file (a "disabled" one with all default settings, commented out):
#               $ ansible-config init --disabled > ansible.cfg
#
# Also you can now have a more complete file by including existing plugins:
# ansible-config init --disabled -t all > ansible.cfg

# For previous versions of Ansible you can check for examples in the 'stable' branches of each version
# Note that this file was always incomplete  and lagging changes to configuration settings

# for example, for 2.9: https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/stable-2.9/examples/ansible.cfg
[defaults]
task_timeout=30

But it is not aborting the task even if it is running for more than 30sec.

TASK_TIMEOUT[]

Description:

Set the maximum time (in seconds) for a task action to execute in. Timeout runs independently from templating or looping. It applies per each attempt of executing the task’s action and remains unchanged by the total time spent on a task. When the action execution exceeds the timeout, Ansible interrupts the process. This is registered as a failure due to outside circumstances, not a task failure, to receive appropriate response and recovery process. If set to 0 (the default) there is no timeout.

Type:

integer

Default:

0

Version Added:

2.10

Ini:

Section:

[defaults]

Key:

task_timeout

Environment:

Variable:

[ANSIBLE_TASK_TIMEOUT]

The above i found out from ansible documentation and not able to get the result as expected.

TASK_TIMEOUT is not working as expected - Task timeout

4

It does work for me: I created an ansible.cfg file:

[defaults]
task_timeout=2

next to a test playbook:

- hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - ansible.builtin.command: /bin/sh -c 'sleep 10'

When running the playbook, I get:

[ERROR]: Task failed: Action failed: The ansible.builtin.command action failed to execute in the expected time frame (2) and was terminated
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5

The Issue I’m Facing

I’m working with complex Ansible deployments that involve:

  • Container image operations (load, tag, push)
  • Microservice deployments (Longhorn, MongoDB, Keycloak)
  • Many tasks across multiple playbooks/roles

These operations often take unpredictable amounts of time, and I need a global timeout mechanism that will apply to ALL tasks regardless of their type. I can’t practically modify each individual task to add timeouts.

What I’m Looking For

I need a solution that:

  1. Applies globally across all playbooks and roles
  2. Works for ALL task types, not just shell/command tasks
  3. Can be configured in one place (like ansible.cfg)
  4. Works with Ansible Core 2.17

Why the Example is Insufficient

The example you provided only demonstrates timeout working with a shell command:

- ansible.builtin.command: /bin/sh -c 'sleep 10'

But my deployments include many different module types:

  • Through our ansible play we are bringing up rke2-server as well, complete rke2 orchestration along with microservices
  • docker_image or containers.podman.podman_image
  • k8s
  • Various service modules
  • Network and API request modules

What I’m Looking For Specifically

Is there a configuration option in Ansible (possibly in ansible.cfg) that will apply a timeout to ALL tasks regardless of the module type? If the task_timeout parameter only works for certain module types, what alternatives do I have for establishing global timeouts?

I need to ensure tasks don’t hang indefinitely when:

  • A container registry is slow to respond
  • Network connectivity is intermittent
  • A microservice deployment is stalled
  • API endpoints are responding slowly

Testing Needed

Could you test if the task_timeout setting works for non-shell tasks like:

  • Container operations
  • Kubernetes deployments
  • API calls

Or suggest an alternative approach that would work for my complex deployment scenario?

Thanks for your response

6

The task timeout feature works at the core engine level, so ‘module type’ should not be an issue. The timeout is implemented via SIGALARM , which can be overridden and … the podman collection does (they seem to override most signals).

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