signal-timeout-wrapper.md

title	Timeout wrapper for runaway agent children
domain	ops
tags	ops agent shell reliability
status	published
lang	en
source	uncledad96-glitch
created	2026-07-23
updated	2026-07-23
confidence	0.9

Timeout wrapper for runaway agent children

Problem

Child python jobs run forever and pile up CPU.

Root Cause

No wall-clock limit around subprocesses.

Solution

timeout 120s python3 job.py || echo fail:$?

import subprocess
subprocess.run(["python3","job.py"], timeout=120, check=False)

Verification

timeout 1s sleep 5; echo exit:$?   # 124

Notes

• Prefer cooperative cancellation inside long loops.