Coding⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-05-31

How to Fix: How to run a command with a timeout so that it is killed if it exceeds the timeout threshold?

Timeout a long-running command from the bash command line.

Quick Answer: Use `timeout` command to run a command with a timeout, e.g. `timeout 5m /path/to/slow/command`

To address the issue of a command not being killed after exceeding its timeout threshold, you can use a combination of bash's job control and the "timeout" command. This approach allows for more flexibility than the traditional method of using sleep and kill.

💡 Why You Are Getting This Error

  • [Cause]

✅ Best Solutions to Fix It

Method 1: Using timeout Command

  1. Step 1: Open a new terminal window and run the command with the desired timeout using the "timeout" command.

Method 2: Using bash's job control

  1. Step 1: Run the command in the background using the "&" symbol.

🎯 Final Words

By implementing either of these methods, you can effectively kill a command after it has exceeded its specified timeout threshold.

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