'v1'

extensions/awesome-skills-plugin/skills/dbos-golang/references/workflow-timeout.md

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+---
+title: Set Workflow Timeouts
+impact: CRITICAL
+impactDescription: Prevents workflows from running indefinitely
+tags: workflow, timeout, cancellation, duration
+---
+
+## Set Workflow Timeouts
+
+Set a timeout for a workflow by using Go's `context.WithTimeout` or `dbos.WithTimeout` on the DBOS context. When the timeout expires, the workflow and all its children are cancelled.
+
+**Incorrect (no timeout for potentially long workflow):**
+
+```go
+// No timeout - could run indefinitely
+handle, err := dbos.RunWorkflow(ctx, processTask, "data")
+```
+
+**Correct (with timeout):**
+
+```go
+// Create a context with a 5-minute timeout
+timedCtx, cancel := dbos.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Minute)
+defer cancel()
+
+handle, err := dbos.RunWorkflow(timedCtx, processTask, "data")
+if err != nil {
+	log.Fatal(err)
+}
+```
+
+Key timeout behaviors:
+- Timeouts are **start-to-completion**: the timeout begins when the workflow starts execution, not when it's enqueued
+- Timeouts are **durable**: they persist across restarts, so workflows can have very long timeouts (hours, days, weeks)
+- Cancellation happens at the **beginning of the next step** - the current step completes first
+- Cancelling a workflow also cancels all **child workflows**
+
+Reference: [Workflow Timeouts](https://docs.dbos.dev/golang/tutorials/workflow-tutorial#workflow-timeouts)