Time Limits

Set a time limit to prevent jobs from running forever. When a running job exceeds its limit, gflow stops it and marks it as Timeout (TO).

Set a Time Limit

With gbatch:

gbatch --time <TIME> python train.py

In a script (directive):

#!/bin/bash
# GFLOW --time 2:00:00

python train.py

Command-line flags override script directives.

Time Formats

<TIME> accepts:

• HH:MM:SS (e.g. 2:30:00)
• MM:SS (e.g. 5:30)
• MM minutes (e.g. 30)

Note: a single number is minutes (so --time 30 means 30 minutes, not 30 seconds). Use 0:30 for 30 seconds.

Inspect Time Limits

gqueue -f JOBID,NAME,ST,TIME,TIMELIMIT
gjob show <job_id>

Behavior

• The timer starts when a job enters Running (queue time is not counted).
• Enforcement is periodic (jobs may run slightly past the exact limit).
• On timeout, gflow sends an interrupt (Ctrl-C / SIGINT) and transitions the job to Timeout (TO).

Troubleshooting

Job timed out

Increase the limit and resubmit:

gjob redo <job_id> --time 4:00:00

Job ends earlier than expected

Double-check the format (minutes vs seconds):

gbatch --time 0:30 sleep 1000   # 30 seconds
gbatch --time 30 sleep 1000     # 30 minutes

Timeouts not happening

ginfo
gqueue -j <job_id> -f JOBID,ST,TIMELIMIT

See Also

• Job Lifecycle - Job states (including TO)
• Job Submission - Submission options
• Quick Reference - Command cheat sheet