AI Agent Timeout Handling 2026

A tool got stuck for 5 seconds, and the Agent was still waiting foolishly. Timeout handling lets the Agent give up waiting within a reasonable timeframe, so it doesn't hold up subsequent tasks.

💡 What You Will Learn

A tool got stuck for 5 seconds, and the Agent was still waiting foolishly. Timeout handling lets the Agent give up waiting within a reasonable timeframe, so it doesn't hold up subsequent tasks.

import asyncio

async def call_with_timeout(fn, timeout=10):
    try:
        result = await asyncio.wait_for(fn(), timeout=timeout)
        return result
    except asyncio.TimeoutError:
        return {'error': 'timeout', 'message': f'Tool invocation{timeout}'}

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Summary