Agent timeout (20min) blocks large projects: nushell, Dapper, Polly #948
Description
Summary
In the AWF Build/Test Experiment v3, three repos hit the 20-minute agent timeout before completing their build/test cycle:
| Repo | Language | What Happened |
|---|---|---|
| nushell | Rust | Large Rust workspace — compilation alone may exceed 20 minutes |
| Dapper | .NET | Build succeeded but dotnet test exceeded the timeout |
| Polly | .NET | Build succeeded but dotnet test exceeded the timeout |
Impact
- 3 repos out of 98 (3%) are affected
- For Dapper and Polly, the builds actually succeed — only the test phase times out
- nushell is a very large Rust workspace (100+ crates) that needs more compile time
Suggestion
Consider one or more of:
- Increase default timeout to 30 or 45 minutes for build-test workflows
- Allow per-workflow timeout configuration in the frontmatter (e.g.,
timeout: 45) - Split build and test phases so a timeout during testing still reports the build result
Experiment Context
- gh-aw: v0.45.2, AWF: v0.19.1
- Full report: AWF Build/Test Experiment v3 (Feb 17, 2026)