require-job-timeout-minutes

Rule catalog ID: R002

Targeted pattern scope

Non-reusable workflow jobs under jobs.<job_id>.

What this rule reports

This rule reports jobs that do not define timeout-minutes, jobs that use a non-integer timeout, and jobs that exceed the configured maxMinutes threshold.

Why this rule exists

Explicit job timeouts make runner usage more predictable and reduce the blast radius of stuck processes or hanging external services.

❌ Incorrect

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 180

✅ Correct

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: 30

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    timeout-minutes: ${{ fromJson(vars.CI_TIMEOUT_MINUTES) }}

Additional examples

For larger repositories, this rule is often enabled together with one of the published presets so violations are caught in pull requests before workflow changes are merged.

ESLint flat config example

import githubActions from "eslint-plugin-github-actions-2";

export default [
  {
    files: ["**/*.{yml,yaml}"],
    plugins: {
      "github-actions": githubActions,
    },
    rules: {
      "github-actions/require-job-timeout-minutes": "error",
    },
  },
];

When not to use it

You can disable this rule when its policy does not match your repository standards, or when equivalent enforcement is already handled by another policy tool.

Targeted pattern scope​

What this rule reports​

Why this rule exists​

❌ Incorrect​

✅ Correct​

Additional examples​

ESLint flat config example​

When not to use it​

Further reading​