# How I Fixed OpenAI Assistants API Timeout Errors in Production

> Source: <https://dev.to/admin_spoctest_e7b4c923a/how-i-fixed-openai-assistants-api-timeout-errors-in-production-4dpi>
> Published: 2026-06-30 06:55:08+00:00

It was during a live client demo.

The AI was mid-session. The user was answering questions.

Everything was going perfectly.

Then — this:

"Sorry, there was an error processing your request. Please try again."

The client looked at us. My manager looked at me. I looked at my laptop

and wanted to disappear.

First thing I checked: OpenAI dashboard. No failed runs. Nothing.

I checked our server logs. There it was:

`run_timeout`

— after exactly 60 seconds

But here's the thing — the run wasn't failing. It was just slow.

OpenAI was still processing. Our backend gave up at 60s.

OpenAI finished at 87s.

We quit too early.

The longer a session gets, the more history OpenAI has to process.

Early in a session: 3–5 seconds.

Mid-session (10+ messages): 30–50 seconds.

Long sessions: 60–90+ seconds.

Our hardcoded limit of 60 seconds wasn't matching reality.

Step 1: Made the timeout configurable via environment variable.

```
  # .env
  OPENAI_RUN_TIMEOUT_MS=150000
```

Step 2: Updated the polling loop to use it.

``` js
  const TIMEOUT_MS = parseInt(process.env.OPENAI_RUN_TIMEOUT_MS) || 150000;
  const TERMINAL = ['completed', 'failed', 'cancelled', 'expired', 'requires_action'];

  while (!TERMINAL.includes(runStatus.status)) {
    if (Date.now() - startTime >= TIMEOUT_MS) throw new Error('run_timeout');
    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 1000));
    runStatus = await openai.beta.threads.runs.retrieve(threadId, run.id);
  }
```

Step 3: Deployed. No more errors.

I'm exploring `runs.stream()`

— streaming responses in real time,

no polling, no timeouts. Will write a follow-up once it's in production.

Have you hit this before? How did you handle it?

Drop it in the comments.