microsoft / microsoft/node-request-light

timeout isn't working

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Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
35
Forks
22
Avg merge
1d 22h
Merged PRs (30d)
2

Description

AFAIK calling request.setTimeout(ms) does not automatically abort or fail the request when the timeout is reached. Instead, it simply emits a 'timeout' event on the request object where we would need to abort the request manually.

There isn't any logic in node-request-light capturing the timeout event so it will never timeout..

Recreation script (where 'request-light' is present in the node_modules folder):

const { xhr } = require('request-light');

async function testTimeout() {
  const timeoutMs = 1000;

  // This URL will wait for 10 seconds before responding
  const url = 'https://httpbin.org/delay/10';

  console.log(`Starting request to ${url} with a ${timeoutMs}ms timeout...`);
  const start = Date.now();

  try {
    const response = await xhr({
      url,
      timeout: timeoutMs
    });
    console.log(`Request finished successfully after ${Date.now() - start}ms (Status: ${response.status})`);
  } catch (error) {
    const duration = Date.now() - start;
    console.log(`Request failed after ${duration}ms`);
    if (error.status === 408 || error.message?.includes('timeout') || duration < 2000) {
      console.log('SUCCESS: The timeout was respected.');
    } else {
      console.log('FAILURE: The timeout was NOT respected. It likely waited for the full response.');
    }
    console.log('Error details:', error);
  }
}

testTimeout();

working nodejs example

const https = require('https');

function testWorkingTimeout() {
  const timeoutMs = 1000;
  const url = 'https://httpbin.org/delay/10';

  console.log(`Starting Node.js native request to ${url} with a ${timeoutMs}ms timeout...`);
  const start = Date.now();

  const req = https.get(url, (res) => {
    console.log('This should not be reached if timeout works.');
  });

  // Set the timeout
  req.setTimeout(timeoutMs);

  // Listen for the 'timeout' event (This is what request-light is missing)
  req.on('timeout', () => {
    console.log(`[TIMEOUT EVENT] Triggered after ${Date.now() - start}ms. Manually destroying the request...`);
    req.destroy(new Error('ETIMEDOUT')); 
  });

  req.on('error', (err) => {
    console.log(`[ERROR EVENT] Request failed as expected: ${err.message}`);
    console.log(`Total duration: ${Date.now() - start}ms`);
    
    if (Date.now() - start < 2000) {
        console.log('SUCCESS: The timeout was respected because we handled the event.');
    }
  });
}

testWorkingTimeout();

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start at the xhr entry point in request-light and trace how the timeout option is applied to the Node.js request. Compare its behavior with the working https example in the issue; done means a request with timeout: 1000 rejects or aborts instead of waiting for the full response.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
nodejs, typescript
Domain
api, backend
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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