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n8n Code Node Task request timed out / not matched to a runner reproduction

Minimal external-task-runner reproduction for the n8n Code node error:

Task request timed out
Your Code node task was not matched to a runner within the timeout period

What this lab verifies

Using official n8nio/n8n:2.37.1 and n8nio/runners:2.37.1 images on a Linux x86_64 NAS:

Case Result
External mode, no matching runner FAIL after the configured 15-second request wait
Matching JavaScript runner available PASS
Code request starts first; matching runner registers before deadline PASS without manually retrying the workflow

The lab shortens N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_REQUEST_TIMEOUT to 15 seconds so the negative control finishes quickly. n8n's current task-runner environment-variable documentation lists a default of 60 seconds.

Minimal workflow

Manual Trigger
  -> Code

return [{ json: { ok: true, source: 'xbstack-task-runner-repro' } }];

The JavaScript itself does no I/O and has no loop. The negative control fails before a runner accepts the task, which separates the error from a long-running JavaScript execution.

Evidence

  • logs/no-runner.txt — exact no-runner timeout path.
  • logs/healthy-runner.txt — matching runner control.
  • logs/runner-started-while-waiting.txt — pending request succeeds when a runner registers before the request deadline.
  • version-matrix.md — compact result and evidence boundary.
  • workflow.json — minimal imported workflow.
  • compose.healthy.yml — disposable external-runner control.

Important distinction: request timeout vs task timeout

N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_REQUEST_TIMEOUT is the wait-for-runner window: how long a task request can wait for a runner to become available.

N8N_RUNNERS_TASK_TIMEOUT is different: it limits how long a task may run after a runner has accepted it.

Increasing the request timeout can help if runners are merely slow or temporarily saturated. It cannot repair a runner that never registers because the sidecar is down, the auth token does not match, the broker is unreachable, the matching runner type fails to start, or the platform control plane has a separate problem.

Upstream context

Recent reports on 2026-08-25/26 include:

  • n8n #37069 — Cloud Code nodes fail with runner timeout.
  • n8n #37062 — similar n8n Cloud 2.37.1 report with additional users confirming the symptom.
  • n8n #37043 — JavaScript node timeouts in Cloud.
  • n8n #37064 — proposed 2.37.x regression hypothesis; maintainer feedback did not confirm a universal version regression.
  • n8n #36989 — the same high-level message was reported on Cloud 2.35.4.
  • n8n #37065 — a narrower external-runner case where scheduled JavaScript is not dispatched while webhook/manual executions succeed. Treat this as a distinct trigger-path problem, not as proof that all runner timeouts share one root cause.

Official configuration references

XBSTACK article

Full bilingual troubleshooting article (published URL after release):

https://www.xbstack.com/en/ai/n8n-code-node-task-runner-timeout/?utm_source=github&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=n8n_code_node_task_runner_timeout&utm_content=repository_readme

Evidence boundary

This repository proves the task-request timeout mechanism in an isolated Docker environment. It does not reproduce n8n Cloud's internal orchestration and does not claim that every Cloud timeout is caused by a stopped sidecar. Diagnose runner registration, broker reachability, auth, capacity, startup failure, and platform-specific conditions separately.