> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ubiquex.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Timeouts and ignore_changes > Override provider-default wait times and suppress drift on externally-managed attributes. Cloud providers set sensible default timeouts for resource operations, but production infrastructure regularly exceeds them. A large RDS instance can take 45 minutes to provision. An EKS cluster routinely needs 20–30 minutes. When Pulumi's default timeout expires before the resource is ready, the apply fails — even though the resource would have succeeded with more time. The `timeouts` sub-block lets you override these provider defaults per operation (create, update, delete). Paired with `ignore_changes`, which prevents Pulumi from resetting attributes managed externally — passwords rotated by a secrets manager, tags applied by a cost allocation tool, scaling counts adjusted by an autoscaler — you have precise control over how Pulumi interacts with slow or partially-external resources. ## What you'll learn * How `timeouts` overrides provider-default operation wait times * How `ignore_changes` prevents drift from triggering unwanted updates * When to combine both on the same resource *** ## Why this matters Timeout failures are apply-time surprises — the plan succeeds, then the apply hangs and times out. Setting explicit timeouts in your `.iac` source means CI pipelines and operators see consistent, predictable behaviour rather than intermittent failures on slow resources. *** ## The source code ```hcl main.iac theme={"theme":"css-variables"} # timeouts override provider-default wait times per operation. # Useful for slow resources: large RDS instances, EKS clusters, NAT gateways. unit "aws_rds_instance" "db" { identifier = "myapp-${input.env}" allocated_storage = 50 engine = "postgres" engine_version = "15" instance_class = "db.r6g.xlarge" username = "admin" password = "placeholder" skip_final_snapshot = true # Suppress drift on password — rotated externally by secrets manager. lifecycle { ignore_changes = ["password"] } timeouts { create = "60m" update = "30m" delete = "20m" } } # EKS clusters routinely take 20-30 minutes — extend the default. unit "aws_eks_cluster" "main" { name = "myapp-${input.env}" role_arn = "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/eks-role" vpc_config = { subnet_ids = ["subnet-abc123", "subnet-def456"] } lifecycle { ignore_changes = ["tags"] } timeouts { create = "30m" delete = "20m" } } ``` ```hcl inputs.iac theme={"theme":"css-variables"} input "env" { type = "string" default = "dev" } ``` ```hcl outputs.iac theme={"theme":"css-variables"} output "cluster_endpoint" { value = unit.aws_eks_cluster.main.endpoint } ``` ```hcl ubx.iac theme={"theme":"css-variables"} ubx { name = "timeouts-and-ignore-changes" runtime = "typescript" stacks = ["dev", "staging", "prod"] } backend "local" { path = ".ubx/state" } ``` *** ## How it works The `timeouts` sub-block compiles to Pulumi's `CustomTimeouts` resource option. Each duration string (`"60m"`, `"30m"`) overrides the provider's built-in default for that operation. Pulumi waits up to that duration before failing the apply. The list of attribute names in `ignore_changes` compiles to Pulumi's `ignoreChanges` resource option. On every subsequent apply, Pulumi reads the live state for those attributes but does not include them in the diff — changes to them are silently accepted. `lifecycle` and `timeouts` are independent sub-blocks. A slow resource with externally-managed attributes — like a large RDS instance whose password is rotated by a secrets manager — benefits from both simultaneously. *** ## What ubx generates ```typescript index.ts theme={"theme":"css-variables"} // Generated by ubx — do not edit import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi"; import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws"; const config = new pulumi.Config(); const env = config.get("env") || "dev"; const db = new aws.rds.Instance("db", { identifier: `myapp-${env}`, allocatedStorage: 50, engine: "postgres", engineVersion: "15", instanceClass: "db.r6g.xlarge", username: "admin", password: "placeholder", skipFinalSnapshot: true, }, { ignoreChanges: ["password"], customTimeouts: { create: "60m", update: "30m", delete: "20m" }, }); const main = new aws.eks.Cluster("main", { name: `myapp-${env}`, roleArn: "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/eks-role", vpcConfig: { subnetIds: ["subnet-abc123", "subnet-def456"] }, }, { ignoreChanges: ["tags"], customTimeouts: { create: "30m", delete: "20m" }, }); export const clusterEndpoint = main.endpoint; ``` ```python __main__.py theme={"theme":"css-variables"} # Generated by ubx — do not edit import pulumi import pulumi_aws as aws config = pulumi.Config() env = config.get("env") or "dev" db = aws.rds.Instance("db", identifier=f"myapp-{env}", allocated_storage=50, engine="postgres", engine_version="15", instance_class="db.r6g.xlarge", username="admin", password="placeholder", skip_final_snapshot=True, opts=pulumi.ResourceOptions( ignore_changes=["password"], custom_timeouts=pulumi.CustomTimeouts(create="60m", update="30m", delete="20m"), ), ) main = aws.eks.Cluster("main", name=f"myapp-{env}", role_arn="arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/eks-role", vpc_config={"subnet_ids": ["subnet-abc123", "subnet-def456"]}, opts=pulumi.ResourceOptions( ignore_changes=["tags"], custom_timeouts=pulumi.CustomTimeouts(create="30m", delete="20m"), ), ) pulumi.export("cluster_endpoint", main.endpoint) ``` ```go main.go theme={"theme":"css-variables"} // Generated by ubx — do not edit package main import ( "github.com/pulumi/pulumi-aws/sdk/v6/go/aws/eks" "github.com/pulumi/pulumi-aws/sdk/v6/go/aws/rds" "github.com/pulumi/pulumi/sdk/v3/go/pulumi" "github.com/pulumi/pulumi/sdk/v3/go/pulumi/config" ) func main() { pulumi.Run(func(ctx *pulumi.Context) error { cfg := config.New(ctx, "") env := cfg.Get("env") if env == "" { env = "dev" } _, err := rds.NewInstance(ctx, "db", &rds.InstanceArgs{ Identifier: pulumi.Sprintf("myapp-%s", env), AllocatedStorage: pulumi.Int(50), Engine: pulumi.String("postgres"), EngineVersion: pulumi.String("15"), InstanceClass: pulumi.String("db.r6g.xlarge"), Username: pulumi.String("admin"), Password: pulumi.String("placeholder"), SkipFinalSnapshot: pulumi.Bool(true), }, pulumi.IgnoreChanges([]string{"password"}), pulumi.Timeouts(&pulumi.CustomTimeouts{Create: "60m", Update: "30m", Delete: "20m"})) if err != nil { return err } main, err := eks.NewCluster(ctx, "main", &eks.ClusterArgs{ Name: pulumi.Sprintf("myapp-%s", env), RoleArn: pulumi.String("arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/eks-role"), VpcConfig: &eks.ClusterVpcConfigArgs{SubnetIds: pulumi.StringArray{pulumi.String("subnet-abc123"), pulumi.String("subnet-def456")}}, }, pulumi.IgnoreChanges([]string{"tags"}), pulumi.Timeouts(&pulumi.CustomTimeouts{Create: "30m", Delete: "20m"})) if err != nil { return err } ctx.Export("clusterEndpoint", main.Endpoint) return nil }) } ``` *** ## Common mistakes Timeout strings must be valid Go duration format: `"60m"`, `"2h"`, `"90s"`. An invalid string like `"1 hour"` or `"60 minutes"` will cause a runtime error. Use the abbreviated forms: `s` for seconds, `m` for minutes, `h` for hours. Attribute names in `ignore_changes` use the Pulumi camelCase SDK name, not the `.iac` snake\_case name. `password` stays `password`, but `desired_capacity` becomes `desiredCapacity` in the generated Pulumi option. Check the provider SDK docs if you're unsure of the correct name. *** ## Run it ```bash theme={"theme":"css-variables"} ubx validate ubx plan # requires AWS credentials ubx apply # EKS and RDS creation may take 20-60 minutes ``` *** ## What you learned `timeouts` overrides the provider default wait time per operation (create, update, delete) `ignore_changes` prevents Pulumi from resetting externally-managed attributes on apply Both can appear on the same resource — they compile to independent Pulumi resource options *** ## Next steps Generate repeated nested blocks from a collection prevent\_destroy and create\_before\_destroy *** Full runnable example: [github.com/ubiquex/ubx-examples/11-timeouts-and-ignore-changes](https://github.com/ubiquex/ubx-examples/tree/main/11-timeouts-and-ignore-changes)