feat: configurable exec timeout per request (--timeout flag, default 30s)

crates/client/src/main.rs

@@ -392,8 +392,7 @@ async fn handle_message(
             ClientMessage::Ack { request_id }
         }
 
-        ServerMessage::ExecRequest { request_id, command } => {
-            // Truncate long commands for display
+        ServerMessage::ExecRequest { request_id, command, timeout_ms } => {
             let cmd_display = if command.len() > 60 {
                 format!("{}…", &command[..60])
             } else {
@@ -401,7 +400,7 @@ async fn handle_message(
             };
             log_cmd!("exec › {}", cmd_display);
             let mut sh = shell.lock().await;
-            match sh.run(&command).await {
+            match sh.run(&command, timeout_ms).await {
                 Ok((stdout, stderr, exit_code)) => {
                     let out = stdout.trim().lines().next().unwrap_or("").to_string();
                     let out_display = if out.len() > 60 {

crates/client/src/shell.rs

@@ -4,28 +4,27 @@
 use std::time::Duration;
 use tokio::process::Command;
 
-const TIMEOUT_MS: u64 = 30_000;
+const DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS: u64 = 30_000;
 
 pub struct PersistentShell;
 
 impl PersistentShell {
     pub fn new() -> Self { Self }
 
-    pub async fn run(&mut self, command: &str) -> Result<(String, String, i32), String> {
+    pub async fn run(&mut self, command: &str, timeout_ms: Option<u64>) -> Result<(String, String, i32), String> {
+        let timeout_ms = timeout_ms.unwrap_or(DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS);
+        let timeout = Duration::from_millis(timeout_ms);
         #[cfg(windows)]
         {
-            // -NoProfile: skip $PROFILE (prevents user's `clear` from running)
-            // -NonInteractive: no prompts
-            // -Command: run the given command string
             let mut cmd = Command::new("powershell.exe");
             cmd.args(["-NoProfile", "-NonInteractive", "-Command", command]);
-            run_captured(cmd, Duration::from_millis(TIMEOUT_MS)).await
+            run_captured(cmd, timeout).await
         }
         #[cfg(not(windows))]
         {
             let mut cmd = Command::new("sh");
             cmd.args(["-c", command]);
-            run_captured(cmd, Duration::from_millis(TIMEOUT_MS)).await
+            run_captured(cmd, timeout).await
         }
     }
 }

crates/common/src/protocol.rs

@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ pub enum ServerMessage {
     ExecRequest {
         request_id: Uuid,
         command: String,
+        /// Timeout in milliseconds. None = use client default (30s)
+        timeout_ms: Option<u64>,
     },
     /// Simulate a mouse click
     ClickRequest {

crates/server/src/api.rs

@@ -60,6 +60,19 @@ async fn dispatch<F>(
     op: &str,
     make_msg: F,
 ) -> Result<ClientMessage, (StatusCode, Json<ErrorBody>)>
+where
+    F: FnOnce(Uuid) -> ServerMessage,
+{
+    dispatch_with_timeout(state, session_id, op, make_msg, REQUEST_TIMEOUT).await
+}
+
+async fn dispatch_with_timeout<F>(
+    state: &AppState,
+    session_id: &str,
+    op: &str,
+    make_msg: F,
+    timeout: Duration,
+) -> Result<ClientMessage, (StatusCode, Json<ErrorBody>)>
 where
     F: FnOnce(Uuid) -> ServerMessage,
 {
@@ -86,7 +99,7 @@ where
         send_error(session_id, op)
     })?;
 
-    match tokio::time::timeout(REQUEST_TIMEOUT, rx).await {
+    match tokio::time::timeout(timeout, rx).await {
         Ok(Ok(response)) => Ok(response),
         Ok(Err(_)) => Err(send_error(session_id, op)),
         Err(_) => Err(timeout_error(session_id, op)),
@@ -143,6 +156,9 @@ pub async fn request_screenshot(
 #[derive(Deserialize)]
 pub struct ExecBody {
     pub command: String,
+    /// Optional timeout in milliseconds (default: 30000). Use higher values for
+    /// long-running commands like downloads.
+    pub timeout_ms: Option<u64>,
 }
 
 pub async fn request_exec(
@@ -150,10 +166,16 @@ pub async fn request_exec(
     State(state): State<AppState>,
     Json(body): Json<ExecBody>,
 ) -> impl IntoResponse {
-    match dispatch(&state, &session_id, "exec", |rid| ServerMessage::ExecRequest {
+    // Server-side wait must be at least as long as the client timeout + buffer
+    let server_timeout = body.timeout_ms
+        .map(|ms| std::time::Duration::from_millis(ms + 5_000))
+        .unwrap_or(REQUEST_TIMEOUT);
+
+    match dispatch_with_timeout(&state, &session_id, "exec", |rid| ServerMessage::ExecRequest {
         request_id: rid,
         command: body.command.clone(),
-    })
+        timeout_ms: body.timeout_ms,
+    }, server_timeout)
     .await
     {
         Ok(ClientMessage::ExecResponse {

skills/remote.py

@@ -38,14 +38,14 @@ def _headers() -> dict:
     return {"X-Api-Key": API_KEY, "Content-Type": "application/json"}
 
 
-def _req(method: str, path: str, **kwargs):
+def _req(method: str, path: str, timeout: int = 30, **kwargs):
     url = f"{BASE_URL}{path}"
     try:
-        resp = requests.request(method, url, headers=_headers(), timeout=30, **kwargs)
+        resp = requests.request(method, url, headers=_headers(), timeout=timeout, **kwargs)
     except requests.exceptions.ConnectionError as exc:
         sys.exit(f"[helios-remote] CONNECTION ERROR: Cannot reach {url}\n  → {exc}")
     except requests.exceptions.Timeout:
-        sys.exit(f"[helios-remote] TIMEOUT: {url} did not respond within 30 s")
+        sys.exit(f"[helios-remote] TIMEOUT: {url} did not respond within {timeout} s")
 
     if not resp.ok:
         body = resp.text[:1000] if resp.text else "(empty body)"
@@ -141,7 +141,10 @@ def cmd_exec(args):
     """Run a shell command on the remote session."""
     sid = resolve_session(args.session_id)
     command = " ".join(args.parts) if isinstance(args.parts, list) else args.parts
-    resp = _req("POST", f"/sessions/{sid}/exec", json={"command": command})
+    body = {"command": command}
+    if args.timeout:
+        body["timeout_ms"] = args.timeout * 1000  # seconds → ms
+    resp = _req("POST", f"/sessions/{sid}/exec", json=body, timeout=max(35, (args.timeout or 30) + 5))
     data = resp.json()
 
     stdout    = data.get("stdout") or data.get("output") or ""
@@ -343,6 +346,8 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
     ep.add_argument("session_id")
     ep.add_argument("parts", nargs=argparse.REMAINDER, metavar="command",
                     help="Command (and arguments) to execute")
+    ep.add_argument("--timeout", type=int, default=None, metavar="SECONDS",
+                    help="Timeout in seconds (default: 30). Use higher for long downloads etc.")
 
     cp = sub.add_parser("click", help="Send a mouse click")
     cp.add_argument("session_id")