From 8510337795a45bc3d26751e43ce47389b8dcdef3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Alex Clarke <alex.j.tusa@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2026 17:23:41 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] docs: added documentation for the new tool_timeout
 configuration field

---
 Background-Jobs.md       | 1 +
 Custom-Bash-Tools.md     | 7 ++++---
 Environment-Variables.md | 3 ++-
 3 files changed, 7 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Background-Jobs.md b/Background-Jobs.md
index 14a95fc..25bb6c8 100644
--- a/Background-Jobs.md
+++ b/Background-Jobs.md
@@ -152,6 +152,7 @@ silently abandoned.
 ```yaml
 # config.yaml (global)
 max_concurrent_jobs: 5      # default: 5; 0 disables background jobs entirely
+tool_timeout: 1800          # per-tool-call wall-clock cap in seconds, also applied to process jobs (default: 1800; 0 = unlimited)
 ```
 
 ```yaml
diff --git a/Custom-Bash-Tools.md b/Custom-Bash-Tools.md
index 654ebb8..37cb365 100644
--- a/Custom-Bash-Tools.md
+++ b/Custom-Bash-Tools.md
@@ -33,9 +33,10 @@ A few things to know about how Coyote runs your tool's subprocess:
 * **`stdin` is `/dev/null`.** Tools must not read from standard input. Anything that blocks on stdin (interactive
   editors, `read` without `</dev/tty`, watch-mode test runners) will see EOF immediately instead of hanging the
   session. Interactive prompts that genuinely need the user should read from `/dev/tty` directly.
-* **Every tool call has a wall-clock cap** controlled by the `COYOTE_TOOL_TIMEOUT` environment variable
-  (default: `1800` seconds; `0` = unlimited). If the tool exceeds it, the process is killed and a `tool_call_error`
-  is returned to the model, and the session keeps going. See [Environment Variables](Environment-Variables).
+* **Every tool call has a wall-clock cap** controlled by the `tool_timeout` config key or the `COYOTE_TOOL_TIMEOUT`
+  environment variable (the environment variable takes precedence; default: `1800` seconds; `0` = unlimited). If the
+  tool exceeds it, the process is killed and a `tool_call_error` is returned to the model, and the session keeps
+  going. See [Environment Variables](Environment-Variables).
 
 The following section explains how you can add parameters to your bash functions and how to test out your scripts.
 
diff --git a/Environment-Variables.md b/Environment-Variables.md
index d35a0a9..92fe38b 100644
--- a/Environment-Variables.md
+++ b/Environment-Variables.md
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ Below are the most commonly used configuration settings and their corresponding
 | `compression_threshold`    | `COYOTE_COMPRESSION_THRESHOLD`    |
 | `function_calling_support` | `COYOTE_FUNCTION_CALLING_SUPPORT` |
 | `enabled_tools`            | `COYOTE_ENABLED_TOOLS`            |
+| `tool_timeout`             | `COYOTE_TOOL_TIMEOUT`             |
 | `mcp_server_support`       | `COYOTE_MCP_SERVER_SUPPORT`       |
 | `enabled_mcp_servers`      | `COYOTE_ENABLED_MCP_SERVERS`      |
 | `rag_embedding_model`      | `COYOTE_RAG_EMBEDDING_MODEL`      |
@@ -59,7 +60,7 @@ The following environment variables are available for clients in Coyote:
 | `COYOTE_PLATFORM`                        | Combine with `{client}_API_KEY` to run Coyote without a configuration file. <br>This variable is ignored if a configuration file exists.                                                                                                           |
 | `COYOTE_PATCH_{client}_CHAT_COMPLETIONS` | Patch chat completion requests to models on the corresponding client; Can modify the URL, body, <br>or headers.                                                                                                                                    | 
 | `COYOTE_SHELL`                           | Specify the shell that Coyote should be using when executing commands                                                                                                                                                                              |
-| `COYOTE_TOOL_TIMEOUT`                    | Wall-clock cap in seconds for any single tool-call subprocess (built-in and custom tools alike). <br>When exceeded, the tool process is killed and a `tool_call_error` is returned to the model instead of hanging the session forever. <br>Set to `0` for unlimited. Default: `1800` (30 minutes).                                        |
+| `COYOTE_TOOL_TIMEOUT`                    | Wall-clock cap in seconds for any single tool-call subprocess (built-in and custom tools alike). <br>When exceeded, the tool process is killed and a `tool_call_error` is returned to the model instead of hanging the session forever. <br>Set to `0` for unlimited. Default: `1800` (30 minutes). <br>Counterpart of the `tool_timeout` config key; the environment variable takes precedence.                                        |
 
 # Files and Directory Related Variables
 You can also customize the files and directories that Coyote loads its configuration files from: