# IMQ_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT variable · @imqueue/core

Source: https://imqueue.org/api/core/latest/core.imq_shutdown_timeout/
Published: 2026-08-04
Author: @imqueue maintainers (https://github.com/imqueue)
Package: @imqueue/core 3.3.2 — generated reference, not hand-written

Time in milliseconds allowed for releasing watcher locks when a shutdown signal is received, before the process is force-exited. Defaults to 1000; override with the `IMQ_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT` environment variable.

**Signature:**

```typescript
IMQ_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT: number
```

## Remarks

This is not a drain period — running `message` handlers are not awaited. The value is read once when the module is loaded, and a non-numeric value falls back to the default. Relevant only while [IMQOptions.handleSignals](https://imqueue.org/api/core/latest/core.imqoptions.handlesignals/) is enabled.