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A Laravel queue worker that stops inside Docker may have timed out, reached a memory or recycling limit, received a graceful shutdown signal, or been forcibly killed. The container itself may still be running. Start by identifying which process exited, then compare the job, worker, queue, network-client, and container time limits instead of raising one number at random.
First determine what actually stopped
“The worker keeps restarting” describes an observation, not a cause. Check the container’s state and exit status, orchestration events, and worker output. Establish whether the container exited, only the queue-worker process exited while the container remained up, or a supervisor restarted the worker. Those outcomes point to different lifecycle mechanisms; without runtime evidence, an exit alone does not establish that Docker killed the process.
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- Read the worker’s logs around the time of the exit for a timeout or other Laravel message.
- Inspect the container’s exit status and orchestration events for evidence of a stop or forced termination.
- Check the worker command and its supervisor or equivalent process monitor to see whether an intentional worker exit was followed by a restart.
Laravel documents several expected worker exits, including a timeout, a queue restart, an empty-queue stop, a maximum runtime, and a memory limit. These are not, by themselves, proof of a Docker crash. Laravel’s Laravel 13.x queue guide describes these worker controls.
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Compare every relevant time limit
Several independent clocks can affect one job. Identify the configured value at each layer before changing anything. Laravel’s current 13.x queue guide documents a 60-second default for queue:work --timeout; a job-level timeout can take precedence over the command-line value. Neither figure is a universal recommendation for every workload.
| Limit | What it controls | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Job-level timeout | Maximum run time set for a particular job; it can override the worker’s CLI timeout. | Inspect the job’s timeout setting and any applicable job configuration. |
Worker --timeout |
When Laravel’s worker should stop a job that runs too long; Laravel documents a 60-second default in its 13.x guide. | Inspect the actual worker command and whether PCNTL is available. |
Queue retry_after |
When a reserved job on a connection using this setting becomes eligible for retry. | Set the effective worker/job timeout several seconds shorter than this value. |
| SQS visibility timeout | How long an SQS message stays invisible to other consumers after receipt. | Compare the configured visibility timeout with the worker/job runtime; do not treat it as Laravel’s retry_after setting. |
| HTTP or socket timeout | How long an individual network operation may wait. | Set connection and request timeouts in the relevant client library. |
| Container stop grace period | How long Docker waits after sending the configured stop signal before forcing termination. | Allow enough time for the worker’s current job and shutdown path to finish. |
For queue connections that use retry_after, Laravel says the worker timeout should be at least several seconds shorter. If the retry window expires while the original job is still running, the job can become eligible for another attempt before its first execution has ended. That can lead to duplicate processing; it does not mean every retry or restart necessarily duplicates work. The result depends on the driver, acknowledgement or release timing, and when termination occurs. Make side-effecting jobs safe to retry.
For SQS, compare against the queue’s visibility timeout instead. Laravel’s timeout is not a substitute for a queue backend’s retry or visibility window. See Laravel’s queue timeout guidance.
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When a long-running job ignores the worker timeout
Check PCNTL and blocking I/O
Laravel’s job-timeout mechanism requires PHP’s PCNTL extension. If it is not installed in the worker’s PHP runtime, do not assume --timeout is enforcing the expected limit. Laravel also cautions that blocking sockets and outgoing HTTP requests may not respect the worker timeout. Configure connection and request timeouts in the HTTP or socket client itself, so a stalled network call has its own bound. Laravel’s 13.x queue documentation covers these timeout limitations.
Distinguish a slow job from a stuck request
If the job’s normal work is lengthy, choose time limits that accommodate its expected runtime while preserving the gap between the worker/job timeout and the queue retry or visibility window. If it is waiting on a remote service, a client-level connect or request timeout may be the missing control. Increasing Laravel’s timeout alone does not necessarily bound that network wait.
When the worker exits without a timeout
Check memory use separately from elapsed time
Laravel documents queue:work --memory with a default of 128 MB in its 13.x guide. A worker reaching its configured memory limit can exit even when a job has not exceeded its time limit. Inspect the actual command and runtime behavior rather than interpreting every worker exit as a timeout or Docker kill. Laravel also advises releasing heavy resources after jobs.
Check intentional worker recycling
--max-jobs and --max-time let Laravel recycle long-running workers. --stop-when-empty makes a worker exit once the queue is drained, while queue:restart tells workers to exit after their current job. These are lifecycle controls, not evidence of an external crash. A long-running worker needs a process monitor or equivalent restart policy so it is started again after an intentional exit. See Laravel’s worker options and restart guidance.
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When Docker stops or kills the container
Docker’s documented default stop signal is SIGTERM, unless the image or container configuration specifies another signal. Laravel workers can handle SIGQUIT, SIGTERM, or SIGINT by finishing the current job before exiting. Docker waits for the configured stop timeout; if the container has not exited when that period elapses, Docker sends SIGKILL. A container’s configured timeout may differ from Docker’s documented defaults: absent a per-container default, the reference gives 10 seconds for Linux containers and 30 seconds for Windows containers. See Docker’s container restart reference.
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A practical diagnosis and fix sequence
- Identify the exited component. Check container state and exit status, orchestration events, worker output, and whether the worker process ended while the container stayed up.
- Read the actual worker configuration. Record any job-level timeout, CLI
--timeout,--memory,--max-jobs,--max-time, and--stop-when-emptysettings. - Check timeout enforcement. Confirm PCNTL is installed in the worker’s PHP runtime. If the job performs blocking network I/O, inspect the client’s connection and request timeout settings too.
- Compare the queue window. For a connection using
retry_after, make the effective worker/job timeout several seconds shorter. For SQS, compare the job duration with the queue visibility timeout. - Check memory and recycling separately. Determine whether the worker reached its memory threshold or an intentional job/time limit instead of assuming elapsed time caused the exit.
- Inspect shutdown behavior. For deployments or container stops, compare the expected time to finish the current job with Docker’s stop grace period and the worker’s restart supervision.
- Make retries safe. Where a job can have side effects, use application-level safeguards appropriate to the work so a retried attempt does not blindly repeat an operation.
Change the setting that owns the observed failure: job or worker timeout for job duration, the client timeout for blocked I/O, the retry/visibility window for redelivery timing, memory or recycling controls for worker lifecycle, and container grace time for shutdown. The exit evidence should guide that choice.
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