Visibility timeout
A visibility timeout is a queue interval during which a retrieved message is hidden from other consumers before becoming available again if not acknowledged or removed.
Amazon Web Services in Action, Third Edition: An in-depth guide to AWS
A visibility timeout is a queue setting that temporarily hides a received message from other consumers while it is being processed.
- How it is used
- Coordinates SQS message processing by hiding received work until completion or timeout-driven retry.
- How deep it goes
- Explains configuration, sizing, acknowledgment, retries, and idempotence, but does not detail timeout extension mechanisms.
- Examples
- Demonstrates a 120-second Node.js worker that screenshots websites with Puppeteer, uploads images to S3, and deletes messages.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure an SQS worker that sizes a visibility timeout and acknowledges successful work safely.
Just Use Postgres!
A visibility timeout is a queue-delivery interval during which a retrieved message remains hidden from other consumers before becoming available again if it is not acknowledged or removed.
- How it is used
- Supports reliable queue processing by allowing failed or incomplete work to return for another consumer.
- How deep it goes
- Explains retrieval, hiding, expiration, reappearance, and archiving through a runnable two-minute example.
- Examples
- Uses a driving-license visitor queue, Noah Bennett, a 120-second timeout, and pgmq.archive.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure pgmq.read with a timeout and archive successfully processed messages.
Related concepts
- pgmq.readused by · pgmq.read is a pgmq function that retrieves messages while temporarily hiding them from other consumers subject to a visibility timeout.
- queueconfigures · A queue is an ordered collection that holds items for retrieval or processing, typically removing them in the order they were added.
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