diff --git a/.gitlab-ci/cuttlefish-runner.sh b/.gitlab-ci/cuttlefish-runner.sh
index a83e29170f3..5bcf18cfc7a 100755
--- a/.gitlab-ci/cuttlefish-runner.sh
+++ b/.gitlab-ci/cuttlefish-runner.sh
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ ulimit -n 32768
 VSOCK_BASE=10000 # greater than all the default vsock ports
 VSOCK_CID=$((VSOCK_BASE + (CI_JOB_ID & 0xfff)))
 
-HOME=/cuttlefish launch_cvd \
+HOME=/cuttlefish timeout 5m launch_cvd \
   -daemon \
   -verbosity=INFO \
   -file_verbosity=VERBOSE \