# Specify an idle session timeout value
<a name="session-preferences-timeout"></a>

With Session Manager, you can specify the amount of time to allow a user to be inactive before the system ends a session. By default, sessions time out after 20 minutes of inactivity. You can modify this setting to specify that a session times out between 1 and 60 minutes of inactivity. Some professional computing security agencies recommend setting idle session timeouts to a maximum of 15 minutes. 

The idle session timeout timer resets when Session Manager receives client-side inputs. These inputs include, but are not limited to:
+ Keyboard input in the terminal
+ Terminal or browser window resize events
+ Session reconnection (ResumeSession), which can occur due to network interruptions, browser tab management, or WebSocket disconnections

Because these events reset the idle timer, a session might remain active longer than the configured timeout period even without direct terminal commands.

If your security requirements mandate strict session duration limits regardless of activity, use the *Maximum session duration* setting in addition to idle timeout. For more information, see [Specify maximum session duration](session-preferences-max-timeout.md).

**To allow idle session timeout (console)**

1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/).

1. In the navigation pane, choose **Session Manager**.

1. Choose the **Preferences** tab, and then choose **Edit**.

1. Specify the amount of time to allow a user to be inactive before a session ends in the **minutes** field under **Idle session timeout**.

1. Choose **Save**.