N8n execute sub-workflow return "This is an item, but it's empty" if wait more 5 minuts

[xopowen]

Problem Description:
When using the Execute Workflow Node in a parent workflow, if the sub-workflow runs for more than 5 minutes, the node returns an empty result (empty array []).

Details:

• The “Wait for Workflow to Finish” option is enabled in the Execute Workflow Node settings.
• The sub-workflow successfully completes all its actions, but no data is returned to the parent workflow.
• The parent workflow correctly waits for the sub-workflow to finish and does not terminate prematurely.
• This issue only occurs with long-running processes (5 minutes or longer).

Expected Behavior:
The parent workflow should correctly receive data from the sub-workflow after it finishes, even if the execution takes longer than 5 minutes.

Questions:

• Are there any time limits for the Execute Workflow Node?
• How can I reliably pass data from a long-running sub-workflow back to the parent workflow?

Debug info

core

• n8nVersion: 1.81.4
• platform: docker (self-hosted)
• nodeJsVersion: 22.13.1
• database: postgres
• executionMode: regular
• concurrency: -1
• license: enterprise (production)

main workflow

sub-workflow

[Olek]

Could you paste both of the workflows using </> button here? One code block per each workflow.

Node settings is what is important to look into and screenshots are not really helpful.

One thing to check is if timeout is defined in your workflows settings.

If this random shot resolves your issue, please like this post and mark it as a Solution.

[xopowen]

added scripts. What you described didn’t help. Thank you for responding.

[Olek]

I tried to reproduce your scenario.
In my case, in fact, main workflow didn’t receive any data from a subworkflow, however short wait time was set.
Once I deactivated Wait node in the subWorkflow the data started passing through as expected.

This might be a bug. I noticed you have enterprise license. Did you reach out to n8n support by the channel dedicated to the enterprise users? This might be a faster way to obtain help with your particular setup.

[xopowen]

thanks for the reply.
Yes, if the subcenary does not wait more than 5 minutes, then the external script wakes up to receive data. But a sub-script can run for more than 5 minutes.

No, we did not contact n8n.
We decided to contact the community first.
So I solved this problem by saving the result of the subcenaries to the database, and the external script already works with it.