diff --git a/.changeset/lazy-trees-tell.md b/.changeset/lazy-trees-tell.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2a9ad911c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/lazy-trees-tell.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+'@e2b/python-sdk': patch
+'e2b': patch
+---
+
+Background commands (`commands.run(..., background=True)` / `{ background: true }`) now default to no timeout, so they are no longer killed after the default 60s command timeout. Pass an explicit `timeout`/`timeoutMs` to set one.
diff --git a/packages/js-sdk/src/sandbox/commands/index.ts b/packages/js-sdk/src/sandbox/commands/index.ts
index 108a750739..5b08b3eae0 100644
--- a/packages/js-sdk/src/sandbox/commands/index.ts
+++ b/packages/js-sdk/src/sandbox/commands/index.ts
@@ -373,6 +373,9 @@ export class Commands {
    * Start a new command in the background.
    * You can use {@link CommandHandle.wait} to wait for the command to finish and get its result.
    *
+   * Background commands default to no timeout, so they are not killed after the
+   * default command timeout. Pass `opts.timeoutMs` to set one explicitly.
+   *
    * @param cmd command to execute.
    * @param opts options for starting the command
    *
@@ -445,7 +448,12 @@ export class Commands {
           [KEEPALIVE_PING_HEADER]: KEEPALIVE_PING_INTERVAL_SEC.toString(),
         },
         signal: controller.signal,
-        timeoutMs: opts?.timeoutMs ?? this.defaultProcessConnectionTimeout,
+        // Background commands default to no timeout so they aren't killed after
+        // the default command timeout. An explicit `timeoutMs` still takes
+        // precedence.
+        timeoutMs: opts?.background
+          ? opts?.timeoutMs
+          : (opts?.timeoutMs ?? this.defaultProcessConnectionTimeout),
       }
     )
 
diff --git a/packages/js-sdk/tests/sandbox/commands/run.test.ts b/packages/js-sdk/tests/sandbox/commands/run.test.ts
index e532d88bb8..fd5fa135f2 100644
--- a/packages/js-sdk/tests/sandbox/commands/run.test.ts
+++ b/packages/js-sdk/tests/sandbox/commands/run.test.ts
@@ -42,3 +42,30 @@ sandboxTest('run with too short timeout', async ({ sandbox }) => {
     sandbox.commands.run('sleep 10', { timeoutMs: 1000 })
   ).rejects.toThrow()
 })
+
+sandboxTest(
+  'background run is capped by timeout',
+  async ({ sandbox }) => {
+    const start = Date.now()
+    const cmd = await sandbox.commands.run('sleep 20', {
+      background: true,
+      timeoutMs: 10_000,
+    })
+    await expect(cmd.wait()).rejects.toThrow()
+    // The command is capped by the timeout instead of running for the full 20s.
+    expect(Date.now() - start).toBeLessThan(20_000)
+  },
+  60_000
+)
+
+sandboxTest(
+  'background run without timeout completes',
+  async ({ sandbox }) => {
+    // Sleep longer than the previous 60s default so this actually exercises the
+    // no-timeout default for background commands rather than the old 60s cap.
+    const cmd = await sandbox.commands.run('sleep 70', { background: true })
+    const result = await cmd.wait()
+    assert.equal(result.exitCode, 0)
+  },
+  120_000
+)
diff --git a/packages/python-sdk/e2b/sandbox_async/commands/command.py b/packages/python-sdk/e2b/sandbox_async/commands/command.py
index 32b75fd26b..ae78b2f5e6 100644
--- a/packages/python-sdk/e2b/sandbox_async/commands/command.py
+++ b/packages/python-sdk/e2b/sandbox_async/commands/command.py
@@ -19,6 +19,13 @@
 from e2b.sandbox_async.utils import OutputHandler
 
 
+class _Unset:
+    """Sentinel for an omitted ``timeout`` argument (distinct from ``None``)."""
+
+
+_UNSET = _Unset()
+
+
 class Commands:
     """
     Module for executing commands in the sandbox.
@@ -158,7 +165,7 @@ async def run(
         :param on_stdout: Callback for command stdout output
         :param on_stderr: Callback for command stderr output
         :param stdin: If `True`, the command will have a stdin stream that you can send data to using `sandbox.commands.send_stdin()`
-        :param timeout: Timeout for the command connection in **seconds**. Using `0` will not limit the command connection time
+        :param timeout: Timeout for the command in **seconds**. Using `0` or `None` will not limit the command run time
         :param request_timeout: Timeout for the request in **seconds**
 
         :return: `CommandResult` result of the command execution
@@ -176,7 +183,7 @@ async def run(
         on_stdout: Optional[OutputHandler[Stdout]] = None,
         on_stderr: Optional[OutputHandler[Stderr]] = None,
         stdin: Optional[bool] = None,
-        timeout: Optional[float] = 60,
+        timeout: Optional[float] = 0,
         request_timeout: Optional[float] = None,
     ) -> AsyncCommandHandle:
         """
@@ -190,7 +197,7 @@ async def run(
         :param on_stdout: Callback for command stdout output
         :param on_stderr: Callback for command stderr output
         :param stdin: If `True`, the command will have a stdin stream that you can send data to using `sandbox.commands.send_stdin()`
-        :param timeout: Timeout for the command connection in **seconds**. Using `0` will not limit the command connection time
+        :param timeout: Timeout for the command in **seconds**. Background commands default to `0`; using `0` or `None` will not limit the command run time
         :param request_timeout: Timeout for the request in **seconds**
 
         :return: `AsyncCommandHandle` handle to interact with the running command
@@ -207,7 +214,7 @@ async def run(
         on_stdout: Optional[OutputHandler[Stdout]] = None,
         on_stderr: Optional[OutputHandler[Stderr]] = None,
         stdin: Optional[bool] = None,
-        timeout: Optional[float] = 60,
+        timeout: Union[float, None, _Unset] = _UNSET,
         request_timeout: Optional[float] = None,
     ):
         # Check version for stdin support
@@ -220,6 +227,13 @@ async def run(
         # Default to `False`
         stdin = stdin or False
 
+        # Resolve the default timeout: foreground commands default to 60s and
+        # background commands to no timeout. An explicit `None` means no timeout.
+        if isinstance(timeout, _Unset):
+            timeout = 0 if background else 60
+        elif timeout is None:
+            timeout = 0
+
         proc = await self._start(
             cmd,
             envs,
diff --git a/packages/python-sdk/e2b/sandbox_sync/commands/command.py b/packages/python-sdk/e2b/sandbox_sync/commands/command.py
index 512b7d9923..9ce47067c9 100644
--- a/packages/python-sdk/e2b/sandbox_sync/commands/command.py
+++ b/packages/python-sdk/e2b/sandbox_sync/commands/command.py
@@ -18,6 +18,13 @@
 from e2b.sandbox_sync.commands.command_handle import CommandHandle
 
 
+class _Unset:
+    """Sentinel for an omitted ``timeout`` argument (distinct from ``None``)."""
+
+
+_UNSET = _Unset()
+
+
 class Commands:
     """
     Module for executing commands in the sandbox.
@@ -157,7 +164,7 @@ def run(
         :param on_stdout: Callback for command stdout output
         :param on_stderr: Callback for command stderr output
         :param stdin: If `True`, the command will have a stdin stream that you can send data to using `sandbox.commands.send_stdin()`
-        :param timeout: Timeout for the command connection in **seconds**. Using `0` will not limit the command connection time
+        :param timeout: Timeout for the command in **seconds**. Using `0` or `None` will not limit the command run time
         :param request_timeout: Timeout for the request in **seconds**
 
         :return: `CommandResult` result of the command execution
@@ -175,7 +182,7 @@ def run(
         on_stdout: None = None,
         on_stderr: None = None,
         stdin: Optional[bool] = None,
-        timeout: Optional[float] = 60,
+        timeout: Optional[float] = 0,
         request_timeout: Optional[float] = None,
     ) -> CommandHandle:
         """
@@ -187,7 +194,7 @@ def run(
         :param user: User to run the command as
         :param cwd: Working directory to run the command
         :param stdin: If `True`, the command will have a stdin stream that you can send data to using `sandbox.commands.send_stdin()`
-        :param timeout: Timeout for the command connection in **seconds**. Using `0` will not limit the command connection time
+        :param timeout: Timeout for the command in **seconds**. Background commands default to `0`; using `0` or `None` will not limit the command run time
         :param request_timeout: Timeout for the request in **seconds**
 
         :return: `CommandHandle` handle to interact with the running command
@@ -204,7 +211,7 @@ def run(
         on_stdout: Optional[Callable[[str], None]] = None,
         on_stderr: Optional[Callable[[str], None]] = None,
         stdin: Optional[bool] = None,
-        timeout: Optional[float] = 60,
+        timeout: Union[float, None, _Unset] = _UNSET,
         request_timeout: Optional[float] = None,
     ):
         # Check version for stdin support
@@ -217,6 +224,13 @@ def run(
         # Default to `False`
         stdin = stdin or False
 
+        # Resolve the default timeout: foreground commands default to 60s and
+        # background commands to no timeout. An explicit `None` means no timeout.
+        if isinstance(timeout, _Unset):
+            timeout = 0 if background else 60
+        elif timeout is None:
+            timeout = 0
+
         proc = self._start(
             cmd,
             envs,
diff --git a/packages/python-sdk/tests/async/sandbox_async/commands/test_run.py b/packages/python-sdk/tests/async/sandbox_async/commands/test_run.py
index f871ebdc61..2297eafb49 100644
--- a/packages/python-sdk/tests/async/sandbox_async/commands/test_run.py
+++ b/packages/python-sdk/tests/async/sandbox_async/commands/test_run.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import time
+
 import pytest
 
 from e2b import AsyncSandbox, TimeoutException
@@ -51,3 +53,30 @@ async def test_run_with_timeout(async_sandbox: AsyncSandbox):
 async def test_run_with_too_short_timeout(async_sandbox: AsyncSandbox):
     with pytest.raises(TimeoutException):
         await async_sandbox.commands.run("sleep 10", timeout=2)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.timeout(60)
+async def test_background_run_is_capped_by_timeout(async_sandbox: AsyncSandbox):
+    start = time.time()
+    cmd = await async_sandbox.commands.run("sleep 20", background=True, timeout=10)
+    with pytest.raises(TimeoutException):
+        await cmd.wait()
+    # The command is capped by the timeout instead of running for the full 20s.
+    assert time.time() - start < 20
+
+
+@pytest.mark.timeout(120)
+async def test_background_run_without_timeout_completes(async_sandbox: AsyncSandbox):
+    # Sleep longer than the previous 60s default so this actually exercises the
+    # no-timeout default for background commands rather than the old 60s cap.
+    cmd = await async_sandbox.commands.run("sleep 70", background=True)
+    result = await cmd.wait()
+    assert result.exit_code == 0
+
+
+@pytest.mark.timeout(120)
+async def test_run_with_none_timeout_completes(async_sandbox: AsyncSandbox):
+    # `timeout=None` means no timeout, so a command longer than the 60s default
+    # completes instead of being capped.
+    cmd = await async_sandbox.commands.run("sleep 70", timeout=None)
+    assert cmd.exit_code == 0
diff --git a/packages/python-sdk/tests/sync/sandbox_sync/commands/test_run.py b/packages/python-sdk/tests/sync/sandbox_sync/commands/test_run.py
index e75e5ba32a..38106dd25b 100644
--- a/packages/python-sdk/tests/sync/sandbox_sync/commands/test_run.py
+++ b/packages/python-sdk/tests/sync/sandbox_sync/commands/test_run.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import time
+
 import pytest
 
 from e2b import Sandbox, TimeoutException
@@ -56,3 +58,30 @@ def test_run_with_too_short_timeout_iterating(sandbox):
     with pytest.raises(TimeoutException):
         for _ in cmd:
             pass
+
+
+@pytest.mark.timeout(60)
+def test_background_run_is_capped_by_timeout(sandbox):
+    start = time.time()
+    cmd = sandbox.commands.run("sleep 20", background=True, timeout=10)
+    with pytest.raises(TimeoutException):
+        cmd.wait()
+    # The command is capped by the timeout instead of running for the full 20s.
+    assert time.time() - start < 20
+
+
+@pytest.mark.timeout(120)
+def test_background_run_without_timeout_completes(sandbox):
+    # Sleep longer than the previous 60s default so this actually exercises the
+    # no-timeout default for background commands rather than the old 60s cap.
+    cmd = sandbox.commands.run("sleep 70", background=True)
+    result = cmd.wait()
+    assert result.exit_code == 0
+
+
+@pytest.mark.timeout(120)
+def test_run_with_none_timeout_completes(sandbox):
+    # `timeout=None` means no timeout, so a command longer than the 60s default
+    # completes instead of being capped.
+    cmd = sandbox.commands.run("sleep 70", timeout=None)
+    assert cmd.exit_code == 0