Extending the timeout

Review how the connect-timeout middleware initializes its timeout and how req.clearTimeout() behaves during request processing. Reproduce the described GET request with remote-fetch retries, then determine whether a per-request timeout override is supported or needs a documented design; done means the request can retain a longer timeout without removing timeout handling entirely.

So far as I understand it, the timeout value is set when you add the connect-timeout middleware when initializing the express server, so the same timeout applies to every request the comes in thereafter (that matches the route concerned).

What I'm finding is that for some incoming GET requests, there is a particular combination of options in the request that causes a network fetch to a remote resource than is not very reliable. For those requests, I'd like to relax the timeout value for connect-timeout somewhat, to allow for a few fetch retries.

But I can't see any way to change the timeout value 'on the fly', for a particular request. The only control I can see over the timeout is to use req.clearTimeout() whilst processing a request. This is helpful, but timeout is completely removed and will not fire for this request in the future. This is not entirely what I'm looking to achieve... I would like to retain a timeout, but just a slightly longer one.

Is what I'm asking for really naughty, breaking established rules of good practice of which I'm not aware? Or is it a reasonable thing to want to do?