diff --git a/python/README.md b/python/README.md
index 7146da6..fc5ff0e 100644
--- a/python/README.md
+++ b/python/README.md
@@ -62,6 +62,14 @@ set -a && source cluster.env && set +a
 > SSL verification is disabled by default to support environments that use
 > self-signed certificates. We recommend setting `ONTAP_VERIFY_SSL=true`
 > once CA-signed certificates are in place.
+>
+> The request timeout defaults to 30 seconds. Set `ONTAP_TIMEOUT` (in seconds)
+> to adjust this for your environment:
+>
+> ```bash
+> export ONTAP_TIMEOUT=10            # fail fast in CI
+> export ONTAP_TIMEOUT=60            # allow extra time for slow clusters
+> ```
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/python/ontap_client.py b/python/ontap_client.py
index 1f9e41e..9a100af 100644
--- a/python/ontap_client.py
+++ b/python/ontap_client.py
@@ -110,7 +110,8 @@ def from_env(cls) -> OntapClient:
 
         Optional (with defaults):
             ``ONTAP_USER`` (default ``admin``),
-            ``ONTAP_VERIFY_SSL`` (default ``false``)
+            ``ONTAP_VERIFY_SSL`` (default ``false``),
+            ``ONTAP_TIMEOUT`` (default ``30`` seconds)
         """
         host = os.environ.get("ONTAP_HOST", "")
         if not host:
@@ -121,11 +122,14 @@ def from_env(cls) -> OntapClient:
             logger.error("ONTAP_PASS environment variable is required")
             sys.exit(1)
 
+        timeout = int(os.environ.get("ONTAP_TIMEOUT", str(_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT)))
+
         return cls(
             host=host,
             username=os.environ.get("ONTAP_USER", "admin"),
             password=password,
             verify_ssl=os.environ.get("ONTAP_VERIFY_SSL", "false").lower() == "true",
+            timeout=timeout,
         )
 
     # -- HTTP helpers -------------------------------------------------------