How do I ensure a Laravel job runs exclusively on a single queue using WithoutOverlapping?

When using the WithoutOverlapping middleware, you're making sure that if another instance of UpdateSomething is already running (or the lock is still in place), any new job will be released rather than executed concurrently. In your example:

PHPCopied
public function middleware(): array
{
    return [(new WithoutOverlapping(get_class($this)))->releaseAfter(1)];
}

– The releaseAfter(1) setting tells Laravel to delay the retry of an overlapping job by 1 second once it has been released.

Should You Use expireAfter?

Yes, for long-running jobs it's a good idea to use expireAfter. The expireAfter method defines how long the lock should remain active before it times out. This is particularly useful because if your job fails unexpectedly (for example, due to a timeout or a crash) the lock might not be released automatically. By setting expireAfter to a value slightly longer than your job's maximum expected runtime, you ensure that the lock will eventually be released, allowing another job to run.

For example, if your job is expected to complete within 600 seconds, you might do something like:

PHPCopied
public function middleware(): array
{
    return [
        (new WithoutOverlapping(get_class($this)))
            ->releaseAfter(1)
            ->expireAfter(600)
    ];
}

Summary

• WithoutOverlapping ensures that only one instance of your UpdateSomething job is processed at a time.
• releaseAfter(1) delays the processing of any overlapping job by 1 second.
• expireAfter(600) (or a similar value matching your expected runtime) makes sure that if a lock isn’t properly released (e.g., due to a failure or timeout), it will automatically expire after 600 seconds.

Using both methods helps in managing long-running jobs reliably in environments like Vapor.