diff --git a/docs/runtime/bunfig.md b/docs/runtime/bunfig.md
index 4af518744556a2..7e22c6d492fb8a 100644
--- a/docs/runtime/bunfig.md
+++ b/docs/runtime/bunfig.md
@@ -144,6 +144,15 @@ Same as the top-level `smol` field, but only applies to `bun test`.
 smol = true
 ```
 
+### `test.timeout`
+
+A default timeout for each test in milliseconds. Default `5000`. Use `--timeout` to override.
+
+```toml
+[test]
+timeout = 15000
+```
+
 ### `test.coverage`
 
 Enables coverage reporting. Default `false`. Use `--coverage` to override.
diff --git a/src/bunfig.zig b/src/bunfig.zig
index bccc9aa750b350..71fb8b72dea70e 100644
--- a/src/bunfig.zig
+++ b/src/bunfig.zig
@@ -253,6 +253,11 @@ pub const Bunfig = struct {
                         this.ctx.runtime_options.smol = expr.data.e_boolean.value;
                     }
 
+                    if (test_.get("timeout")) |expr| {
+                        try this.expect(expr, .e_number);
+                        this.ctx.test_options.default_timeout_ms = expr.data.e_number.toU32();
+                    }
+
                     if (test_.get("coverage")) |expr| {
                         try this.expect(expr, .e_boolean);
                         this.ctx.test_options.coverage.enabled = expr.data.e_boolean.value;
diff --git a/src/cli.zig b/src/cli.zig
index ad59352479eb1c..b7f32e8e585a59 100644
--- a/src/cli.zig
+++ b/src/cli.zig
@@ -453,6 +453,13 @@ pub const Arguments = struct {
             ctx.filters = args.options("--filter");
         }
 
+        ctx.args.absolute_working_dir = cwd;
+        ctx.positionals = args.positionals();
+
+        if (comptime Command.Tag.loads_config.get(cmd)) {
+            try loadConfigWithCmdArgs(cmd, allocator, args, ctx);
+        }
+
         if (cmd == .TestCommand) {
             if (args.option("--timeout")) |timeout_ms| {
                 if (timeout_ms.len > 0) {
@@ -527,13 +534,6 @@ pub const Arguments = struct {
             ctx.test_options.only = args.flag("--only");
         }
 
-        ctx.args.absolute_working_dir = cwd;
-        ctx.positionals = args.positionals();
-
-        if (comptime Command.Tag.loads_config.get(cmd)) {
-            try loadConfigWithCmdArgs(cmd, allocator, args, ctx);
-        }
-
         var opts: Api.TransformOptions = ctx.args;
 
         const defines_tuple = try DefineColonList.resolve(allocator, args.options("--define"));
diff --git a/test/cli/test/bun-test-bunfig.test.ts b/test/cli/test/bun-test-bunfig.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..ab448b5756894a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/cli/test/bun-test-bunfig.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+import { spawnSync } from "bun";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, test } from "bun:test";
+import { bunEnv, bunExe, tempDirWithFiles } from "harness";
+import { rmSync } from "node:fs";
+
+describe("bunfig test options", () => {
+  describe("timeout", () => {
+    const getBunfigWithTimeout = (ms: number) => `[test]\ntimeout = ${ms}\n`;
+
+    const getTestWithDuration = (ms: number) => {
+      return `
+        import { test } from "bun:test";
+        test(\`takes ${ms} ms\`, async () => await Bun.sleep(${ms}));
+      `;
+    };
+
+    const errorPtn = /timed out after (\d+)ms/;
+    const durationPtn = /\(fail\) .* \[(\d+)(?:\.\d+)?ms\]/;
+    let cwd: string;
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+      if (cwd) rmSync(cwd, { recursive: true });
+    });
+
+    test("bunfig timeout overrides default", () => {
+      const bunfigTimeout = 500;
+      cwd = tempDirWithFiles("test.bunfig.timeout", {
+        "bunfig.toml": getBunfigWithTimeout(bunfigTimeout),
+        "bun-test-bunfig-timeout.test.ts": getTestWithDuration(2000),
+      });
+
+      const result = spawnSync({
+        cmd: [bunExe(), "-c=bunfig.toml", "test"],
+        env: bunEnv,
+        stderr: "pipe",
+        cwd,
+      });
+      const stderr = result.stderr.toString().trim();
+
+      const errorMatch = stderr.match(errorPtn);
+      expect(errorMatch, "test didn't report timeout error to stderr").not.toBeNull();
+      const errorTimeout = parseInt(errorMatch!.at(1)!);
+      expect(errorTimeout, "test timeout error doesn't reflect bunfig value").toEqual(bunfigTimeout);
+
+      const durationMatch = stderr.match(durationPtn);
+      expect(durationMatch, "test didn't output failing result with actual duration to stderr").not.toBeNull();
+      const duration = parseInt(durationMatch!.at(1)!);
+      expect(duration, "test timed out before bunfig timeout value").toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(bunfigTimeout);
+      expect(duration, "test didn't honor bunfig timeout value").toBeLessThanOrEqual(5000);
+    });
+
+    test("cli timeout overrides bunfig", () => {
+      const cliTimeout = 500;
+      const bunfigTimeout = 1000;
+      cwd = tempDirWithFiles("test.cli.timeout.wins", {
+        "bunfig.toml": getBunfigWithTimeout(bunfigTimeout),
+        "bun-test-cli-timeout-wins.test.ts": getTestWithDuration(2000),
+      });
+
+      const result = spawnSync({
+        cmd: [bunExe(), "-c=bunfig.toml", "test", "--timeout", `${cliTimeout}`],
+        env: bunEnv,
+        stderr: "pipe",
+        cwd,
+      });
+      const stderr = result.stderr.toString().trim();
+
+      const errorMatch = stderr.match(errorPtn);
+      expect(errorMatch, "test didn't report timeout error to stderr").not.toBeNull();
+      const errorTimeout = parseInt(errorMatch!.at(1)!);
+      expect(errorTimeout, "test timeout error doesn't reflect cli value").toEqual(cliTimeout);
+
+      const durationMatch = stderr.match(durationPtn);
+      expect(durationMatch, "test didn't output failing result with actual duration to stderr").not.toBeNull();
+      const duration = parseInt(durationMatch!.at(1)!);
+      expect(duration, "test timed out before cli value").toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(cliTimeout);
+      expect(duration, "test honored bunfig timeout instead of cli").toBeLessThan(bunfigTimeout);
+    });
+  });
+});