diff --git a/docs/guides/troubleshooting.mdx b/docs/guides/troubleshooting.mdx
index 41de0d82af..26d97f5074 100644
--- a/docs/guides/troubleshooting.mdx
+++ b/docs/guides/troubleshooting.mdx
@@ -186,8 +186,39 @@ Use Docker when you need a pinned rendering environment:
 npx hyperframes render --docker --output output.mp4
 ```
 
+### Every render takes about 45 seconds longer than expected
+
+A composition that never registers a GSAP timeline still makes the producer wait
+for one. The producer polls `window.__timelines[<id>]` until the composition
+player reports ready, then gives up after `player-ready-timeout` (45 s by
+default). The wait is a fixed cost paid on every render, so it does not shrink
+when you lower quality or resize media.
+
+Declare that the composition has no timeline:
+
+```html
+<div
+  data-composition-id="promo"
+  data-no-timeline
+  data-width="1920"
+  data-height="1080"
+  data-duration="6"
+></div>
+```
+
+`npx hyperframes lint` reports the missing attribute as
+`missing_data_no_timeline`. Compositions that do register a timeline are
+unaffected: the poll returns as soon as the timeline appears, long before the
+timeout.
+
+To register a timeline instead of skipping the wait, see
+[GSAP animation](/guides/gsap-animation).
+
 ### The render is slow
 
+The causes below scale with the project. For a constant penalty on every render,
+check the timeline poll above first.
+
 During iteration:
 
 - use draft quality;
diff --git a/docs/reference/html-schema.mdx b/docs/reference/html-schema.mdx
index b44f9bd104..2c445aabcb 100644
--- a/docs/reference/html-schema.mdx
+++ b/docs/reference/html-schema.mdx
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ timeline registry key.
 | `data-start="0"` | Yes on the top-level root | Start of the composition |
 | `data-width` and `data-height` | Yes | Authored frame dimensions in pixels |
 | `data-duration` | Usually | Total render duration in seconds |
-| `data-no-timeline` | Only for a timeline-free composition | Tells the runtime not to wait for a timeline |
+| `data-no-timeline` | Only for a timeline-free composition | Tells the runtime not to wait for a timeline. Without it a composition that never registers one still waits out `player-ready-timeout` (45 s by default) on every render; `hyperframes lint` reports this as `missing_data_no_timeline` |
 
 An explicit root `data-duration` is the render length. The compiler reads it
 before composition scripts run, so a script or variable override cannot change