diff --git a/.github/time/cloudflare/inference.js b/.github/time/cloudflare/inference.js
index 19e33df..6689233 100644
--- a/.github/time/cloudflare/inference.js
+++ b/.github/time/cloudflare/inference.js
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ async function renderRunware(body, env) {
     duration: Math.max(30, Math.min(num(body.duration, 120), num(env.AUDIO_SECONDS, 120))), outputType: "URL", outputFormat: "MP3", deliveryMethod: "sync", includeCost: true,
     audioSettings: { bitrate: 192, channels: 2, sampleRate: 44100 }, settings: {} };
   if (Number.isInteger(+body.seed) && +body.seed >= 0) task.seed = Math.min(2147483647, +body.seed);
-  if (typeof body.reference === "string" && /^data:audio\/[a-z0-9.+-]+;base64,[A-Za-z0-9+/=]+$/i.test(body.reference)) task.inputs = { audio: body.reference };
+  if (typeof body.reference === "string" && /^data:audio\/[a-z0-9.+-]+;base64,[A-Za-z0-9+/=]+$/i.test(body.reference)) { task.inputs = { audio: body.reference }; delete task.duration; }   // the reference sets the length
   const beats = String(body.timeSignature || "").match(/^(\d)\/(4|8)$/);        // "3/4" → 3; Runware takes 2, 3, 4 or 6 beats to the bar
   if (beats && [2, 3, 4, 6].includes(+beats[1])) task.settings.timeSignature = +beats[1];
   if (body.steps) task.steps = Math.min(20, Math.max(1, +body.steps | 0));