Exponential backoff
Exponential backoff multiplies the waiting interval between retries, up to a configured limit.
Exponential backoff increases the wait between retries by a factor, usually up to a cap. After a temporary failure, the application therefore does not immediately send the same request again. Backoff is an interval rule within a retry strategy.
Define waiting intervals and stopping rules separately
A fictional API example starts with a one-second wait after a failed attempt, doubles it and caps it at four seconds: 1 → 2 → 4 → 4 s. These are illustrative base intervals without jitter, not recommended operating values. Jitter adds random variation to the actual wait to keep many clients from retrying at the same time.
The cap does not stop retries. The attempt limit, overall time budget and eligible errors must be defined separately. Waiting longer does not make an invalid request valid; an operation with possible side effects must be safe to repeat.
If the client library already retries, another loop in the application can multiply the number of calls. The team therefore needs to consider both layers together.
Sources
Related terms
- Retry strategyA retry strategy defines which failures to retry, the waiting intervals and the limit on further attempts.
- Retry jitterRetry jitter varies waiting times randomly to spread retries and reduce simultaneous requests from many clients.
- IdempotencyAn idempotent operation has the same intended effect on system state when repeated identically as when performed once.
- Server-sent eventsServer-sent events carry text notifications from server to client over HTTP, for example about the progress of a background job.
- Entity tagAn ETag identifies a particular representation version of an HTTP resource and supports conditional reads or changes.
- Cross-Origin Resource SharingCORS controls browser access to responses across origin boundaries. It replaces neither API login nor permission checks.
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