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1s,2s,4sDoubling waits
cappedBounded attempts
What it is
Exponential back-off spaces out retries by doubling the wait each time — 1s, 2s, 4s, and so on — so a struggling server is not swamped by immediate re-tries. It is usually capped at a small number of attempts before giving up.
When to use it
Use exponential back-off for transient 5xx errors and network blips. For a 429, honour the exact Retry-After value instead of guessing. Do not retry deterministic 4xx errors like 422 — they will fail identically. See handling rate limits gracefully.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use back-off for a 429?
Honour the Retry-After header for a 429 rather than back-off. Use back-off for transient 5xx and network errors.
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