Retry

Retry with exponential backoff and circuit breaker patterns for resilient automation workflows

Package: @robinpath/retry | Category: Infrastructure | Type: Utility

Authentication

No authentication required. All functions are available immediately.

Use Cases

Use the retry module when you need to:

• Execute a function with automatic retry and exponential backoff -- Use retry.execute to perform this operation
• Calculate the delay for a given retry attempt using exponential backoff -- Use retry.withBackoff to perform this operation
• Check if an HTTP status code is retryable (408, 429, 500, 502, 503, 504) -- Use retry.isRetryable to perform this operation
• Wait for a specified number of milliseconds -- Use retry.delay to perform this operation
• Preview the delay schedule for a series of retry attempts -- Use retry.attempts to perform this operation

Quick Reference

Function	Description	Returns
execute	Execute a function with automatic retry and exponential backoff	The result of the function if it succeeds within the retry limit
withBackoff	Calculate the delay for a given retry attempt using exponential backoff	The delay in milliseconds for the given attempt
isRetryable	Check if an HTTP status code is retryable (408, 429, 500, 502, 503, 504)	True if the status code is typically retryable
delay	Wait for a specified number of milliseconds	True when the delay completes
attempts	Preview the delay schedule for a series of retry attempts	Array of {attempt, delay, totalWait} objects
createBreaker	Create a named circuit breaker with a failure threshold and reset timeout	The circuit breaker configuration
breakerState	Get the current state of a named circuit breaker	Object with state (closed/open/half-open), failures, threshold
breakerRecord	Record a success or failure in a circuit breaker	Updated circuit breaker state
breakerAllow	Check if a circuit breaker allows requests through	True if requests are allowed, false if circuit is open
breakerReset	Reset a circuit breaker to closed state	True if reset successfully

Functions

execute

Execute a function with automatic retry and exponential backoff

Module: retry | Returns: any -- The result of the function if it succeeds within the retry limit

retry.execute $myFunction {"maxAttempts": 5, "initialDelay": 2000}

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
fn	string	Yes	The async function to execute
options	object	No	Retry options: maxAttempts, initialDelay, maxDelay, backoffFactor, retryOn, jitter

---

withBackoff

Calculate the delay for a given retry attempt using exponential backoff

Module: retry | Returns: number -- The delay in milliseconds for the given attempt

retry.withBackoff 3 1000 2 30000

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
attempt	number	Yes	The current attempt number (0-based)
initialDelay	number	No	Base delay in ms (default 1000)
factor	number	No	Backoff multiplier (default 2)
maxDelay	number	No	Maximum delay in ms (default 30000)
jitter	boolean	No	Add random jitter (default true)

---

isRetryable

Check if an HTTP status code is retryable (408, 429, 500, 502, 503, 504)

Module: retry | Returns: boolean -- True if the status code is typically retryable

retry.isRetryable 503

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
statusCode	number	Yes	The HTTP status code to check

---

delay

Wait for a specified number of milliseconds

Module: retry | Returns: boolean -- True when the delay completes

retry.delay 2000

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
ms	number	Yes	Milliseconds to wait

---

attempts

Preview the delay schedule for a series of retry attempts

Module: retry | Returns: array -- Array of {attempt, delay, totalWait} objects

retry.attempts 5 1000 2

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
maxAttempts	number	No	Number of attempts (default 3)
initialDelay	number	No	Base delay in ms (default 1000)
factor	number	No	Backoff multiplier (default 2)

---

createBreaker

Create a named circuit breaker with a failure threshold and reset timeout

Module: retry | Returns: object -- The circuit breaker configuration

retry.createBreaker "api-service" 3 30000

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	Yes	Circuit breaker name
threshold	number	No	Number of failures before opening (default 5)
resetTimeout	number	No	Time in ms before transitioning to half-open (default 60000)

---

breakerState

Get the current state of a named circuit breaker

Module: retry | Returns: object -- Object with state (closed/open/half-open), failures, threshold

retry.breakerState "api-service"

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	Yes	Circuit breaker name

---

breakerRecord

Record a success or failure in a circuit breaker

Module: retry | Returns: object -- Updated circuit breaker state

retry.breakerRecord "api-service" false

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	Yes	Circuit breaker name
success	boolean	Yes	True for success, false or 'failure' for failure

---

breakerAllow

Check if a circuit breaker allows requests through

Module: retry | Returns: boolean -- True if requests are allowed, false if circuit is open

retry.breakerAllow "api-service"

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	Yes	Circuit breaker name

---

breakerReset

Reset a circuit breaker to closed state

Module: retry | Returns: boolean -- True if reset successfully

retry.breakerReset "api-service"

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	string	Yes	Circuit breaker name

---

Error Handling

All functions throw on failure. Common errors:

Error	Cause
First argument must be a callable function	Check the error message for details
Circuit breaker "..." not found. Create it first.	Check the error message for details

@desc "Execute and validate result"
do
  set $result as retry.execute $myFunction {"maxAttempts": 5, "initialDelay": 2000}
  if $result != null
    print "Success"
  else
    print "No result"
  end
enddo

Recipes

1. Create a new item with createBreaker

Create a new resource and capture the result.

set $result as retry.createBreaker "api-service" 3 30000
print "Created: " + $result

2. Multi-step Retry workflow

Chain multiple retry operations together.

@desc "Execute, with backoff, and more"
do
  set $r_execute as retry.execute $myFunction {"maxAttempts": 5, "initialDelay": 2000}
  set $r_withBackoff as retry.withBackoff 3 1000 2 30000
  set $r_isRetryable as retry.isRetryable 503
  print "All operations complete"
enddo

3. Safe execute with validation

Check results before proceeding.

@desc "Execute and validate result"
do
  set $result as retry.execute $myFunction {"maxAttempts": 5, "initialDelay": 2000}
  if $result != null
    print "Success: " + $result
  else
    print "Operation returned no data"
  end
enddo

Related Modules

• json -- JSON module for complementary functionality