RetryOnFailure

RetryOnFailure is a configuration option or policy used in software systems to indicate that a failed operation should be retried automatically rather than reported as a final failure. It is commonly employed to mitigate transient errors such as network timeouts, temporary unavailability of a service, or brief resource contention. The policy typically specifies the conditions under which a retry is attempted, the maximum number of retries, and the timing between attempts (backoff strategy). Common backoff strategies include fixed delays, exponential backoff, and jitter to reduce coordinated retries.

Implementation often includes a cap on total retry duration, a requirement for idempotence to avoid duplicate side effects, and metrics to monitor success rates, retry counts, and latency. RetryOnFailure can be used by client libraries, adapters, task runners, or orchestration systems. It may coexist with other resilience patterns such as circuit breakers, timeouts, and fallbacks. Some systems distinguish between retryable and non-retryable failures based on error codes or exception types; transient network errors are typical candidates for retries, whereas permanent failures such as invalid input are not.

Practical considerations include avoiding infinite loops, ensuring that retries do not violate data integrity, and exposing retry behavior to operators for observability and configuration. In practice, enabling RetryOnFailure improves resilience when used with appropriate backoff, idempotent operations, and clear visibility into retry activity.