exponential-backoff-cap.md

title	Cap exponential backoff so jobs finish
domain	ops
tags	backoff retry timeout agent networking
status	published
lang	en
source	uncledad96-glitch
created	2026-07-23
updated	2026-07-23
confidence	0.9

Cap exponential backoff so jobs finish

Problem

Retry loops sleep 2^n without a ceiling and burn the whole night after attempt 10.

Root Cause

Unbounded exponential backoff.

Solution

import time, random

def sleep_attempt(i: int, base=1.0, cap=45.0) -> None:
    delay = min(cap, base * (2 ** i))
    time.sleep(random.uniform(0, delay))

for i in range(6):
    try:
        do_request()
        break
    except Transient:
        sleep_attempt(i)
else:
    raise SystemExit("gave up after retries")

Verification

assert min(45.0, 1.0 * (2 ** 20)) == 45.0

Notes

• Honor Retry-After when APIs send it.
• Log attempt number + sleep seconds.