README

Tiny PHP library providing retry functionality with multiple backoff strategies and jitter support.

Features

• 4 retry strategies (plus the ability to use your own)
• Optional jitter/randomness to spread out retries and minimize collisions
• Wait time cap to limit maximum retry delays
• Custom callbacks for retry logic and error handling
• Type-safe with strict typing and comprehensive test coverage
• Backward compatible with stechstudio/backoff

Requirements

• PHP 8.2 or higher

About This Fork

This library is a modernized fork of stechstudio/backoff with several improvements:

• Strict typing and comprehensive test coverage
• Explicit configuration instead of global static defaults
• Better naming - "retry" terminology instead of "backoff"
• Enhanced jitter control with setJitterPercent() and setJitterMinCap() methods
• Backward compatibility through aliases

Installation

composer require jbzoo/retry

Quick Start

This library provides sane defaults for immediate use. By default: quadratic strategy with 100ms base time (attempt^2 * 100), maximum 5 retries, and no jitter.

Simple Function Usage

The simplest way to use Retry is with the retry helper function:

use function JBZoo\Retry\retry;

$result = retry(function() {
    return doSomeWorkThatMightFail();
});

If successful $result will contain the result of the closure. If max attempts are exceeded the inner exception is re-thrown.

You can of course provide other options via the helper method if needed.

Parameters: $callback, $maxAttempts, $strategy, $waitCap, $useJitter.

Class-Based Usage

Constructor parameters: $maxAttempts, $strategy, $waitCap, $useJitter.

use JBZoo\Retry\Retry;

$retry = new Retry(10, 'exponential', 10000, true);
$result = $retry->run(function() {
    return doSomeWorkThatMightFail();
});

Fluent Interface

For dependency injection scenarios, use chainable setters:

use JBZoo\Retry\Retry;

$result = (new Retry())
    ->setStrategy('constant')
    ->setMaxAttempts(10)
    ->enableJitter()
    ->run(function() {
        return doSomeWorkThatMightFail();
    });

Configuration Philosophy

This library enforces explicit configuration over global defaults. Unlike the original library, static configuration variables are deprecated and disabled. This design choice ensures:

• Different parts of your project can have completely different retry settings
• No conflicts with third-party libraries using their own defaults
• Clear, explicit dependency injection patterns

Use dependency injection or direct instantiation instead of global configuration.

Retry Strategies

Four built-in strategies are available, each with a default base time of 100 milliseconds:

Constant Strategy

Sleeps for a fixed time on each retry.

use JBZoo\Retry\Strategies\ConstantStrategy;
$strategy = new ConstantStrategy(500); // 500ms each retry

Linear Strategy

Sleep time increases linearly: attempt × baseTime.

use JBZoo\Retry\Strategies\LinearStrategy;
$strategy = new LinearStrategy(200); // 200ms, 400ms, 600ms...

Polynomial Strategy

Sleep time follows polynomial growth: (attempt^degree) × baseTime.

use JBZoo\Retry\Strategies\PolynomialStrategy;
$strategy = new PolynomialStrategy(100, 3); // (attempt^3) × 100ms
// Default degree is 2 (quadratic): 100ms, 400ms, 900ms...

Exponential Strategy

Sleep time grows exponentially: (2^attempt) × baseTime.

use JBZoo\Retry\Strategies\ExponentialStrategy;
$strategy = new ExponentialStrategy(100); // 200ms, 400ms, 800ms...

Strategy Usage Options

String-Based Configuration

use JBZoo\Retry\Retry;
use function JBZoo\Retry\retry;

retry(fn() => doWork(), 10, 'constant'); // Uses ConstantStrategy with 100ms default
$retry = new Retry(10, 'constant');

Instance-Based Configuration

use JBZoo\Retry\Retry;
use JBZoo\Retry\Strategies\LinearStrategy;
use function JBZoo\Retry\retry;

retry(fn() => doWork(), 10, new LinearStrategy(500));
$retry = new Retry(10, new LinearStrategy(500));

Integer-Based Configuration

Passing an integer creates a ConstantStrategy with that base time:

retry(fn() => doWork(), 10, 1000); // 1000ms constant delay
$retry = new Retry(10, 1000);

Custom Closure Strategy

Define your own strategy with a closure:

// Closure receives attempt number and returns sleep time in milliseconds
retry(fn() => doWork(), 10, fn($attempt) => (100 * $attempt) + 5000);

$retry = new Retry(10);
$retry->setStrategy(fn($attempt) => (100 * $attempt) + 5000);

Wait Cap

Limit maximum wait time for fast-growing strategies (like exponential):

retry(fn() => doWork(), 10, 'exponential', 5000); // Cap at 5 seconds
$retry = new Retry()->setWaitCap(5000);

Jitter

Prevent retry collisions by adding randomness to wait times. This is crucial when multiple clients might retry simultaneously.

retry(fn() => doWork(), 10, 'exponential', null, true); // Enable jitter
$retry = new Retry()->enableJitter();

Advanced Jitter Control

Fine-tune jitter behavior with additional methods:

$retry = new Retry()
    ->enableJitter()
    ->setJitterPercent(75)    // Use 75% of calculated wait time as max
    ->setJitterMinCap(100);   // Minimum jitter time of 100ms

By default, this library uses "FullJitter" - a random time between 0 and the calculated wait time. See AWS's excellent explanation for more details.

Advanced Usage

Custom Retry Logic

Implement custom retry conditions beyond simple exception handling:

use JBZoo\Retry\Retry;

$retry = new Retry();
$retry->setDecider(function($attempt, $maxAttempts, $result, $exception = null) {
    // Custom logic: retry based on time, specific exceptions, return values, etc.
    return $attempt < 3 && ($exception instanceof SpecificException);
});

Error Handling

Add logging or monitoring for retry attempts:

use JBZoo\Retry\Retry;

$retry = new Retry();
$retry->setErrorHandler(function($exception, $attempt, $maxAttempts) {
    error_log("Retry {$attempt}/{$maxAttempts}: {$exception->getMessage()}");
});

Development

Running Tests

make update    # Install dependencies
make test      # Run PHPUnit tests
make codestyle # Run code quality checks
make test-all  # Run both tests and code style

License

MIT

See Also

• CI-Report-Converter - Converting different error reports for deep compatibility with popular CI systems.
• Composer-Diff - See what packages have changed after composer update.
• Composer-Graph - Dependency graph visualization of composer.json based on mermaid-js.
• Mermaid-PHP - Generate diagrams and flowcharts with the help of the mermaid script language.
• Utils - Collection of useful PHP functions, mini-classes, and snippets for every day.
• Image - Package provides object-oriented way to manipulate with images as simple as possible.
• Data - Extended implementation of ArrayObject. Use files as config/array.
• SimpleTypes - Converting any values and measures - money, weight, exchange rates, length, ...