---
slug: "Backoff"
name: "Backoff"
type: "Primitives"
layer: "Infrastructure"
ref: "Backoff#9e59"
sema_id: "sema:Backoff#mh:SHA-256:9e59718422f5408d7892feccb6d538a21103f9573b122b891ee3c8cf66303e72"
tags: ["Infrastructure","Primitives"]
updated: 2026-11-11
mindscape: "bootstrap"
index_url: https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/index.json
url: https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Backoff/
related: ["CircuitBreaker","ExponentialBackoff","ReAttempt","Retry","StateLock","Throttle"]
---

# Backoff

Delay subsequent attempts after failure or contention

Layer: Infrastructure · Category: Primitives

## Mechanism

After an attempt encounters failure, rejection, or contention and a caller elects to try again, defer the next eligible attempt according to a delay policy. The policy may derive the delay from attempt count, failure history, feedback, or external conditions. Backoff supplies spacing; retry eligibility and retry budgets remain caller policy.

## Invariants

—

## Failure modes

—

## Builds on

—

## Used by

- [CircuitBreaker](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/CircuitBreaker.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [ExponentialBackoff](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/ExponentialBackoff.md) (Infrastructure; Extends)
- [ExponentialBackoff](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/ExponentialBackoff.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [ReAttempt](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/ReAttempt.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [Retry](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Retry.md) (Mind; References)
- [StateLock](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/StateLock.md) (Society; Composes with)
- [Throttle](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Throttle.md) (Infrastructure; Composes with)

## Identity

- Sema ID: `sema:Backoff#mh:SHA-256:9e59718422f5408d7892feccb6d538a21103f9573b122b891ee3c8cf66303e72`
- Ref: `Backoff#9e59`
- Supersedes:
  - `sema:Backoff#mh:SHA-256:315a36ef873a63c30740ce89b1aeb542836a068ef0d81a6e3aaaec062d70bc60`
  - `sema:Backoff#mh:SHA-256:16c2d636281df44ed78ef3bce341e7a349fd37cbd675706e2e395172c1dccae6`

## Links

- [Pattern page](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Backoff/)
- [View in the interactive graph](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/#Backoff)
- [JSON](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Backoff.json)
- [Index of all patterns](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/index.json)