---
id: justbackoff
version: "0.6.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# justbackoff — Simple backoff algorithm in Python

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 80.9K/mo

## What it is and what it does

justbackoff is a simple exponential backoff counter for Python. It manages retry delays by starting at a minimum duration (in milliseconds), multiplying by a factor after each call to duration(), and capping at a maximum. The counter resets on demand. Optional jitter adds randomness to avoid thundering-herd problems in concurrent retry scenarios.

The package has no runtime dependencies and is designed for straightforward integration into retry loops—particularly useful for network reconnection attempts or other transient failure handling. It is a direct port of a Go backoff library.

Use it for:

- Implement exponential backoff in socket reconnection loops to handle temporary network failures gracefully.
- Add jitter to retry delays in distributed systems to prevent synchronized retry storms across multiple clients.
- Calculate progressive wait times for API rate-limit handling or database connection retries.
- Build custom retry logic for transient failures in web scraping or polling tasks.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Implements exponential backoff with optional jitter for retry logic, returning successive wait durations that grow by a configurable factor until reaching a maximum.

No. The package is abandoned (last commit 2024-05-07, repository archived) with no active maintenance. While the code is simple and permissively licensed, there will be no security updates or bug fixes. For new projects, prefer an actively maintained backoff library; for existing code already using justbackoff, consider migrating if you need ongoing support.

## Install

pip install justbackoff
uv add justbackoff
poetry add justbackoff

## Installing justbackoff

Before you install: Low friction to install. However, the package is abandoned—last commit was 2024-05-07 and the repository is archived. No active maintenance or security updates should be expected.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive; you can use, modify, and distribute this package with minimal restrictions, provided you include the license notice.

Quickstart:

from justbackoff import Backoff

b = Backoff(min_ms=100, max_ms=10000, factor=2, jitter=False)
print(b.duration())  # 0.1
print(b.duration())  # 0.2
b.reset()
print(b.duration())  # 0.1

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works reliably on Python versions beyond 3.8, given the classifier list stops there and the project is no longer maintained.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 80.9K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

exponential backoff algorithm, retry delay calculation, backoff with jitter, connection retry timing, progressive wait duration, backoff counter, retry strategy, retry-logic, networking

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/justbackoff) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/justbackoff/)