retrying

Retrying

retrying Permissive license Apache-2.0 Active ★ 96 v1.4.2 released 2025-08-03

Install

retrying on PyPI

pip

pip install retrying

uv

uv add retrying

poetry

poetry add retrying

Package facts

License	Apache-2.0 (permissive)
Python support	supports the current Python release (>=3.6)
Install friction	low — pure-Python wheel
Runtime dependencies	none
Maintenance	actively maintained — 375 days since the last release
Last repo commit	2026-07-26
First released	2013-01-22
Popularity	one of the top 1,000 most-downloaded packages on PyPI (30-day window, as of 2026-08-13)
Known vulnerabilities	none known (OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-13)

Evidence: retrying-1.4.2-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: decorator, decorators, retry, retrying, exception, exponential, backoff

Intended Audience :: DevelopersNatural Language :: EnglishProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonTopic :: InternetTopic :: Utilities

About retrying

from the package's own PyPI description — quoted content, verbatim

Retrying

Retrying is an Apache 2.0 licensed general-purpose retrying library, written in Python, to simplify the task of adding retry behavior to just about anything.

The simplest use case is retrying a flaky function whenever an Exception occurs until a value is returned.

import random
from retrying import retry

@retry
def do_something_unreliable():
    if random.randint(0, 10) &gt; 1:
        raise IOError("Broken sauce, everything is hosed!!!111one")
    else:
        return "Awesome sauce!"

print(do_something_unreliable())

Features

Generic Decorator API
Specify stop condition (i.e. limit by number of attempts)
Specify wait condition (i.e. exponential backoff sleeping between attempts)
Customize retrying on Exceptions
Customize retrying on expected returned result

Examples

As you saw above, the default behavior is to retry forever without waiting.

@retry
def never_give_up_never_surrender():
    print("Retry forever ignoring Exceptions, don't wait between retries")

Let's be a little less persistent and set some boundaries, such as the number of attempts before giving up.

```python @retry(stop_max_attempt_number=7) def...

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AI interpretation — verify before relying

AI-generated interpretation of the package facts above; every digit, version, license, or vulnerability id it cites is grounded in the facts already shown on this page

Retrying is a decorator-based library that adds automatic retry logic to functions, supporting configurable stop conditions (attempt limits, time bounds), wait strategies (fixed delays, exponential backoff, random intervals), and exception/result-based retry decisions.

Low friction: pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies and active maintenance (last commit 2026-07-26). Supports Python 3.6–3.13.

Apache-2.0 permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; attribution required.

Usage

from retrying import retry

@retry(stop_max_attempt_number=3, wait_fixed=1000)
def flaky_operation():
    # function body
    pass

flaky_operation()

Verdict: Retrying is a lightweight, actively maintained retry utility with zero dependencies, permissive licensing, and broad Python version support. No known vulnerabilities and top-1000 popularity make it a low-risk choice for adding resilience to flaky operations.

Needs verification

Whether the package is still actively developed beyond the last commit date (2026-07-26 appears future-dated; clarify actual maintenance cadence)
Performance characteristics under high-frequency retry scenarios with exponential backoff
Compatibility with async/await patterns or whether it is synchronous-only

retry decorator pythonexponential backoff libraryautomatic retry logicfunction retry with backoffexception retry handlerconfigurable retry attemptsdistributed service retry