Query Retries

When a useQuery query fails (the query function throws an error), TanStack Query will automatically retry the query if that query's request has not reached the max number of consecutive retries (defaults to 3) or a function is provided to determine if a retry is allowed.

You can configure retries both on a global level and an individual query level.

Setting retry = false will disable retries.
Setting retry = 6 will retry failing requests 6 times before showing the final error thrown by the function.
Setting retry = true will infinitely retry failing requests.
Setting retry = (failureCount, error) => ... allows for custom logic based on why the request failed.

On the server, retries default to 0 to make server rendering as fast as possible.

tsx

import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query'

// Make a specific query retry a certain number of times
const result = useQuery({
  queryKey: ['todos', 1],
  queryFn: fetchTodoListPage,
  retry: 10, // Will retry failed requests 10 times before displaying an error
})

import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query'

// Make a specific query retry a certain number of times
const result = useQuery({
  queryKey: ['todos', 1],
  queryFn: fetchTodoListPage,
  retry: 10, // Will retry failed requests 10 times before displaying an error
})

Info: Contents of the error property will be part of failureReason response property of useQuery until the last retry attempt. So in above example any error contents will be part of failureReason property for first 9 retry attempts (Overall 10 attempts) and finally they will be part of error after last attempt if error persists after all retry attempts.

Retry Delay

By default, retries in TanStack Query do not happen immediately after a request fails. As is standard, a back-off delay is gradually applied to each retry attempt.

The default retryDelay is set to double (starting at 1000ms) with each attempt, but not exceed 30 seconds:

tsx

// Configure for all queries
import {
  QueryCache,
  QueryClient,
  QueryClientProvider,
} from '@tanstack/react-query'

const queryClient = new QueryClient({
  defaultOptions: {
    queries: {
      retryDelay: (attemptIndex) => Math.min(1000 * 2 ** attemptIndex, 30000),
    },
  },
})

function App() {
  return <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>...</QueryClientProvider>
}

// Configure for all queries
import {
  QueryCache,
  QueryClient,
  QueryClientProvider,
} from '@tanstack/react-query'

const queryClient = new QueryClient({
  defaultOptions: {
    queries: {
      retryDelay: (attemptIndex) => Math.min(1000 * 2 ** attemptIndex, 30000),
    },
  },
})

function App() {
  return <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>...</QueryClientProvider>
}

Though it is not recommended, you can obviously override the retryDelay function/integer in both the Provider and individual query options. If set to an integer instead of a function the delay will always be the same amount of time:

tsx

const result = useQuery({
  queryKey: ['todos'],
  queryFn: fetchTodoList,
  retryDelay: 1000, // Will always wait 1000ms to retry, regardless of how many retries
})

const result = useQuery({
  queryKey: ['todos'],
  queryFn: fetchTodoList,
  retryDelay: 1000, // Will always wait 1000ms to retry, regardless of how many retries
})

Background Retry Behavior

When using refetchInterval with refetchIntervalInBackground: true, retries will pause when the browser tab is inactive. This happens because retries respect the same focus behavior as regular refetches.

If you need continuous retries in the background, consider disabling retries and implementing a custom refetch strategy:

tsx

const result = useQuery({
  queryKey: ['todos'],
  queryFn: fetchTodos,
  refetchInterval: (query) => {
    // Refetch more frequently when in error state
    return query.state.status === 'error' ? 5000 : 30000
  },
  refetchIntervalInBackground: true,
  retry: false, // Disable built-in retries
})

const result = useQuery({
  queryKey: ['todos'],
  queryFn: fetchTodos,
  refetchInterval: (query) => {
    // Refetch more frequently when in error state
    return query.state.status === 'error' ? 5000 : 30000
  },
  refetchIntervalInBackground: true,
  retry: false, // Disable built-in retries
})

This approach lets you control retry timing manually while keeping refetches active in the background.

Retry Delay

Background Retry Behavior

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