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An Octoparse task moves through a website one browser action at a time. It opens a page, clicks an element, scrolls, or enters text; each action changes the page state that the next action sees. Waits, timeouts, and retries control when the task moves on, when it stops waiting, and when it tries a supported action again. They help with pages that load data after a click, scroll, or background request. They do not fix an invalid selector, an expired login session, or a website that refuses access.

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How browser actions move a task forward

The task should continue only after the page reaches the state the next action expects. Use the smallest setting that gives the page enough time to reach that state.

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Choose the right control

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What a retry does

Retries are available for Go to Web Page, Click Item, and Click to Paginate. A retry starts that same action again; it does not continue from the point where the previous action stopped. Set three things for a retry: the condition that triggers it, the maximum number of attempts, and the wait between attempts. Depending on the retry settings, Octoparse can also change the proxy or User-Agent, or clear browser state before trying again. These are optional changes and can end a logged-in session.

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Test a change

  1. Find the first action that does not reach the expected page state in the event log or a small Local test.
  2. Change one control only: a wait, a timeout, a scroll setting, or a retry.
  3. Run the same small sample again.
  4. Check the screenshot, final page, and several output rows. An action completing does not by itself mean the data is complete.
Longer waits and repeated actions can increase runtime and may produce duplicate records. Stop a run when retries repeatedly return an access page or no new valid data.