> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.octoparse.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Waits, timeouts, and retries

> Use Octoparse waits, timeouts, and action recovery to make a task more reliable on slow or asynchronous pages.

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.

## How browser actions move a task forward

| Browser action                          | What happens in the browser                                                       | When to use extra control                                                               |
| --------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Go to Web Page**                      | Opens a URL and waits for the page to load                                        | The page can redirect, load slowly, or continue loading data after the first page load  |
| **Click Item** or **Click to Paginate** | Clicks an element to open a detail page, reveal content, or move to the next page | The click can trigger a delayed page change or background request                       |
| **Scroll**                              | Moves through a page to expose more content                                       | Infinite-scroll pages can add items after each scroll, and need a pause between scrolls |
| **Enter Text** or a filter action       | Changes a page input and may trigger a new result set                             | Results may appear only after a delay or an AJAX request                                |

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.

## Choose the right control

| If you see                                                          | Use                                        | What it changes                                                                                              |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Content appears a moment after a page opens or a button is clicked  | **Wait before or after an action**         | Pauses the task for a fixed or configured period before it continues                                         |
| The task must not continue until a specific element appears         | **Wait for an element or XPath condition** | Holds the next action until the expected page state is present                                               |
| A click starts a background request and results appear later        | **AJAX or network-request wait**           | Gives the background request time to finish before extraction continues                                      |
| A page or request needs more time than usual                        | **Timeout**                                | Sets how long Octoparse waits before treating the action as timed out; it does not make the page load faster |
| Go to Web Page, Click Item, or Click to Paginate fails occasionally | **Retry**                                  | Runs the same supported action again when its retry condition is met                                         |
| An infinite-scroll list stops adding items                          | **Scroll interval and stop condition**     | Spaces out scrolling and stops when the page no longer returns new content                                   |

## 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.

## 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.

<Warning>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.</Warning>