Retry-After Header Builder

Build and parse HTTP Retry-After headers for 429 Too Many Requests and 503 Service Unavailable responses. Supports both delta-seconds and RFC 7231 HTTP-date forms, with client backoff previews and ready-to-copy server snippets.

Build header

Response status

Value format

Both forms are valid per RFC 7231. Seconds is easier for clients to parse.

Seconds to wait

Optional body content

Reason (for body)

Preview

Header line

Retry-After: 60

Full response

Notes

Parse an existing Retry-After header

Paste header value or full header line

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Client backoff preview

If the server says "wait N seconds", how should a sensible client retry? These are rough guides — combine with jitter for production.

Attempt	Server hint respected	Exp. backoff (×2)	With ±25% jitter

Server snippets

Node / Express

Python / Flask

Nginx (limit_req_zone)

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