Choosing a Retry Method

Engage can re-run a failed execution in four ways. The same four appear in two places with different wording: the Retry Method field of a fallout definition, which sets how Engage retries a matching failure, and the Retry options on a fallout's page, which set how you retry one by hand. This page maps one to the other and helps you pick.

The four methods

Fallout definition	Retry options on a fallout	What it does
Retry	Re-run the failed step	Runs the failed step again with the current data, keeping what the steps before it did
Restart	Run the whole workflow again	Runs every step from the start, resetting state and data to the original. Steps that send data to other systems run again.
Retry From Step	Run again from a step…	Runs a chosen step and every step after it, keeping the output of the steps before it. Not routed through a dedicated retry workflow.
Retry From Workflow	Send to a retry workflow…	Sends the fallout's data to a published retry workflow instead of the failed one

The bulk retry on Global Fallout offers only Retry and Restart, which need nothing from the application.

Which to choose

• Use Retry when the failure was transient, such as a timeout, or when you have corrected the data and only the failed step needs to run again.
• Use Restart when the earlier steps' results can no longer be trusted, and every step is safe to run twice. A restart can duplicate whatever an earlier step sent to another system. Your edits to the data are not sent.
• Use Retry From Step when the fix belongs at an earlier step than the one that failed, so that step and everything after it should run again.
• Use Retry From Workflow when recovery is a different flow from the original, such as a clean-up or a compensating call, built and published as a retry workflow.

A Retry From Workflow definition can exist at organisation or application scope; if both match, the application-level one wins. See Fallout definitions.

What each needs

Retry and Restart need nothing beyond the application.

Retry From Step and Retry From Workflow need the application's manifest, because they use its workflows and steps. Without a manifest configuration both are disabled in the Retry Method field, and a new definition defaults to Retry instead of Retry From Step. The Manifest column in Global Fallout shows which fallouts have one. See Prepare an Application for Engage.

Retry From Workflow also needs at least one retry workflow, defined under Retry Workflows in the manifest in Studio and published.

In the fallout definition form

The Retry Method field changes which other fields appear:

Retry Method	Fields shown
Retry, Restart, Retry From Step	Service Name (application scope only), Step Name, Retry From Step, and Retry Policy
Retry From Workflow	Retry Workflow instead, with a mapping between the fallout's payload and the workflow's input. Retry Policy is hidden, because a workflow retry runs its own flow and the policy is not applied.

Each option has an information icon with a one-line description. See Fallout definitions.

In the retry options on a fallout

Choosing Run again from a step… adds a From step field. Choosing Send to a retry workflow… adds a Retry workflow field and one input for each path or query parameter that workflow declares. The option the fallout definition uses is selected for you and marked (recommended); if the definition's retry workflow is no longer published, Engage selects Re-run the failed step and says so.

See the retry workflows an application has

Select the application in Applications, then Configuration > Retry Workflows. The tab is a read-only list from the manifest:

Column	Meaning
Name	The retry workflow's name
Workflow ID	Its identifier
Method	The HTTP method
Request Path	The request path
Status	Active or Inactive
Description	What it is for

An empty list reads No retry workflows added in the manifest. To add or change one, edit the manifest in Studio and publish it; the list reflects the manifest.

When it does not work

Symptom	Cause	What to do
Retry From Step and Retry From Workflow are greyed out	The application has no manifest configuration	Configure and publish the manifest in Studio, or use Retry or Restart
No published retry workflows found for this fallout	The manifest lists no retry workflow, or none is published	Add one under Retry Workflows in the Studio manifest and publish
Failed to load retry workflows	The list could not be fetched	Choose another option and try again later