Using auto-retry functionality for your failed work items in RPA Hub

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 7 minutes to read
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    Summary of Using auto-retry functionality for your failed work items in RPA Hub

    ServiceNow's RPA Hub offers an auto-retry functionality that automatically retries failed work items in your work queue based on specific criteria. This feature applies only to work items marked with anApplicationexception type and is controlled by settings such as maximum retry attempts and delay between retries. It helps ensure that transient failures are handled efficiently without manual intervention, improving the reliability and throughput of automated processes.

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    Key Configuration Parameters

    • Maximum Attempts: Defines how many times a failed work item can be retried automatically.
    • Attempt Delay (mins): Specifies the delay in minutes before a failed item is retried.
    • Exception Type (Work Item form): Determines whether auto-retry applies. Only items with Application exceptions are eligible for retries; Business exceptions are not retried automatically.
    • Attempts Count (Work Item form): Tracks how many retry attempts have been made for the work item.
    • System Property snrpafdn.queue.maximumattemptsmaxvalue: Configures the maximum allowed value for retry attempts.

    How Auto-Retry Works

    The retry process depends on the work item's current status and exception type:

    • In progress: If the exception type is Application and attempts count is less than maximum, the item remains in progress and is retried after the configured delay. If attempts reach the maximum, the status updates to Failed and no further retries occur. For Business exceptions, retries are not performed.
    • Success: When a work item succeeds, its exception type is cleared and it is not retried.
    • Failed: Application exceptions with remaining retry attempts are set back to In progress and retried after the delay. If maximum attempts are reached or if the exception is Business, the status remains Failed and retries stop.

    The Deferred Till field (read-only on the work item form) can override the Attempt Delay, controlling when the next retry occurs.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Minimizes manual intervention by automating retries for transient application errors.
    • Allows customization of retry attempts and delay to suit process requirements and reduce unnecessary retries.
    • Provides clear visibility on retry attempts and exception types for better monitoring and troubleshooting.
    • Supports robust queue processing by ensuring that only eligible failures are retried, avoiding retry loops on business exceptions.

    Next Steps

    To implement auto-retry, configure the queue fields Maximum Attempts and Attempt Delay and ensure the system property for maximum attempts is set appropriately. Monitor the Exception Type and Attempts Count fields on work items to understand retry behavior. For detailed setup, refer to the Queue form and Work Item form documentation in RPA Hub.

    You can use auto-retry functionality in RPA Hub to retry the failed items automatically in your work queue. The retry functionality is based on the Application exception type only.

    Auto-retry overview

    Usually, in an existing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) work queue, the items are processed by the criteria that you specified. The items in this type of work queue are picked by the robots for execution.

    Let's consider a scenario where the first item in your work queue is processed successfully, and the status is updated to success. But, when the robot picks the second item in the work queue for execution, it isn't processed successfully and the status is updated to failure.

    By using auto-retry functionality instead in this scenario, the work items are retried automatically based on the value in the Exception Type field on the Work Item form, and based on the values that you enter in the Maximum Attempts field and the Attempt Delay field on the Queue form.

    There are two exception types: application and business.

    In the Work Item form, if the value of the Exception Type field is Application, the value of the Maximum Attempts field is greater than 1, and the current value in the Attempts Count field is less than the value in the Maximum Attempts field, the failed item in the work queue is automatically retried.

    Note:
    If the value in the Exception Type field is Business, the auto-retry functionality isn’t enabled.

    Queue fields and system property configuration

    To enable auto-retry functionality, you must define the values in the sn_rpa_fdn.queue.maximum_attempts_max_value system property. For more information about these values, see Configure RPA Hub properties.

    You can enable auto-retry functionality by configuring the following fields on the Queue form:
    • Maximum Attempts
    • Attempt Delay (mins)
    In the Maximum Attempts field, you define the number of attempts for the failed work items. In the Attempt Delay (mins), you define the maximum delay, in minutes, before the work item is attempted again. For more information about these fields, see Queue form in RPA Hub and Create a queue in RPA Hub.
    You can view the following fields that are related to the auto-retry functionality on the Work Item form:
    • Exception Type
    • Attempts Count
    Based on the value in the Exception Type field, the auto retry functionality retries the work items. In the Attempts Count field, you can view the number of times the work item is picked for auto retry. For more information about these fields, see Work item form in RPA Hub.

    Auto-retry workflow

    When the status of the work item that is selected in the automation is In progress, the auto-retry workflow is as follows:
    • If the Exception Type field is Application, the Attempts Count field is incremented by 1, and the current value in the Attempts Count field is equal to the value in the Maximum Attempts field, the status of the work item is updated to Failed and the Exception Type field is updated to Application. The work item isn’t available for auto-retry.
    • If the Exception Type field is Application, the Attempts Count field is incremented by 1, and the current value in the Attempts Count field is less than the value in the Maximum Attempts field, the status of the work item is updated to In progress and the Exception Type is updated to Application. The work item is available for auto-retry only after you set the duration (if any) in minutes in the Attempts Count field.
    • If the Exception Type field is Business and the Attempts Count field is incremented by 1, the status of the work item is updated to Failed, and the Exception Type field is updated to Business. The work item isn’t available for auto-retry.
    • When there’s no value in the Exception Type field and the Attempts Count field isn’t incremented by 1, the status of the work item is updated to In progress. The Exception Type isn’t updated. The work item is available for auto-retry only after you set the duration (if any) in minutes in the Attempts Count field.
    Note:
    If the value in the ReleaseMode field is locked, then you can't increment the value in the Attempts Count field because the robot is still executing the work item. The value in the Attempts Count field must be incremented only when the value in the ReleaseMode field is release. The value in the Attempts Count field is incremented when an item is released by the robot or when an item's status is set to Failure.
    The following table shows the auto-retry workflow for an In progress work item.
    Table 1. Auto-retry workflow for an In progress work item
    Exception Type Attempts Count (Increment by 1) Condition Status updated to Exception Type updated to
    Application Yes If the current value in the Attempts Count field is equal to the value in the Maximum Attempts field. Failed Application
    Application Yes If the current value in the Attempts Count field is less than the value in the Maximum Attempts field. In progress Application
    Business Yes <No condition> Failed Business
    <empty> No <No condition> In progress <No update>
    When the status of a work item that is selected in the automation is Success, the auto-retry workflow is as follows:
    • If the Exception Type field is Application and the Attempts Count field is incremented by 1, the status of the work item is updated to Success and the Exception Type is updated to blank. The work item isn’t available for auto-retry.
    • If the Exception Type field is Business and the Attempts Count field is incremented by 1, the status of the work item is updated to Success. The Exception Type is updated to blank, and the work item isn’t available for auto-retry.
    • If there’s no value in the Exception Type field and the Attempts Count field is incremented by 1, the status of the work item is updated to Success. The Exception Type field is updated to blank, and the work item isn’t available for auto-retry.
    The following table shows the auto-retry workflow for a Success work item.
    Table 2. Auto-retry workflow for a Success work item
    Exception Type Attempts Count (Increment by 1) Status updated to Exception Type updated to
    Application Yes Success <blank>
    Business Yes Success <blank>
    <blank> Yes Success <blank>
    When the status of work item that is selected in the automation is Failed, the auto-retry workflow is as follows:
    • If the Exception Type is Application, the Attempts Count field is incremented by 1, and the current value in the Attempts Count field is less than the value in the Maximum Attempts field, the status of the work item is updated to In progress. The Exception Type field is updated to Application, and the work item is available for auto-retry only after the duration that you set in the Attempts Count field.
    • If the Exception Type field is Application, the Attempts Count field is increment by 1, and the current value in the Attempts Count field is equal to the value in the Maximum Attempts field, the status of the work item is updated to Failed. The Exception Type field is updated to Application, and the work item isn’t available for auto-retry.
    • If the Exception Type is Business, the Attempts Count field is incremented by 1, the status of the work item is updated to Failed. The Exception Type field is updated to Business, and the work item isn’t available for auto-retry.
    • If there’s no Exception Type field and the Attempts Count field is incremented by 1, the status of the work item is updated as Failed. The Exception Type field isn’t updated, and the work item isn’t available for auto-retry.
    The following table shows the auto-retry workflow when the Failed status is selected in the automation.
    Table 3. Auto-retry workflow for a Failed work item
    Exception Type Attempts Count (Increment by 1) Condition Status updated to Exception Type updated to
    Application Yes If the current value in the Attempts Count field is less than the value in the Maximum Attempts field. In progress Application
    Application Yes If the current value in the Attempts Count field is equal to the value in the Maximum Attempts field. Failed Application
    Business Yes <No condition> Failed Business
    <empty> Yes <No condition> Failed <No update>
    Note:
    The value in the Deferred Till field is obtained from the component. This field always takes precedence over the Attempt Delay (mins) field. The Deferred Till field is a read-only field on the work item form. For more information, see Work item form in RPA Hub.