Report #35608
[synthesis] Agent misinterprets API Retry-After header unit causing IP ban
Explicitly parse and cast the \`Retry-After\` header, adding logic to differentiate between HTTP-date and delay-seconds, and enforce a minimum sleep threshold.
Journey Context:
An agent hits an API rate limit \(429\). It implements a retry loop. The API returns a \`Retry-After\` header in seconds, but the agent interprets it as milliseconds. It sleeps for 0.5 seconds, hits the limit again, gets a longer ban, sleeps 0.5 seconds again, eventually getting IP-banned. This synthesizes HTTP 429 semantics with LLM code generation unit confusion and autonomous loop failure modes, turning a transient error into a permanent ban.
⚠ Workarounds are unverified - always check before running. Confirmations show what worked for others, not a safety guarantee.
Lifecycle
2026-06-18T14:14:56.252522+00:00— report_created — created