Wait

What it does: Pauses your workflow for a specific amount of time or until a condition is met.

Perfect for: API rate limiting • Page loading delays • Avoiding “too fast” errors • Coordinating workflow timing

How It Works

graph LR
    A[⏰ Start Wait] --> B[⏳ Counting Down]
    B --> C[✅ Time Up]
    C --> D[▶️ Continue Workflow]

    style A fill:#e1f5fe
    style B fill:#fff3e0
    style C fill:#e8f5e8
    style D fill:#f3e5f5

Simple process: Set time → Wait counts down → Time up → Workflow continues

Basic Configuration

Simple wait (most common):

{"amount": 3, "unit": "seconds"}

Common time units:

"milliseconds" - For very short delays (1000 = 1 second)
"seconds" - Most common (1, 2, 5, 10 seconds)
"minutes" - For longer delays (1, 2, 5 minutes)
"hours" - For very long delays (rarely used)

Real Examples

API Rate Limiting

Problem: Getting “too many requests” errors from APIs Solution: Add 2-second delays between requests

{"amount": 2, "unit": "seconds"}

Page Loading

Problem: Trying to scrape data before page finishes loading Solution: Wait for page to settle

{"amount": 5, "unit": "seconds"}

Form Submission

Problem: Submitting forms too quickly causes errors Solution: Wait after filling before submitting

{"amount": 1, "unit": "seconds"}

Common Wait Times

Web extraction delays:

1-2 seconds - Between form fills and submissions
3-5 seconds - After page navigation, before extraction
10+ seconds - For very slow-loading pages

API request delays:

1 second - Conservative rate limiting
2-5 seconds - Moderate rate limiting
10+ seconds - Very strict rate limits

General workflow delays:

500ms-1s - Quick pauses between rapid actions
2-3 seconds - Standard delays for most operations
5+ seconds - When you need to be extra careful

Workflow Patterns

Rate-limited API calls:

[HTTP Request] → [Wait 2s] → [HTTP Request] → [Wait 2s] → [Continue...]

Page extraction with delays:

[Navigate to Page] → [Wait 3s] → [Get Text] → [Wait 1s] → [Next Page]

Form automation:

[Fill Field] → [Wait 500ms] → [Fill Next Field] → [Wait 1s] → [Submit]

Best Practices

✅ Do This

Start with longer waits - Better to wait too long than too short
Test with real websites - Different sites load at different speeds
Use consistent timing - Same delays for similar operations
Monitor for errors - Watch for “too fast” or timeout errors

❌ Avoid This

Very short waits (under 500ms) - Often not enough time
Extremely long waits (over 30s) - Usually indicates a problem
No waits at all - Causes many automation failures
Random wait times - Makes debugging difficult

Quick Troubleshooting

Workflow gets stuck waiting: Check if your wait time is too long or if there’s an infinite wait condition

“Too fast” errors still happening: Increase your wait time by 1-2 seconds

Workflow running too slowly: Reduce wait times, but test carefully to avoid errors

Inconsistent results: Add waits in more places, especially after navigation or form actions

What’s Next?

Related nodes: HTTP Request • If • Stop & Error

Common workflows: Rate Limiting Patterns • Web Extraction Patterns • API Integration Patterns

Learn more: Flow Control Basics • Multi-Step Workflows • Performance Optimization