How to test sidekiq_return_in_block?

04 May, 2025

Sidekiq allows specifying behavior when there is an exception. You can choose to use the default exponential backoff algorithm. I needed a way to change the backoff to be slower and more random. The exact backoff algorithm can be anything.

class YourWorker
  include Sidekiq::Job

  sidekiq_retry_in do |count, exception, jobhash|
    case exception
    when ::Faraday::TooManyRequestsError
      5.minute.to_i + rand(10000)
    end
  end
end

I also wanted to test it. Found the simplest way is to just call the block and test that behavior which is what the author of Sidekiq recommends.

describe "Sidekiq retry in block" do
  subject { YourWorker }

  let(:exception) do
    Faraday::TooManyRequestsError.new("Too many requests")
  end

  it "queues between 5...172 minutes" do
    expect(
      subject.sidekiq_retry_in_block.call(0, exception, {})
    ).to be_between(300, 10300)
  end
end