All terms

Long polling

Long polling is a request the server holds open until something happens, answering the moment it does instead of returning an empty result.

In detail

On this API you add a wait parameter when reading an activation, and the connection returns as soon as a message lands or the activation leaves the waiting state. It is capped at 300 seconds server-side, so set your HTTP client timeout above the wait you ask for, not below it. A 180-second long poll is one request against your rate limit; polling every two seconds for the same period is ninety.

Also known as

  • long poll
  • hanging get
  • wait parameter

Related terms