Why retryOnConnectionFailure(true) Is a Solution to Okhttp Error: Java. Io. Ioexception: Unexpected End of Stream

This flag allows OkHttpClient to retry a request multiple times when certain conditions are true that mean it is known to be safe. Without this flag the client will return the error immediately for the client to presumably dcide if and when to retry.

  private fun isRecoverable(e: IOException, requestSendStarted: Boolean): Boolean {
    // If there was a protocol problem, don't recover.
    if (e is ProtocolException) {
      return false
    }

    // If there was an interruption don't recover, but if there was a timeout connecting to a route
    // we should try the next route (if there is one).
    if (e is InterruptedIOException) {
      return e is SocketTimeoutException && !requestSendStarted
    }

    // Look for known client-side or negotiation errors that are unlikely to be fixed by trying
    // again with a different route.
    if (e is SSLHandshakeException) {
      // If the problem was a CertificateException from the X509TrustManager,
      // do not retry.
      if (e.cause is CertificateException) {
        return false
      }
    }
    if (e is SSLPeerUnverifiedException) {
      // e.g. a certificate pinning error.
      return false
    }
    // An example of one we might want to retry with a different route is a problem connecting to a
    // proxy and would manifest as a standard IOException. Unless it is one we know we should not
    // retry, we return true and try a new route.
    return true
  }

In the most simple case, if we hadn't started sending a request then we know retrying must be safe. Likewise certain response codes like 408 indicate that the server hasn't started any work so we can try again.