# Delay

<figure><img src="/files/IsM7VVZTq4oVOv90V3Bg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Description <a href="#description" id="description"></a>

**What it does:** The **Delay** node pauses the execution of your workflow either for a fixed amount of time or until a specific date and time. It allows you to control the timing between steps in your automation. You can configure it to delay in seconds, minutes, hours, or set a precise date/time to resume.

**When to use it?** Use the Delay node when you need to create a time gap between actions, such as waiting before sending a follow-up message, delaying a retry attempt, or ensuring a condition has time to change. It's especially useful for throttling requests, waiting for asynchronous processes to complete, or scheduling future execution.

## A - Delay for <a href="#description" id="description"></a>

Pause the workflow for a specified duration.

<figure><img src="/files/fn75e0DnsZeZJM6iMBaC" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**Options**:

* **Seconds:**
  * Min: 5 seconds
  * Max: 60 seconds
* **Minutes:**
  * Min: 1 minute
  * Max: 60 minutes
* **Hours**
  * Min: 1 hour
  * Max: 24 hours

**Example:**&#x20;

To delay the next step by 30 minutes:

* Type: Delay for
* Delayed for: Minutes
* Value: 30

<figure><img src="/files/tBwbnOVz7PtbMDYG2EfG" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## B - Delay until <a href="#description" id="description"></a>

Pause the workflow until a specific date and time.

<figure><img src="/files/8YRqPOYsrmlc88nQumZO" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

When the user selects the **Delay until** option, they must choose both a **Date** and a **Time**.

* **Time** must be selected in **hourly intervals**, based on full-hour blocks: `00:00`, `01:00`, `02:00`, ..., up to `23:00`.
* **Date** selection is limited as follows:
  * **Past dates** are **not allowed**.
  * **Future dates** are allowed **up to the end of the next day** (T0 + 1 day at 23:00), based on the current date.

**Validation rules:**

* **Minimum selectable time:** The **next full hour** from the current time (rounded up to the nearest hour).
* **Maximum selectable time:** The **end of the next day** (23:00 of T0 + 1 day).
* Any date-time outside this range (either in the past or beyond the allowed future window) must be **disabled** in the selector.

**Example:**&#x20;

To delay until June 3rd, 2025 at 08:00 AM:

* **Type:** Delay until
* **Value:** Choose the date and time from the date-time picker.

<figure><img src="/files/CPlWxcIUMaayHzUS4kVM" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>


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