feat: add adaptive polling backoff for workers

Author: denisaditya0

PR_DESCRIPTION.md

@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+## Problem
+
+When workers are idle, pollers hit the database at a fixed interval (default 200ms). With many pollers this creates significant unnecessary DB load. For example, 20 pollers at 200ms = 100 queries/sec per queue, even when there are no tasks.
+
+In production scenarios with multiple queues and higher poller counts (e.g., 150 pollers total), this translates to ~750 queries/sec of pure overhead during idle periods.
+
+## Current workaround
+
+The only option today is to manually increase `PollingInterval` (e.g., from 200ms to 1-2s) and reduce poller count. This reduces idle load but introduces a permanent trade-off: task pickup latency is always slower, even under load when fast response matters.
+
+```go
+// Current: pick one fixed interval — can't optimize for both idle and busy
+WorkflowPollingInterval: 1 * time.Second,         // low DB load, but 1s pickup latency even when busy
+WorkflowPollingInterval: 200 * time.Millisecond,  // fast pickup, but high DB load when idle
+```
+
+There's no way to get fast pickup under load AND low DB pressure when idle with a fixed interval.
+
+## Solution
+
+Add optional exponential backoff on consecutive empty polls. The interval resets immediately when a task is found, ensuring fast pickup under load.
+
+This gives the best of both worlds:
+- Under load: pollers operate at full speed (base interval), tasks are picked up immediately
+- When idle: pollers gradually slow down, dramatically reducing database pressure
+
+### New options
+
+| Option | Default | Description |
+|--------|---------|-------------|
+| `MaxPollingInterval` | `0` (disabled) | Upper bound for backoff. 0 = no backoff (current behavior) |
+| `BackoffMultiplier` | `2.0` | Growth factor per empty poll |
+
+These are exposed for both workflow and activity workers:
+
+- `MaxWorkflowPollingInterval` / `WorkflowPollingBackoffMultiplier`
+- `MaxActivityPollingInterval` / `ActivityPollingBackoffMultiplier`
+
+### Usage
+
+```go
+worker.New(backend, &worker.Options{
+    WorkflowWorkerOptions: worker.WorkflowWorkerOptions{
+        WorkflowPollers:                  8,
+        WorkflowPollingInterval:          200 * time.Millisecond,
+        MaxWorkflowPollingInterval:       2 * time.Second,
+        WorkflowPollingBackoffMultiplier: 2.0,
+    },
+    ActivityWorkerOptions: worker.ActivityWorkerOptions{
+        ActivityPollers:                  8,
+        ActivityPollingInterval:          200 * time.Millisecond,
+        MaxActivityPollingInterval:       2 * time.Second,
+        ActivityPollingBackoffMultiplier: 2.0,
+    },
+})
+```
+
+### Behavior
+
+```
+Empty poll:  200ms -> 400ms -> 800ms -> 1.6s -> 2s (capped at MaxPollingInterval)
+Task found:  immediately resets to 200ms (base PollingInterval)
+```
+
+Each poller maintains its own independent interval. No shared state, no mutex, no coordination overhead.
+
+## Benchmark results
+
+```
+goos: windows
+goarch: amd64
+cpu: Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 5 225U
+
+BenchmarkPolling_WithoutBackoff-14    1212    1000521 ns/op    732.0 polls
+BenchmarkPolling_WithBackoff-14       1196     999492 ns/op     28.00 polls
+```
+
+| Metric | Without backoff | With backoff | Reduction |
+|--------|----------------|--------------|-----------|
+| Polls per second (1 poller) | 732 | 28 | 96% |
+| Projected DB queries (20 pollers) | 14,640/sec | 560/sec | 96% |
+| Projected DB queries (150 pollers) | 109,800/sec | 4,200/sec | 96% |
+
+Task pickup latency when busy is unchanged (immediate `continue` on task found, same as before).
+
+## Backward-compatible
+
+- `MaxPollingInterval = 0` (default) preserves exact current behavior
+- No changes needed for existing users
+- No new dependencies
+- All existing tests pass without modification
+
+## Implementation details
+
+- Replaced fixed `time.Ticker` with `time.Timer` + manual `Reset()` to support variable intervals
+- `backoff()` is a simple pure function: `next = min(current * multiplier, max)`
+- Per-poller goroutine state only (no shared mutable state between pollers)
+- The `continue` fast-path on task found is preserved, no regression in throughput
+
+## Changes
+
+| File | Change |
+|------|--------|
+| `internal/worker/worker.go` | Adaptive poller loop + `backoff()` helper, new fields in `WorkerOptions` |
+| `worker/options.go` | New public options for workflow + activity workers |
+| `worker/worker.go` | Pass-through new options to internal worker |
+| `internal/worker/worker_test.go` | 6 unit tests + 2 benchmarks for adaptive polling |
+
+## Test coverage
+
+- Backoff increases interval on consecutive empty polls
+- Backoff caps at MaxPollingInterval
+- Default multiplier (2.0) when not specified
+- Custom multiplier values
+- Interval resets immediately when task is found
+- No backoff when MaxPollingInterval is 0 (backward compat)
+- Measurably fewer polls with backoff enabled
+- All existing tests pass unchanged

internal/worker/worker.go

@@ -45,6 +45,17 @@ type WorkerOptions struct {
 
 	PollingInterval time.Duration
 
+	// MaxPollingInterval is the upper bound for adaptive polling backoff.
+	// When set (> 0), the polling interval increases on consecutive empty polls
+	// and resets to PollingInterval when a task is found.
+	// Must be >= PollingInterval (clamped automatically if lower).
+	// 0 means no backoff (fixed PollingInterval, default behavior).
+	MaxPollingInterval time.Duration
+
+	// BackoffMultiplier controls how fast the interval grows on empty polls.
+	// Defaults to 2.0 if MaxPollingInterval is set.
+	BackoffMultiplier float64
+
 	Queues []workflow.Queue
 }
 
@@ -61,6 +72,11 @@ func NewWorker[Task, TaskResult any](
 		options.Queues = append(options.Queues, core.QueueSystem)
 	}
 
+	// Ensure MaxPollingInterval is at least PollingInterval
+	if options.MaxPollingInterval > 0 && options.MaxPollingInterval < options.PollingInterval {
+		options.MaxPollingInterval = options.PollingInterval
+	}
+
 	return &Worker[Task, TaskResult]{
 		tw:             tw,
 		options:        options,
@@ -100,12 +116,9 @@ func (w *Worker[Task, TaskResult]) WaitForCompletion() error {
 func (w *Worker[Task, TaskResult]) poller(ctx context.Context) {
 	defer w.pollersWg.Done()
 
-	var ticker *time.Ticker
-
-	if w.options.PollingInterval > 0 {
-		ticker = time.NewTicker(w.options.PollingInterval)
-		defer ticker.Stop()
-	}
+	currentInterval := w.options.PollingInterval
+	timer := time.NewTimer(currentInterval)
+	defer timer.Stop()
 
 	for {
 		select {
@@ -134,23 +147,44 @@ func (w *Worker[Task, TaskResult]) poller(ctx context.Context) {
 					w.taskQueue.release()
 				}
 			}
+			// Got task — reset to base interval
+			currentInterval = w.options.PollingInterval
 			continue // check for new tasks right away
 		} else {
 			// Did not use the reserved slot, release
 			w.taskQueue.release()
+
+			// Back off on empty poll if adaptive polling is enabled
+			if w.options.MaxPollingInterval > 0 {
+				currentInterval = w.backoff(currentInterval)
+			}
 		}
 
-		// Optionally wait between unsuccessful polling attempts
-		if w.options.PollingInterval > 0 {
+		// Wait before next poll attempt
+		if currentInterval > 0 {
+			timer.Reset(currentInterval)
 			select {
-			case <-ticker.C:
+			case <-timer.C:
 			case <-ctx.Done():
 				return
 			}
 		}
 	}
 }
 
+func (w *Worker[Task, TaskResult]) backoff(current time.Duration) time.Duration {
+	multiplier := w.options.BackoffMultiplier
+	if multiplier <= 0 {
+		multiplier = 2.0
+	}
+
+	next := time.Duration(float64(current) * multiplier)
+	if next > w.options.MaxPollingInterval {
+		next = w.options.MaxPollingInterval
+	}
+	return next
+}
+
 func (w *Worker[Task, TaskResult]) dispatcher() {
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup