diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 31ad670..dc4c04a 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -392,6 +392,20 @@ func parseConfig() {
 	}
 	c.Client.MaxIdleConnDuration = idleDuration
 
+	// Retry backoff delays (milliseconds). Configurable so tests can set very
+	// short values without burning seconds per attempt.
+	retryBaseDelay := getDetailsFromEnv("CLIENT_RETRY_BASE_DELAY_MS", 500)
+	if retryBaseDelay < 1 {
+		retryBaseDelay = 500
+	}
+	c.Client.RetryBaseDelayMs = retryBaseDelay
+
+	retryMaxDelay := getDetailsFromEnv("CLIENT_RETRY_MAX_DELAY_MS", 10000)
+	if retryMaxDelay < retryBaseDelay {
+		retryMaxDelay = retryBaseDelay
+	}
+	c.Client.RetryMaxDelayMs = retryMaxDelay
+
 	// Secure by default: TLS verification is enabled unless explicitly disabled
 	c.Client.DisableTLSVerify = getDetailsFromEnv("CLIENT_DISABLE_TLS_VERIFY", false)
 
diff --git a/main_test.go b/main_test.go
index 67d6a35..e518d4c 100644
--- a/main_test.go
+++ b/main_test.go
@@ -40,6 +40,13 @@ func (suite *Tests) SetupTest() {
 	libpack_cache.New(5 * time.Minute)
 	parseConfig()
 
+	// Use very short retry delays in tests so that retry-exhausting requests
+	// (e.g. 7 attempts × backoff) complete in milliseconds instead of ~25s each.
+	cfgMutex.Lock()
+	cfg.Client.RetryBaseDelayMs = 10
+	cfg.Client.RetryMaxDelayMs = 10
+	cfgMutex.Unlock()
+
 	// Create context with cancel for cleanup
 	suite.ctx, suite.cancel = context.WithCancel(context.Background())
 	suite.apiDone = make(chan struct{})
diff --git a/proxy.go b/proxy.go
index 43acac6..78ba61a 100644
--- a/proxy.go
+++ b/proxy.go
@@ -477,7 +477,16 @@ func effectiveCircuitBackoff(base time.Duration, multiplier float64, maxBackoff
 	}
 
 	exponent := float64(trips - 1)
-	effective := time.Duration(float64(base) * math.Pow(multiplier, exponent))
+	raw := float64(base) * math.Pow(multiplier, exponent)
+
+	// On amd64 the float64->int64 conversion for +Inf saturates to MinInt64
+	// rather than MaxInt64, so the subsequent "< base" guard would return base
+	// instead of the hard ceiling. Detect overflow before the cast.
+	if math.IsInf(raw, 1) || math.IsNaN(raw) {
+		return maxSaneCircuitBackoff
+	}
+
+	effective := time.Duration(raw)
 	if effective < base {
 		// Overflow or float rounding pushed us below base; never shorten.
 		return base
@@ -937,17 +946,31 @@ func performProxyRequestWithEnhancedRetries(c fiber.Ctx, proxyURL string, backen
 	var initialDelay time.Duration
 	var maxDelayTime time.Duration
 
+	// Read per-request base and max delay from config; fall back to coded
+	// defaults when zero (e.g. during very early startup before parseConfig).
+	baseDelayMs := cfg.Client.RetryBaseDelayMs
+	if baseDelayMs <= 0 {
+		baseDelayMs = 500
+	}
+	maxDelayMs := cfg.Client.RetryMaxDelayMs
+	if maxDelayMs <= 0 {
+		maxDelayMs = 10000
+	}
+
 	if backendUnhealthy {
 		// Backend is known to be unhealthy, fail fast
 		// Circuit breaker should handle this, so reduce retries
 		attempts = 3
-		initialDelay = 500 * time.Millisecond
-		maxDelayTime = 5 * time.Second
+		initialDelay = time.Duration(baseDelayMs) * time.Millisecond
+		maxDelayTime = time.Duration(maxDelayMs/2) * time.Millisecond
+		if maxDelayTime < initialDelay {
+			maxDelayTime = initialDelay
+		}
 	} else {
 		// Normal retry strategy
 		attempts = 7
-		initialDelay = 500 * time.Millisecond
-		maxDelayTime = 10 * time.Second
+		initialDelay = time.Duration(baseDelayMs) * time.Millisecond
+		maxDelayTime = time.Duration(maxDelayMs) * time.Millisecond
 	}
 
 	return retry.Do(
diff --git a/server_handlers_test.go b/server_handlers_test.go
index c939c88..d76db77 100644
--- a/server_handlers_test.go
+++ b/server_handlers_test.go
@@ -788,12 +788,18 @@ func TestStartHTTPProxy_ErrorHandlerConfigured(t *testing.T) {
 	cfgMutex.Lock()
 	origPort := cfg.Server.PortGraphQL
 	origTimeout := cfg.Client.ClientTimeout
+	origRetryBase := cfg.Client.RetryBaseDelayMs
+	origRetryMax := cfg.Client.RetryMaxDelayMs
 	origWS := cfg.WebSocket.Enable
 	origAdmin := cfg.AdminDashboard.Enable
 	origHost := cfg.Server.HostGraphQL
 	origHostRO := cfg.Server.HostGraphQLReadOnly
 	cfg.Server.PortGraphQL = port
 	cfg.Client.ClientTimeout = 5
+	// Use short retry delays so the 7-attempt retry loop for the unreachable
+	// backend completes in milliseconds instead of ~25 seconds.
+	cfg.Client.RetryBaseDelayMs = 10
+	cfg.Client.RetryMaxDelayMs = 10
 	cfg.WebSocket.Enable = false
 	cfg.AdminDashboard.Enable = false
 	// Point at a host that always refuses connections so proxyTheRequest
@@ -807,6 +813,8 @@ func TestStartHTTPProxy_ErrorHandlerConfigured(t *testing.T) {
 		cfgMutex.Lock()
 		cfg.Server.PortGraphQL = origPort
 		cfg.Client.ClientTimeout = origTimeout
+		cfg.Client.RetryBaseDelayMs = origRetryBase
+		cfg.Client.RetryMaxDelayMs = origRetryMax
 		cfg.WebSocket.Enable = origWS
 		cfg.AdminDashboard.Enable = origAdmin
 		cfg.Server.HostGraphQL = origHost
diff --git a/struct_config.go b/struct_config.go
index a9399bd..f13f7c7 100644
--- a/struct_config.go
+++ b/struct_config.go
@@ -42,19 +42,21 @@ type config struct {
 		PerUserCacheDisabled  bool // Disable per-user cache isolation (SECURITY RISK - not recommended)
 	}
 	Client struct {
-		GQLClient           *graphql.BaseClient
-		FastProxyClient     *fasthttp.Client
-		JWTUserClaimPath    string
-		JWTRoleClaimPath    string
-		RoleFromHeader      string
-		proxy               string
-		ClientTimeout       int
-		MaxConnsPerHost     int
-		ReadTimeout         int
-		WriteTimeout        int
-		MaxIdleConnDuration int
-		RoleRateLimit       bool
-		DisableTLSVerify    bool
+		GQLClient            *graphql.BaseClient
+		FastProxyClient      *fasthttp.Client
+		JWTUserClaimPath     string
+		JWTRoleClaimPath     string
+		RoleFromHeader       string
+		proxy                string
+		ClientTimeout        int
+		MaxConnsPerHost      int
+		ReadTimeout          int
+		WriteTimeout         int
+		MaxIdleConnDuration  int
+		RetryBaseDelayMs     int // initial backoff delay in milliseconds (default 500)
+		RetryMaxDelayMs      int // maximum backoff delay in milliseconds (default 10000)
+		RoleRateLimit        bool
+		DisableTLSVerify     bool
 	}
 	Server struct {
 		HostGraphQL         string