How does AWS Step Functions handle retries and error states in a state machine?

AWS Step Functions manages retries and error handling at the state level. Each state can define a Retry block that lists error types to catch, the maximum number of attempts, the interval between attempts, and a backoff rate for exponential backoff. If a state fails, Step Functions automatically re‑invokes the state according to the Retry configuration. If all retries are exhausted, the Catch block can capture the error and transition to an error handling state. The execution history records every attempt, including timestamps, input, output, and error messages, allowing you to debug failures. By configuring Retry and Catch, you can build resilient workflows that automatically recover from transient failures.