Refresh intervals

The interval is the wait between reloads. Refresh Pilot gives you three ways to set it — a fixed number of seconds (free), a random range (PRO), and an exact hours-minutes-seconds duration (PRO). You pick between them with the Fixed | Random | Custom switch at the top of the Interval tab.

Whatever mode you choose, the countdown runs to zero, the page reloads, and the countdown starts again.

Fixed interval FREE

One number, repeated forever: the big seconds stepper starts at 30 seconds. You can set anything from 1 second up to 999999 — effectively no upper limit.

Below the stepper sit preset chips for the common choices: 5s, 10s, 30s, 1m, 5m, 15m — one tap and you're set. There's also a "Custom…" chip with a pencil icon: click it and type any number of seconds (minimum 1). The value you type applies to this selection and is saved with the rest of your choices when you press Start — it doesn't become a permanent new chip.

Real life: watching your place in an online queue? 30s is plenty. Keeping a work dashboard fresh on a second monitor? 5m or 15m is kinder to everyone.

Random interval PRO

Instead of one number you set a range with two steppers — Min and Max seconds, which start at 5 and 30. Before every reload, Refresh Pilot rolls a fresh random wait anywhere inside your range (both ends included): 7 seconds, then 26, then 12…

The minimum must be strictly less than the maximum — otherwise Start refuses with "Random interval: minimum must be less than maximum."

Why bother? A reload every 30 seconds on the dot is an easy pattern for a website to spot. Random spacing looks much more like a human with a coffee and an F5 key.

Fixed 30s
30s · 30s · 30s → 🤖 predictable
same wait every time

Random 5–30s
7s · 26s · 12s → 🧑 human-looking
a fresh roll each reload

Fixed repeats the same wait; Random rolls a new one inside your range before every reload.

Custom duration PRO

For exact, longer rhythms: three steppers for Hours (0–99), Minutes (0–59) and Seconds (0–59). On a fresh install it pre-fills to 1m 30s, and the total must be at least 1 second.

Real life: "reload this report every 2 minutes 30 seconds" or "check this page once an hour" — durations that don't fit a plain seconds stepper.

ℹ️ On the free plan, switching to Random or Custom shows a short upgrade note and flips back to Fixed. See Free vs PRO for the full comparison.

Choosing a good interval

Every refresh asks the website's server for the whole page again — so be a polite guest. A few rules of thumb:

Start slower than you think. For restocks, tickets and appointments, 30s–1m almost always catches the moment.
Dashboards and news rarely need more than 5m–15m.
Go fast only when it truly matters — the technical minimum is 1 second everywhere, but treat single-digit seconds as a short burst, not an all-day setting.
Blend in with Random PRO — irregular spacing looks more human than a metronome.

⚠️ Hammering a site every second for hours is hard on their servers — and some sites may push back on traffic that looks automated. Gentle intervals keep everyone happy.

💡 Next: the interval decides when to reload — Refresh options decide how: cache, scroll position, stop limits and more.