Learn/Glossary/Rate Limiting
Performance

Rate Limiting

Rate Limiting restricts the number of incoming API requests from a user or IP address in a specific time window.

Diagram

  Client (Fast requests) ──▶ [Rate Limiter] ── Allowed? ── YES ──▶ App Server
                                                      └── NO  ──▶ 429 Error

In Depth

Rate Limiting is a system defense design pattern that controls how many requests a specific client (identified by IP, token, or account ID) can send to a server within a defined time frame.

Related Terms