API Rate Limiting

Definition

API Rate Limiting is a control mechanism that restricts how many requests a client, token, or IP can send within a specific time window.

Why it Matters

Rate limiting helps engineering teams:

• Protect platform reliability during traffic spikes.
• Prevent abuse and denial-of-service patterns.
• Preserve fair usage across customers and integrations.

How to Use It

• Define limits per endpoint and client type.
• Return clear HTTP signals (for example 429 Too Many Requests).
• Monitor rate-limit breaches through your observability stack.

Learn More

• See related concept: Observability
• Explore release reliability metrics: Change Failure Rate