MEPX
Chapter 8 of 10All chapters
  1. 1What an API is
  2. 2The request
  3. 3The response
  4. 4REST and its alternatives
  5. 5Authentication
  6. 6JSON and data shapes
  7. 7Pagination and filtering
  8. 8Rate limits and retries
  9. 9Versioning and change
  10. 10Calling and debugging APIs

Chapter 8 of 10

Rate limits and retries

Being a good client and a good server.

Rate limiting

A server limits how often one client may call so that nobody can overwhelm it. It replies 429 and usually says when to try again.

  • Retry with exponential backoff and a little randomness, never in a tight loop.
  • Only retry idempotent calls, or supply an idempotency key so repeats are ignored.

Timeouts

Every outgoing call needs a timeout. Without one, a slow dependency turns into your own outage as connections pile up waiting.