We’ve been getting HTTP 429 errors from WC1 API we’re using

ram.nitish

We’ve been getting HTTP 429 errors from an API we’re using. Can you explain what might be causing this and how you'd figure out if it's a short-term rate limit or a daily quota issue? Also, how would you handle it in our app to avoid service disruption?

ram.nitish

Error 429 in an API typically indicates that the user has sent too many requests in a given amount of time, also known as "Rate Limiting." This error is a mechanism used by APIs to prevent abuse or overloading of their services.

It's important to understand the Error Message either it's a rate per second error or daily quota error.

Here are some common reasons why you might encounter a 429 error:

1. Exceeding Rate Limits: The most common cause is that your requests have exceeded the API's rate limits, which are set by the API provider to control the number of requests a user can make within a specified time frame (e.g., 100 requests per minute).
2. Burst Traffic: If there's a sudden spike in requests, such as during peak usage times or due to a bug in the client-side code, the API may respond with a 429 error.
3. Shared Resources: If the API uses shared resources and another client is making heavy use of the service, it might lead to rate limiting for everyone, including your application.
4. Quota Limits: Some APIs have daily or monthly quotas, and if you exceed these, you might receive a 429 error until the quota is reset.

To resolve this error, you can:

• Reduce the Frequency of Requests: Implement backoff and retry strategies, such as exponential backoff, to slow down your request rate.
• Check API Documentation: Review the API's rate limits and ensure your application respects them.
• Optimize API Calls: Combine multiple requests into fewer, more efficient ones, if possible.
• Contact API Provider: If you believe the rate limit is too restrictive, you can reach out to the API provider to discuss potential adjustments.

Some APIs include a Retry-After header in the response to a 429 error, which tells you how long to wait before making another request.

Mehran Khan

To expand on the above , it is very important to have an exponential retry mechanism in place, that would activate as soon as your API receives a 429 and increases the wait times exponentially between retries potentially providing the platform adequate time to recover from overwhelming traffic.