What Is CMS API Rate Limiting?
IntermediateQuick Answer
TL;DR
CMS API rate limiting restricts the number of API requests a client can make within a time window — for example, 100 requests per second or 10,000 per hour. When you exceed the limit, the API returns a 429 Too Many Requests error. Rate limits protect the CMS infrastructure from abuse and ensure fair resource allocation across all users. Mitigate limits with caching, request batching, CDN-backed endpoints, and exponential backoff.
Key Takeaways
- Rate limits restrict API requests per time period to protect infrastructure and ensure fair use
- Exceeding limits returns HTTP 429 errors; check Retry-After headers for backoff timing
- Mitigate with CDN caching, request batching, and avoiding redundant API calls
- CDN-backed "read" endpoints often do not count against rate limits for cached responses