API rate limits specify the number of requests a client can make to DatoCMS APIs in a specific time frame.
By default the Management API enforces rate limits of 60 requests per 3 seconds. Higher rate limits may apply depending on your current plan.
In the following list you can find all the headers returned in every response by the Content Management API which give a client information on rate limiting:
X-RateLimit-Limit: the maximum amount of requests which can be made in 3 seconds.
X-RateLimit-Remaining: the remaining amount of requests which can be made until the next 3-seconds reset.
X-RateLimit-Reset: if present, indicates the number of seconds until the next request can be made.
When a client gets rate limited, the API responds with the 429 Too Many Requests HTTP status code and sets the value X-RateLimit-Reset header to an integer larger than 0 specifying the time before the limit resets and another request will be accepted.
Our Javascript client already manages rate limit errors for you with a retry mechanism! If it encounters a 429 status code, the promise won't be rejected. The client will repeat the requests until the API stops returning 429 status codes, and only then will the promise will be resolved with success.
Even when you are operating within your rate limits, there is a possibility of encountering a 429 status code in situations of high system load if your project is hosted on the DatoCMS shared infrastructure or medium-density infrastructure.
Nevertheless, it's essential to acknowledge that this occurrence is rare, and our official clients are equipped with an automatic retry mechanism to seamlessly handle such situations.
Every DatoCMS plan offers a number of API requests per month. What happens you exceed the included quota?
If your project is under a free plan, API responses will be temporarily disabled until the beginning of the following calendar month, unless you switch to a paid plan.
If your project is under a paid plan, you will pay an additional cost for the additional usage you made of the API.
For more details, check our Plans, billing and pricing page.