Rate Limits

Rate limits help ensure fair usage and system stability. All API endpoints are subject to rate limiting.

Rate Limit Headers

Every API response includes rate limit information in the headers:

X-RateLimit-Limit: Maximum number of requests allowed per time window
X-RateLimit-Remaining: Number of requests remaining in the current window
X-RateLimit-Reset: Unix timestamp when the rate limit resets

Default Limits

Per minute: 100,000 requests
Per hour: 100,000,000 requests
Per consumer: Limits are applied per API key

Rate Limit Exceeded

When you exceed the rate limit, you'll receive a 429 Too Many Requests response:

{
  "detail": "Rate limit exceeded. Please try again later."
}

Handling Rate Limits

1. Check Rate Limit Headers

const response = await fetch('https://api.translateplus.io/v2/translate', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'X-API-KEY': 'your_api_key',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    text: 'Hello',
    source: 'en',
    target: 'fr'
  })
});
 
const remaining = response.headers.get('X-RateLimit-Remaining');
const resetTime = response.headers.get('X-RateLimit-Reset');
 
console.log(`Remaining requests: ${remaining}`);
console.log(`Rate limit resets at: ${new Date(resetTime * 1000)}`);

2. Implement Exponential Backoff

async function makeRequestWithRetry(url, options, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++) {
    const response = await fetch(url, options);
    
    if (response.status === 429) {
      const resetTime = parseInt(response.headers.get('X-RateLimit-Reset'));
      const waitTime = (resetTime * 1000) - Date.now();
      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, waitTime));
      continue;
    }
    
    return response;
  }
  
  throw new Error('Max retries exceeded');
}

Best Practices

Monitor rate limit headers to avoid hitting limits
Implement exponential backoff for 429 responses
Use batch endpoints when possible to reduce request count
Cache responses when appropriate to minimize API calls

Error Handling Code Examples