Rate Limits

The GB Chat API implements rate limiting to ensure fair usage and protect the service from abuse.

Default Limits

Limit	Value
Requests per minute	60
Configurable	Yes

Customizing Your Rate Limit

You can adjust your rate limit in the dashboard:

1. Go to Settings > Public API
2. Find the Rate Limit section
3. Enter your desired requests per minute (1-1000)
4. Click Save

Rate Limit Headers

Every API response includes headers to help you track your usage:

X-RateLimit-Limit: 60
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 45
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1707300660

Header	Description
X-RateLimit-Limit	Maximum requests allowed per minute
X-RateLimit-Remaining	Requests remaining in current window
X-RateLimit-Reset	Unix timestamp when the limit resets

Rate Limit Exceeded

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

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED",
    "message": "Too many requests. Please try again later."
  }
}

Retry-After Header

The response includes a Retry-After header indicating when you can retry:

Retry-After: 30

This value is in seconds.

Best Practices

Implement Exponential Backoff

When you receive a 429 error, wait before retrying:

async function sendWithRetry(payload, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let attempt = 0; attempt < maxRetries; attempt++) {
    try {
      const response = await sendMessage(payload);
      return response;
    } catch (error) {
      if (error.status === 429 && attempt < maxRetries - 1) {
        const waitTime = Math.pow(2, attempt) * 1000; // 1s, 2s, 4s
        await sleep(waitTime);
        continue;
      }
      throw error;
    }
  }
}

Queue Your Messages

If you need to send many messages, implement a queue:

const queue = [];
const RATE_LIMIT = 60;
const INTERVAL = 60000 / RATE_LIMIT; // ~1 second between messages

async function processQueue() {
  while (queue.length > 0) {
    const message = queue.shift();
    await sendMessage(message);
    await sleep(INTERVAL);
  }
}

Monitor Your Usage

Check the rate limit headers in responses to stay within limits:

function handleResponse(response) {
  const remaining = response.headers['x-ratelimit-remaining'];
  const reset = response.headers['x-ratelimit-reset'];

  if (remaining < 10) {
    console.warn(`Low rate limit: ${remaining} requests remaining`);
    console.log(`Resets at: ${new Date(reset * 1000)}`);
  }
}

Burst Protection

The rate limiter uses a sliding window algorithm, which means:

• Limits are calculated over a rolling 60-second window
• You can't "save up" requests from quiet periods
• Bursts are smoothed out over the window

Need Higher Limits?

If you need a higher rate limit for your use case, contact us at support@workmatic.in.