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Rate Limits

The API enforces rate limits per API key to ensure fair usage and platform stability.

Limits

Window	Limit
Per second	10 requests
Per minute	200 requests

Both limits are enforced simultaneously. If either is exceeded, the request returns 429 Too Many Requests.

Rate Limit Headers

When a request is rate-limited, the response includes headers to help you retry:

Header	Description
`Retry-After`	Seconds to wait before retrying
`X-RateLimit-Limit-Minute`	Per-minute limit (200)
`X-RateLimit-Limit-Second`	Per-second limit (10)

Example `429` Response

HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
Retry-After: 3
X-RateLimit-Limit-Minute: 200
X-RateLimit-Limit-Second: 10
Content-Type: application/json

{"detail": "Rate limit exceeded. Please slow down."}

Retry Strategy

Use exponential backoff with the Retry-After header:

import time
import requests

def api_request(url, headers, max_retries=3):
    for attempt in range(max_retries):
        response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

        if response.status_code != 429:
            return response

        retry_after = int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 2 ** attempt))
        print(f"Rate limited. Retrying in {retry_after}s...")
        time.sleep(retry_after)

    return response  # Return last response if all retries exhausted

async function apiRequest(url: string, headers: HeadersInit, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let attempt = 0; attempt < maxRetries; attempt++) {
    const response = await fetch(url, { headers });

    if (response.status !== 429) return response;

    const retryAfter = parseInt(response.headers.get("Retry-After") || String(2 ** attempt));
    console.log(`Rate limited. Retrying in ${retryAfter}s...`);
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, retryAfter * 1000));
  }
}

# Simple retry with backoff
for i in 1 2 3; do
  response=$(curl -s -w "\n%{http_code}" \
    "https://be.graph8.com/api/v1/contacts" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY")

  status=$(echo "$response" | tail -1)

  if [ "$status" != "429" ]; then
    echo "$response" | head -n -1
    break
  fi

  echo "Rate limited, retrying in ${i}s..."
  sleep $i
done

Best Practices

Use pagination with high limits — fetch 200 items per page instead of making 200 individual requests.
Add delays when paginating — a small delay (100-200ms) between page requests helps stay within limits.
Cache responses — if you fetch the same data repeatedly, cache it locally to reduce API calls.
Use backoff, not tight loops — when rate-limited, always respect the Retry-After header instead of retrying immediately.