GlossaryConceptUpdated September 2026

Rate limit

noun · also: retry, polling, action

What is rate limit?

A rate limit is a cap on how many API calls you can make per minute or hour, enforced by the API provider.

Definition

Full definition of rate limit

Every third-party API has rate limits — Slack lets you post about 1 message per second per channel, Stripe allows ~100 reads/sec, Shopify caps at 2-4 requests/sec depending on plan. In Tiny Command, HTTP steps retry automatically and you can set your own retry count and delay, which helps a workflow ride out a brief rate limit.

In practice

Rate limit examples

Throttled
A loop iterates 500 Stripe customers with a short pause between calls, so Stripe never returns a 429.
Used by

Apps that exemplify rate limit

See rate limit in action across real integrations.

FAQ

Common questions about rate limit

What if I hit a rate limit anyway?
HTTP steps in Tiny Command retry automatically, and you can raise the retry count and delay. If the limit persists, the run log shows the error.

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