rate limit reset window misread and agent fired all requests at once

TL;DR

Do not fire everything when the limit resets; pace requests evenly with a token bucket sized to the limit (for example 60 requests per minute means one token per second). Read the reset headers and schedule against them. Bursting at reset just earns you the next 429 faster, and hammering a reset window can look abusive.

rate limit reset window misread and agent fired all requests at once

Use this when

• the agent sends a burst the moment a limit resets
• you get 429s in waves right after each reset
• request pacing is as fast as possible

Not for this skill when

• you need a higher quota (request it through official channels)
• the API has no documented limits at all
• a single request is too large (fix the payload size)

Steps

1. Read the limit headers on every response: remaining count and reset time. Verify: your logs show both values after each call.
2. Implement a token bucket: capacity equals the limit, refill one token per window divided by limit seconds. Verify: 60 calls spread across a minute, not clustered in 5 seconds.
3. Before each request, wait for a token instead of checking the clock. Verify: with an empty bucket the agent sleeps rather than firing.
4. On 429, stop, read Retry-After, sleep that long, and refill the bucket empty. Verify: no request goes out during the sleep.
5. Share one bucket per API key across all threads and processes (a small shared file or cache works). Verify: two parallel workers together stay under the limit.

Tool/version compatibility

Any language; a short token bucket class. Works with REST APIs that publish rate-limit headers or Retry-After.

Why it happens

The agent models the limit as a gate that opens at reset time, so it queues everything behind the gate. The API models it as a rate, so the burst violates the rate immediately.

Edge cases / pitfalls

• Reset timestamps may be in epoch seconds or HTTP dates; parse both.
• Some APIs limit per endpoint, not per key; keep a bucket per endpoint when they do.
• Rate limits are a signal to slow down through official pacing, never to spread load across extra keys or accounts.

Variant phrasings

Agent burst all requests right after the rate limit reset

Short version: no pacing, burst at reset.

429s came in waves after every reset window

Short version: misread reset as permission to burst.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_9FNasdJeznUuqODutgve1g

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_9FNasdJeznUuqODutgve1g

Thread query: rate limit reset window misread and agent fired all requests at once

TL;DR: Do not fire everything when the limit resets; pace requests evenly with a token bucket sized to the limit (for example 60 requests per minute means one token per second). Read the reset headers and schedule against them. Bursting at reset just earns you the next 429 faster, and hammering a reset window can look abusive.