> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.usewave.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Rate Limits

> Understand Wave API rate limits, throttling behavior, and best practices for building resilient integrations at scale.

The Wave API enforces rate limits to protect service stability and ensure fair usage across all customers.

## Limits

Requests are throttled per API key. When you exceed the limit, the API returns `429 Too Many Requests`.

## Handling 429 responses

When you receive a `429` response:

1. Stop sending new requests for the interval indicated in the `Retry-After` header (in seconds).
2. Implement exponential backoff for retries.
3. Batch operations where possible to reduce request volume.

```bash theme={null}
HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
Retry-After: 30
```

## Best practices

* **Cache responses** for read-heavy endpoints such as listing audiences or connected accounts.
* **Use webhooks** instead of polling to receive real-time updates.
* **Batch writes** by submitting multiple leads or campaign updates per request where the endpoint supports it.
* **Respect `Retry-After`** headers before retrying failed requests.

<Tip>
  If you consistently hit rate limits, contact [support](mailto:hi@usewave.co) to discuss higher quotas for your workspace.
</Tip>