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

# Rate Limits

> Understanding and configuring rate limits on your API keys.

## Default Limits

By default, each API key allows:

* Up to **20 new requests per 10 seconds**
* Supports **100+ concurrent** running tasks simultaneously

Limits are applied per API key, not per account.

## Per-Key Configuration

When creating or updating an API key, you can set custom limits:

| Field            | Description             |
| ---------------- | ----------------------- |
| `rate_limit_rpm` | Max requests per minute |
| `rate_limit_tph` | Max requests per hour   |
| `rate_limit_tpd` | Max requests per day    |

All three limits are enforced independently. If any limit is exceeded, the request is rejected.

## When You Hit a Limit

Requests that exceed the rate limit are rejected with:

```http theme={null}
HTTP 429 Too Many Requests
```

```json theme={null}
{ "code": 429, "message": "Rate limit exceeded" }
```

Rejected requests are **not** queued — they are dropped immediately. Implement exponential backoff in your client.

## Credit Limits (Safe Spend)

In addition to rate limits, you can set credit-based caps per key:

| Field                 | Description                   |
| --------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| `hourly_credit_limit` | Max credits consumed per hour |
| `daily_credit_limit`  | Max credits consumed per day  |
| `total_credit_limit`  | Lifetime cap for this key     |

These help prevent runaway costs if a key is compromised or misused.

## Increasing Your Limits

If you consistently hit 429 errors and need higher throughput, contact support via Discord or Telegram (bottom-left of the dashboard). Limit increases are handled case by case.