Last Updated: November 21, 2025
Algorithms
| Pattern | Behavior |
|---|---|
Token bucket
|
Bursty traffic allowed up to bucket size |
Leaky bucket
|
Smooths requests to steady rate |
Sliding window
|
Per-user quota per window |
Commands
redis-cli INCR api:limit:
Count requests
nginx limit_req zone=api burst=20
Configure rate limiter
return 429
Signal client to back off
Fallback
Provide `Retry-After`, cache common responses, and queue non-critical jobs.
💡 Pro Tip:
Expose rate-limit headers and allow graceful degradation when throttled.