Rate limits

Request rate limit

Each organization is limited to 60 requests per minute. That is the current default and it may change. The live values are in the rate-limit headers on each response, so a client can slow down before it is refused. To raise your limit, contact support@helping.io. Refusals are 429 with code rate_limit_exceeded.

Rate-limit headers

Every rate-limited request carries the standard headers for the allowance that governs it, so a client can slow down before it is refused rather than after. They come on a successful response and on a 429; any other error carries none. Listing models is not rate limited and carries none:

Header	Meaning
x-ratelimit-limit-requests	The request allowance
x-ratelimit-remaining-requests	Requests left in the allowance
x-ratelimit-reset-requests	Time until the allowance is full again, as a duration, for example 1s or 6m0s

Where a tokens-per-minute cap applies to your key, the token family comes alongside them:

Header	Meaning
x-ratelimit-limit-tokens	The token allowance, sent only when a token cap applies
x-ratelimit-remaining-tokens	Tokens left in the current window
x-ratelimit-reset-tokens	Time until the token window rolls over, as a duration, for example 6m0s

A refused request answers 429 with code rate_limit_exceeded and Retry-After set to the seconds until the allowance refreshes. Nothing is created and nothing is charged.

Open streams

Each organization can hold a limited number of streamed responses open at once. Non-streaming requests do not count against it. A streaming request past the limit is refused before anything starts, so nothing is created and nothing is charged; the message states the limit, and Retry-After says when to try again. Waiting for one of your open streams to end also frees a place.

Status	code	Retry-After	Meaning
429	stream_limit_exceeded	Yes	You are already holding the maximum number of open streams; nothing was started, so retry once one ends.

Retrieving, canceling and deleting

Two more allowances apply per organization, separately from the ones above:

Requests	At once	Then
Retrieving a response, and every Conversations API request except deletes	300 requests	5 requests per second
Deletes of responses, conversations and items, and cancels, together	100 requests	2 requests per second

A request under one of these allowances reports it in the same headers: its size as the limit, what is left, and the time until it is full again. Past either, the answer is the same 429 with Retry-After.