Rate Limits

Understanding API rate limits and how to manage them effectively.

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Current Limits

Resource	Limit
Requests per minute (RPM)	60
Tokens per minute (TPM)	2,000,000

These limits apply per API key. Each key you create has its own independent rate limit.

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Need Higher Limits?

Our standard limits support most development and production workloads. We're committed to supporting growing projects while ensuring platform stability for all users.

Shared rate limits scale with your total spend. The tiers below are best-effort and are not guaranteed throughput:

Total spend (USD)	Requests per minute	Tokens per minute
Default	60	2,000,000
$250	up to 600	20,000,000
$1,000	2,500	30,000,000
$2,500	5,000	180,000,000

Beyond the top tier, or when you need guaranteed throughput, we move you to dedicated inference.

For enterprise workloads requiring higher limits:

📧 Contact us: [e-mail]

Include in your request:

• Your use case and expected scale
• Current bottlenecks you're experiencing
• Your account email

Enterprise clients needing volume beyond the top tier, or guaranteed throughput rather than best-effort shared limits, move to dedicated inference. We'll work with you to find the right balance for your needs.

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What Happens When You Hit a Limit

When you exceed rate limits, the API returns a 429 Too Many Requests error:

{
  "error": {
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded for api_key: xxx...xxx. Limit type: requests. Current limit: 60, Remaining: 0. Limit resets at: 2026-03-21 20:38:07 UTC",
    "type": "None",
    "param": "None",
    "code": "429"
  }
}

The error message includes:

• Which limit you hit (requests or tokens)
• Your current limit and remaining count
• When the limit resets

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Checking Your Rate Limit Status

Every API response includes headers showing your current usage:

Header	Example Value	Description
x-ratelimit-api_key-limit-requests	60	Max requests per minute
x-ratelimit-api_key-remaining-requests	45	Requests remaining this minute
x-ratelimit-api_key-limit-tokens	2000000	Max tokens per minute
x-ratelimit-api_key-remaining-tokens	1850000	Tokens remaining this minute

Check these headers to monitor your usage before hitting limits.

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Handling Rate Limits

Retry with Exponential Backoff

The best practice is to retry with increasing delays:

Python

import time
from openai import OpenAI, RateLimitError

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="YOUR_API_KEY",
    base_url="https://api.tensorx.ai/v1"
)

def call_with_retry(messages, max_retries=5):
    for attempt in range(max_retries):
        try:
            return client.chat.completions.create(
                model="deepseek/deepseek-chat-v3.1",
                messages=messages
            )
        except RateLimitError:
            if attempt == max_retries - 1:
                raise
            wait_time = 2 ** attempt  # 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 seconds
            print(f"Rate limited. Waiting {wait_time}s...")
            time.sleep(wait_time)

JavaScript

Spread Out Requests

If you're making many requests, add small delays between them:

import time

for item in items:
    response = make_api_call(item)
    time.sleep(1)  # Wait 1 second between requests

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Tips to Stay Under Limits

Tip	How It Helps
Batch similar requests	Fewer API calls
Cache responses	Don't repeat identical queries
Use streaming	One request for long outputs
Set appropriate max_tokens	Avoid generating unnecessary tokens
Queue requests	Smooth out traffic spikes

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Monitoring Your Usage

Check your request patterns in your Usage Dashboard:

• See request counts over time
• Identify peak usage periods
• Spot patterns that might cause rate limiting