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

# Rate limits

> Cotality API and MCP rate limits — request quotas, throttling behavior, and back-off guidance.

<Info>
  Specific rate limit values depend on your entitlement tier and are defined in your service
  agreement. Contact your Cotality account representative for the limits applicable to your
  token.
</Info>

## General guidance

| Scenario                      | Recommended approach                                   |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| Sustained high-volume queries | Batch CLIP inputs where tools accept `array[string]`   |
| Burst spikes                  | Implement exponential backoff with jitter              |
| Portfolio-scale ingestion     | Use batch endpoints or request a bulk data entitlement |

## HTTP 429 — Too many requests

When you exceed your rate limit, the API returns `429`. The response includes a
`Retry-After` header (in seconds) when available.

```json theme={null}
{
  "success": false,
  "count": 0,
  "data": [],
  "messages": [{ "code": "RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED", "message": "Too many requests. Retry after 30s." }]
}
```

## Back-off pattern for agents

```text theme={null}
On 429:
  wait = min(base * (2 ^ attempt) + random_jitter, max_wait)
  retry up to 3 times
  if still 429 after 3 attempts: stop and surface to user
```

## Related

* [Error handling](/reference/error-handling) — full HTTP status code reference
* [Response envelope](/reference/response-envelope) — envelope shape on errors