Rate Limiting

What is Rate Limiting?
Rate limiting restricts how many requests a client may make to a server within a time window — for example, 100 requests per minute per IP. Servers enforce it to protect stability and fairness; exceeding the limit typically returns HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests).

In web data collection, rate limits shape pipeline design in two directions. As a consumer, a crawler must pace itself under each target site's tolerance, spreading requests over time and across IPs so it never degrades the site — both an ethical norm and a practical necessity. As a provider, data APIs impose their own rate limits and quotas on customers to guarantee predictable service.

Good crawler citizenship — honoring robots.txt, backing off on 429/5xx responses, and crawling during low-traffic windows — is the operational core of responsible scraping.