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CometChat enforces rate limits to ensure fair usage and maintain service quality across all applications. These limits apply to API requests made to CometChat servers.

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Global Rate Limits

Operation TypeRate LimitExamples
Core operations10,000 requests/minUser connection, create/delete user, create/join/leave group
Standard operations20,000 requests/minAll operations not classified as core operations (e.g., sending messages, fetching conversations, updating profiles)
Build plan (free)500 requests/minApplies to both core and standard operations

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Per-User Rate Limits

OperationRate LimitNotes
Send message30 messages/minPer user limit for sending messages
Mark as unread5 requests/minPer user limit for marking messages as unread

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Data Import Rate Limits

OperationRate LimitNotes
Data import60 requests/minRate limit for bulk data import operations

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Handling Rate Limits

When you exceed a rate limit, the API will return the following error:
Error CodeDescription
ERR_TOO_MANY_REQUESTSToo many requests. You have exceeded the rate limit. Please retry after the specified time.
To handle rate limits gracefully:
  1. Implement exponential backoff when retrying failed requests
  2. Monitor your API usage to stay within limits
  3. Contact support if you need higher limits for your use case

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Rate Limit Response Headers

When rate limited, the API returns HTTP 429 with these headers:
HeaderDescription
X-RateLimit-LimitMaximum requests allowed in the current window
X-RateLimit-RemainingRequests remaining in the current window
X-RateLimit-ResetUnix timestamp when the rate limit window resets
Retry-AfterSeconds to wait before retrying

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Retry Strategy

if response.status == 429:
    wait = response.headers['Retry-After'] or 60
    sleep(wait)
    retry()
Use exponential backoff with jitter for production implementations. Start with the Retry-After value, then double the wait on each subsequent 429 response, up to a maximum of 5 minutes.