# Rate Limits

> Per-token and per-account limits, the burst allowance, and what to do on a 429.

Canonical: https://revnu.com/docs/rate-limits

Limits are per token, with a fixed ceiling across all of an account's tokens so twenty tokens cannot add up to twenty times the budget. `GET /me` reports the numbers a token is held to.

| Class | Sustained | Burst |
|---|---|---|
| Reads | 300 per minute | 600 |
| Review writes | 60 per minute | 120 |
| Agent messages | 30 per minute | 60 |
| Whole account | 900 per minute | 1,800 |

Over the limit is `429` with a `Retry-After` header in seconds. A wall screen polling `/review` every 10 seconds is well inside.

## When the limiter itself is down

Reads still proceed, because a read cannot spend money or send anything and a wall dashboard going blank during a blip is the wrong trade. Writes and messages return `503`, never a fake pass, because the ceiling they rely on is the thing that broke.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do reads and writes share a budget?

No. Each class has its own bucket per token, plus the account-wide ceiling. Heavy polling cannot starve approvals.

### How should I back off?

Honour `Retry-After`. It is computed from the bucket, so retrying earlier only burns another request.