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

# Rate limits

> The FlameProxies Customer API allows 120 requests per minute per API key. Learn what happens when you exceed it and how to stay under the limit.

The Customer API allows **120 requests per minute** for each customer API key.

| Limit | Applies to | Window |
| - | - | - |
| **120 requests / minute** | Each API key | 1 minute |

## When you exceed the limit

Requests over the limit fail with a `rate_limited` error:

```json theme={null}
{
  "error": "rate_limited",
  "message": "Human-readable error message."
}
```

Wait before retrying, and back off further if you're limited again:

```python theme={null}
import time
import requests

def get_with_retry(url, headers, max_attempts=5):
    for attempt in range(max_attempts):
        resp = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
        if resp.ok or resp.json().get("error") != "rate_limited":
            return resp
        time.sleep(min(2 ** attempt, 60))
    raise RuntimeError("still rate limited after retries")
```

For sustained workloads, spacing out requests — no more than about 2 per second — works better than reacting to errors.

## Tips for staying under the limit

* **Generate proxies in batches.** One call to [generate proxies](/api/proxies/generate) with `quantity: 100` returns 100 proxy lines. You don't need 100 calls.
* **Cache reference data.** [Package tiers](/api/account/package-tiers) change rarely. Fetch them once and refresh occasionally.
* **Don't poll usage in a tight loop.** Check package usage on a schedule, for example once a minute, not before every proxy request.

<Note>
  This limit applies to the Customer API only. Proxy traffic through `proxy.flameproxies.com` has no limits on requests per second or minute, threads, or concurrent connections.
</Note>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Error handling" icon="triangle-exclamation" href="/api/errors">
    Every error code and how to handle it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Generate proxies" icon="plug" href="/api/proxies/generate">
    Generate many proxy lines in one call.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>