docs/content/rest/using-the-rest-api/rate-limits-for-the-rest-api.md

title, shortTitle, intro, versions, topics, redirect_from

title	shortTitle	intro	versions	topics	redirect_from
Rate limits for the REST API	Rate limits	Learn about REST API rate limits, how to avoid exceeding them, and what to do if you do exceed them.	fpt ghes ghec * * *	API	/rest/overview/rate-limits-for-the-rest-api

{% ifversion ghes %}

Rate limits are disabled by default for {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_server %}. Contact your site administrator to confirm the rate limits for your instance.

If you are a site administrator, you can set rate limits, including secondary rate limits, for your instance. See AUTOTITLE.

If you are developing an app for users or organizations outside of your instance, the standard {% data variables.product.github %} rate limits apply. See AUTOTITLE in the {% data variables.product.prodname_free_user %} documentation.

About secondary rate limits

{% data reusables.rest-api.secondary-rate-limit-rest-graphql %}

{% else %}

About primary rate limits

{% data variables.product.company_short %} limits the number of REST API requests that you can make within a specific amount of time. This limit helps prevent abuse and denial-of-service attacks, and ensures that the API remains available for all users.

Some endpoints, like the search endpoints, have more restrictive limits. For more information about these endpoints, see AUTOTITLE. The GraphQL API also has a separate primary rate limit. See AUTOTITLE.

{% data reusables.organizations.api-insights-learn-about %}

In general, you can calculate your primary rate limit for the REST API based on your method of authentication, as described below.

Primary rate limit for unauthenticated users

{% data reusables.rest-api.primary-rate-limit-unauthenticated-users %}

Primary rate limit for authenticated users

{% data reusables.rest-api.primary-rate-limit-authenticated-users %}

Primary rate limit for Git LFS access

API requests are required when you upload or download Git LFS content. These count towards a separate rate limiting bucket with a limit of 300 requests per minute for unauthenticated requests and 3,000 requests per minute for authenticated requests.

Git LFS uses a batch API which processes 100 Git LFS objects per API request by default. That means unauthenticated users can download 30,000 Git LFS objects per minute and authenticated users can upload/download 300,000 Git LFS objects per minute.

Primary rate limit for {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} installations

{% data reusables.rest-api.primary-rate-limit-github-app-installations %}

Primary rate limit for {% data variables.product.prodname_oauth_apps %}

Primary rate limits for OAuth access tokens generated by a {% data variables.product.prodname_oauth_app %} are dictated by the primary rate limits for authenticated users. This rate limit is combined with any requests that another {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} or {% data variables.product.prodname_oauth_app %} makes on that user's behalf and any requests that the user makes with a {% data variables.product.pat_generic %}. See Primary rate limit for authenticated users.

OAuth apps can also use their client ID and client secret to fetch public data. For example:

curl -u YOUR_CLIENT_ID:YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET -I {% data variables.product.rest_url %}/meta

{% data reusables.rest-api.primary-rate-limit-oauth-apps %}

Note

Never include your app's client secret in client-side code or in code that runs on a user device. The client secret can be used to generate OAuth access tokens for users who have authorized your app, so you should always keep the client secret secure.

Primary rate limit for GITHUB_TOKEN in {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %}

You can use the built-in GITHUB_TOKEN to authenticate requests in {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflows. See AUTOTITLE.

{% data reusables.rest-api.primary-rate-limit-github-token-in-actions %}

About secondary rate limits

{% data reusables.rest-api.secondary-rate-limit-rest-graphql %}

Checking the status of your rate limit

You can use the headers that are sent with each response to determine the current status of your primary rate limit.

Header name	Description
x-ratelimit-limit	The maximum number of requests that you can make per hour
x-ratelimit-remaining	The number of requests remaining in the current rate limit window
x-ratelimit-used	The number of requests you have made in the current rate limit window
x-ratelimit-reset	The time at which the current rate limit window resets, in UTC epoch seconds
x-ratelimit-resource	The rate limit resource that the request counted against. For more information about the different resources, see AUTOTITLE.

You can also call the GET /rate_limit endpoint to check your rate limit. Calling this endpoint does not count against your primary rate limit, but it can count against your secondary rate limit. See AUTOTITLE. When possible, you should use the rate limit response headers instead of calling the API to check your rate limit.

There is not a way to check the status of your secondary rate limit.

Exceeding the rate limit

If you exceed your primary rate limit, you will receive a 403 or 429 response, and the x-ratelimit-remaining header will be 0. You should not retry your request until after the time specified by the x-ratelimit-reset header.

If you exceed a secondary rate limit, you will receive a 403 or 429 response and an error message that indicates that you exceeded a secondary rate limit. If the retry-after response header is present, you should not retry your request until after that many seconds has elapsed. If the x-ratelimit-remaining header is 0, you should not retry your request until after the time, in UTC epoch seconds, specified by the x-ratelimit-reset header. Otherwise, wait for at least one minute before retrying. If your request continues to fail due to a secondary rate limit, wait for an exponentially increasing amount of time between retries, and throw an error after a specific number of retries.

Continuing to make requests while you are rate limited may result in the banning of your integration.

Staying under the rate limit

You should follow best practices to help you stay under the rate limits. See AUTOTITLE.

{% ifversion ghec or ghes %}

You can also stream the audit log in order to view API requests. This can help you troubleshoot integrations that are exceeding the rate limit. See AUTOTITLE.

{% endif %}

Getting a higher rate limit

If you want a higher primary rate limit, consider making authenticated requests instead of unauthenticated requests. Authenticated requests have a significantly higher rate limit than unauthenticated requests.

If you are using a {% data variables.product.pat_generic %} for automation in your organization, consider whether a {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} will work instead.{% ifversion fpt %} The rate limit for {% data variables.product.prodname_github_apps %} using an installation access token scales with the number of repositories and number of organization users.{% endif %}{% ifversion ghec %} {% data variables.product.prodname_github_apps %} used by {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_cloud %} accounts have a higher rate limit than {% data variables.product.pat_generic_plural %}.{% endif %} See AUTOTITLE.

{% ifversion fpt %}

If you are using {% data variables.product.prodname_github_apps %} or {% data variables.product.prodname_oauth_apps %}, consider upgrading to {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_cloud %}. {% data variables.product.prodname_github_apps %} or {% data variables.product.prodname_oauth_apps %} have higher rate limits for organizations that use {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_cloud %}.

{% endif %}

{% endif %}