API Rate Limiting & Optimization

StateSet implements rate limiting to ensure fair usage and maintain service reliability for all users. This guide covers understanding rate limits, implementing efficient request patterns, and optimizing your API usage.

Rate Limit Overview

StateSet uses a sliding window rate limiting algorithm that provides smooth, predictable limits across different time windows.

Per-Second Limits

Prevents burst traffic spikes and ensures responsive service

Per-Minute Limits

Controls sustained request volume over longer periods

Per-Hour Limits

Manages overall API consumption and prevents abuse

Current Rate Limits

By Plan Type

Endpoint Category	Per Second	Per Minute	Per Hour
Orders API	10	300	5,000
Customers API	5	150	2,500
Returns API	5	150	2,500
Webhooks	20	600	10,000
Analytics	2	60	1,000

Endpoint Category	Per Second	Per Minute	Per Hour
Orders API	10	300	5,000
Customers API	5	150	2,500
Returns API	5	150	2,500
Webhooks	20	600	10,000
Analytics	2	60	1,000

Endpoint Category	Per Second	Per Minute	Per Hour
Orders API	50	1,500	25,000
Customers API	25	750	12,500
Returns API	25	750	12,500
Webhooks	100	3,000	50,000
Analytics	10	300	5,000

Endpoint Category	Per Second	Per Minute	Per Hour
Orders API	200	6,000	100,000
Customers API	100	3,000	50,000
Returns API	100	3,000	50,000
Webhooks	500	15,000	250,000
Analytics	50	1,500	25,000

Special Considerations

Batch Operations

List Operations

Webhook Endpoints

Rate Limit Headers

Every API response includes rate limit information in the headers:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
X-RateLimit-Limit: 1500
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 1247
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1640995200
X-RateLimit-Window: 60
X-RateLimit-Category: orders-api
Retry-After: 45

Header Descriptions

Header	Description
`X-RateLimit-Limit`	Maximum requests allowed in the current window
`X-RateLimit-Remaining`	Requests remaining in the current window
`X-RateLimit-Reset`	Unix timestamp when the window resets
`X-RateLimit-Window`	Window duration in seconds (60 for per-minute limits)
`X-RateLimit-Category`	API category for this endpoint
`Retry-After`	Seconds to wait before retrying (present when rate limited)

Implementing Rate Limit Handling

Basic Rate Limit Detection

import { StateSetClient } from 'stateset-node';
import winston from 'winston';

const logger = winston.createLogger({
  level: 'info',
  format: winston.format.json(),
  transports: [new winston.transports.Console()]
});

class RateLimitHandler {
  constructor(client) {
    this.client = client;
    this.requestCounts = new Map();
  }

  async makeRequest(operation, ...args) {
    try {
      const response = await operation(...args);
      this.logRateLimitInfo(response);
      return response;
    } catch (error) {
      if (error.status === 429) {
        return this.handleRateLimit(error, operation, ...args);
      }
      throw error;
    }
  }

  logRateLimitInfo(response) {
    const headers = response.headers || {};
    logger.info('Rate limit status', {
      remaining: headers['x-ratelimit-remaining'],
      limit: headers['x-ratelimit-limit'],
      resetTime: new Date(headers['x-ratelimit-reset'] * 1000),
      category: headers['x-ratelimit-category']
    });
  }

  async handleRateLimit(error, operation, ...args) {
    const retryAfter = error.headers?.['retry-after'] || 60;
    
    logger.warn('Rate limit exceeded, waiting before retry', {
      retryAfter,
      category: error.headers?.['x-ratelimit-category']
    });

    await this.sleep(retryAfter * 1000);
    return this.makeRequest(operation, ...args);
  }

  sleep(ms) {
    return new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
  }
}

// Usage
const client = new StateSetClient({ apiKey: process.env.STATESET_API_KEY });
const rateLimitHandler = new RateLimitHandler(client);

const orders = await rateLimitHandler.makeRequest(
  () => client.orders.list({ limit: 50 })
);

Advanced Rate Limiting with Queue

import PQueue from 'p-queue';

class AdvancedRateLimitHandler {
  constructor(client, options = {}) {
    this.client = client;
    this.queues = new Map();
    this.rateLimitInfo = new Map();
    
    // Default queue options
    this.defaultQueueOptions = {
      concurrency: 5,
      interval: 1000,
      intervalCap: 10,
      ...options.queueOptions
    };
  }

  getQueue(category = 'default') {
    if (!this.queues.has(category)) {
      const queueOptions = this.getCategoryQueueOptions(category);
      this.queues.set(category, new PQueue(queueOptions));
    }
    return this.queues.get(category);
  }

  getCategoryQueueOptions(category) {
    const categorySettings = {
      'orders-api': { concurrency: 10, interval: 1000, intervalCap: 10 },
      'customers-api': { concurrency: 5, interval: 1000, intervalCap: 5 },
      'returns-api': { concurrency: 5, interval: 1000, intervalCap: 5 },
      'analytics': { concurrency: 2, interval: 1000, intervalCap: 2 }
    };

    return {
      ...this.defaultQueueOptions,
      ...categorySettings[category]
    };
  }

  async makeRequest(operation, category = 'default', priority = 0) {
    const queue = this.getQueue(category);
    
    return queue.add(async () => {
      try {
        const response = await operation();
        this.updateRateLimitInfo(category, response);
        return response;
      } catch (error) {
        if (error.status === 429) {
          await this.handleRateLimit(error, category);
          throw error; // Re-queue will happen automatically
        }
        throw error;
      }
    }, { priority });
  }

  updateRateLimitInfo(category, response) {
    const headers = response.headers || {};
    this.rateLimitInfo.set(category, {
      remaining: parseInt(headers['x-ratelimit-remaining']) || 0,
      limit: parseInt(headers['x-ratelimit-limit']) || 1000,
      resetTime: parseInt(headers['x-ratelimit-reset']) || 0,
      lastUpdated: Date.now()
    });
  }

  async handleRateLimit(error, category) {
    const retryAfter = parseInt(error.headers?.['retry-after']) || 60;
    const queue = this.getQueue(category);
    
    logger.warn('Rate limit exceeded for category', {
      category,
      retryAfter,
      queueSize: queue.size,
      pending: queue.pending
    });

    // Pause the queue
    queue.pause();
    
    await this.sleep(retryAfter * 1000);
    
    // Resume the queue
    queue.start();
  }

  getRateLimitStatus(category = 'default') {
    return this.rateLimitInfo.get(category) || null;
  }

  sleep(ms) {
    return new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
  }
}

// Usage with priority queueing
const handler = new AdvancedRateLimitHandler(client);

// High priority request (emergency order processing)
const criticalOrder = await handler.makeRequest(
  () => client.orders.get(orderId),
  'orders-api',
  10
);

// Normal priority batch processing
const orders = await Promise.all([
  handler.makeRequest(() => client.orders.list({ page: 1 }), 'orders-api', 0),
  handler.makeRequest(() => client.orders.list({ page: 2 }), 'orders-api', 0),
  handler.makeRequest(() => client.orders.list({ page: 3 }), 'orders-api', 0)
]);

Optimization Strategies

1. Efficient Pagination

Instead of requesting large datasets at once:

// ❌ Inefficient - May trigger rate limits
const allOrders = await client.orders.list({ limit: 1000 });

// ✅ Efficient - Paginated requests
async function getAllOrdersPaginated() {
  const allOrders = [];
  let hasMore = true;
  let cursor = null;

  while (hasMore) {
    const response = await client.orders.list({
      limit: 100,
      cursor: cursor
    });

    allOrders.push(...response.data);
    cursor = response.next_cursor;
    hasMore = response.has_more;

    // Small delay to respect rate limits
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 100));
  }

  return allOrders;
}

2. Batch Operations

Use batch endpoints when available:

// ❌ Multiple individual requests
for (const order of orders) {
  await client.orders.update(order.id, { status: 'processed' });
}

// ✅ Single batch request
await client.orders.batchUpdate(
  orders.map(order => ({
    id: order.id,
    status: 'processed'
  }))
);

3. Webhook-First Architecture

Reduce polling by using webhooks:

// ❌ Constant polling
setInterval(async () => {
  const orders = await client.orders.list({ 
    status: 'pending',
    updated_since: lastCheck 
  });
  processNewOrders(orders);
}, 30000);

// ✅ Webhook-driven updates
app.post('/webhooks/stateset', (req, res) => {
  const event = req.body;
  
  if (event.type === 'order.updated') {
    processOrderUpdate(event.data);
  }
  
  res.status(200).send('OK');
});

4. Intelligent Caching

Cache frequently requested data:

class StateSetCache {
  constructor(client, ttl = 300000) { // 5 minutes default TTL
    this.client = client;
    this.cache = new Map();
    this.ttl = ttl;
  }

  async get(key, fetchFunction) {
    const cached = this.cache.get(key);
    const now = Date.now();

    if (cached && (now - cached.timestamp) < this.ttl) {
      logger.debug('Cache hit', { key });
      return cached.data;
    }

    logger.debug('Cache miss, fetching', { key });
    const data = await fetchFunction();
    
    this.cache.set(key, {
      data,
      timestamp: now
    });

    return data;
  }

  clear(key) {
    if (key) {
      this.cache.delete(key);
    } else {
      this.cache.clear();
    }
  }
}

// Usage
const cache = new StateSetCache(client);

const customer = await cache.get(
  `customer:${customerId}`,
  () => client.customers.get(customerId)
);

Monitoring Rate Limits

Rate Limit Dashboard

Create a monitoring dashboard for your rate limit usage:

class RateLimitMonitor {
  constructor() {
    this.metrics = {
      requests: new Map(),
      rateLimits: new Map(),
      errors: new Map()
    };
  }

  recordRequest(category, success = true) {
    const key = `${category}:${this.getTimeWindow()}`;
    const current = this.metrics.requests.get(key) || { success: 0, total: 0 };
    
    current.total++;
    if (success) current.success++;
    
    this.metrics.requests.set(key, current);
  }

  recordRateLimit(category, remainingRequests, totalLimit) {
    const key = `${category}:${this.getTimeWindow()}`;
    this.metrics.rateLimits.set(key, {
      remaining: remainingRequests,
      total: totalLimit,
      utilizationPct: ((totalLimit - remainingRequests) / totalLimit) * 100,
      timestamp: Date.now()
    });
  }

  getTimeWindow() {
    return Math.floor(Date.now() / 60000); // 1-minute windows
  }

  getUtilizationReport() {
    const report = {};
    
    for (const [key, data] of this.metrics.rateLimits) {
      const [category] = key.split(':');
      if (!report[category]) report[category] = [];
      report[category].push(data);
    }

    return report;
  }

  // Alert when utilization is high
  checkAlerts() {
    const report = this.getUtilizationReport();
    
    for (const [category, dataPoints] of Object.entries(report)) {
      const latest = dataPoints[dataPoints.length - 1];
      
      if (latest.utilizationPct > 80) {
        logger.warn('High API utilization detected', {
          category,
          utilization: latest.utilizationPct,
          remaining: latest.remaining
        });
      }
    }
  }
}

// Usage with middleware
const monitor = new RateLimitMonitor();

const monitoredClient = new Proxy(client, {
  get(target, prop) {
    const original = target[prop];
    
    if (typeof original === 'object' && original !== null) {
      return new Proxy(original, {
        get(apiTarget, apiProp) {
          const apiMethod = apiTarget[apiProp];
          
          if (typeof apiMethod === 'function') {
            return async (...args) => {
              const category = `${prop}-api`;
              
              try {
                const result = await apiMethod.apply(apiTarget, args);
                monitor.recordRequest(category, true);
                
                if (result.headers) {
                  monitor.recordRateLimit(
                    category,
                    parseInt(result.headers['x-ratelimit-remaining']),
                    parseInt(result.headers['x-ratelimit-limit'])
                  );
                }
                
                return result;
              } catch (error) {
                monitor.recordRequest(category, false);
                throw error;
              }
            };
          }
          
          return apiMethod;
        }
      });
    }
    
    return original;
  }
});

Best Practices Summary

Request Optimization

Use pagination instead of large limit values
Implement batch operations where possible
Cache frequently requested data
Use webhooks to reduce polling

Error Handling

Always check rate limit headers
Implement exponential backoff for retries
Use queues to manage request flow
Monitor and alert on high utilization

Architecture Patterns

Design webhook-first integrations
Implement circuit breakers for resilience
Use separate queues for different priorities
Cache aggressively with smart invalidation

Monitoring & Alerting

Track utilization across all categories
Set alerts at 80% utilization threshold
Monitor request success rates
Review patterns during peak usage

Getting Help

If you’re consistently hitting rate limits or need higher limits:

Review your usage patterns using the monitoring tools above
Optimize your integration following the strategies in this guide
Consider upgrading to a higher plan with increased limits
Contact support at support@stateset.com for custom rate limits

Overview

Quickstart

StateSet One

StateSet Response

StateSet Commerce

API Rate Limiting & Optimization

API Rate Limiting & Optimization

Rate Limit Overview

Per-Second Limits

Per-Minute Limits

Per-Hour Limits

Current Rate Limits

By Plan Type

Special Considerations

Rate Limit Headers

Header Descriptions

Implementing Rate Limit Handling

Basic Rate Limit Detection

Advanced Rate Limiting with Queue

Optimization Strategies

2. Batch Operations

3. Webhook-First Architecture

4. Intelligent Caching

Monitoring Rate Limits

Rate Limit Dashboard

Best Practices Summary

Request Optimization

Error Handling

Architecture Patterns

Monitoring & Alerting

Getting Help

Overview

Quickstart

StateSet One

StateSet Response

StateSet Commerce

​API Rate Limiting & Optimization

​Rate Limit Overview

Per-Second Limits

Per-Minute Limits

Per-Hour Limits

​Current Rate Limits

​By Plan Type

​Special Considerations

​Rate Limit Headers

​Header Descriptions

​Implementing Rate Limit Handling

​Basic Rate Limit Detection

​Advanced Rate Limiting with Queue

​Optimization Strategies

​1. Efficient Pagination

​2. Batch Operations

​3. Webhook-First Architecture

​4. Intelligent Caching

​Monitoring Rate Limits

​Rate Limit Dashboard

​Best Practices Summary

Request Optimization

Error Handling

Architecture Patterns

Monitoring & Alerting

​Getting Help

​Related Resources

API Rate Limiting & Optimization

Rate Limit Overview

Current Rate Limits

By Plan Type

Special Considerations

Rate Limit Headers

Header Descriptions

Implementing Rate Limit Handling

Basic Rate Limit Detection

Advanced Rate Limiting with Queue

Optimization Strategies

1. Efficient Pagination

2. Batch Operations

3. Webhook-First Architecture

4. Intelligent Caching

Monitoring Rate Limits

Rate Limit Dashboard

Best Practices Summary

Getting Help

Related Resources