SportsEngine has implemented rate limiting on our public API to maintain optimal performance and ensure fair resource usage. This change helps to prevent abuse and provides a consistent and reliable experience.
What is Rate Limiting?
Rate limiting is a technique for controlling the number of requests a user can make to an API within a specific timeframe. This helps manage traffic, avoid server overload, and ensure all users have equitable access to our services.
How Rate Limiting Works
Each API key is allotted a certain number of requests per minute. If you exceed this limit, further requests will be denied until the rate limit window resets.
For example, if the Rate Limit is 100 requests per minute and you make 101 requests within a minute, the 101st request will be rejected with a "429 Too Many Requests" status code.
How to Identify When You've Hit the Rate Limit
When you reach your rate limit, the API will return a "429 Too Many Requests" response. This response includes headers that provide additional information about the rate limit and when you can resume sending requests:
Ratelimit-Limit: The maximum number of requests the client is allowed to make in the current window.
Retry-Remaining: The number of requests the client has left in the current window.
Retry-Reset: When the rate limit window resets and the client can make more requests.
Best Practices to Avoid Hitting the Rate Limit
To ensure a smooth integration, we recommend the following best practices:
Monitor Your Request Usage: Keep an eye on the X-Rate-Limit-Remaining header to track your usage and avoid exceeding the limit.
Implement Exponential Backoff: If you hit the rate limit, implement a strategy to wait progressively longer between retries.
Optimize Your API Calls: Combine requests or cache data locally to reduce the number of API calls you need to make.
Leverage Webhooks: Instead of continuously polling for updates, subscribe to our available webhooks to receive real-time notifications when the data you're interested in changes. This reduces the need to make frequent API calls and helps you stay within the rate limits.