appfolio-rate-limits

name	appfolio-rate-limits
description	Handle AppFolio API rate limits with throttling and backoff. Trigger: "appfolio rate limit".
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Bash(npm:*), Bash(curl:*), Grep
version	1.5.0
license	MIT
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
tags	["saas","property-management","appfolio","real-estate"]
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code

AppFolio Rate Limits

Overview

AppFolio's Stack API enforces per-partner rate limits to protect shared property management infrastructure. High-volume operations like bulk tenant imports, rent-roll syncs, and work-order batch updates can quickly exhaust quotas. Property managers running nightly portfolio syncs across hundreds of units must throttle carefully, especially during month-end when lease renewals and payment processing spike concurrently.

Rate Limit Reference

Endpoint	Limit	Window	Scope
Properties list/get	120 req	1 minute	Per partner key
Tenant create/update	30 req	1 minute	Per partner key
Work orders	60 req	1 minute	Per partner key
Bulk data export	5 req	1 hour	Per partner key
Webhooks registration	10 req	1 minute	Per partner key

Rate Limiter Implementation

class AppFolioRateLimiter {
  private tokens: number;
  private lastRefill: number;
  private readonly maxTokens: number;
  private readonly refillRate: number; // tokens per ms
  private queue: Array<{ resolve: () => void }> = [];

  constructor(maxPerMinute: number) {
    this.maxTokens = maxPerMinute;
    this.tokens = maxPerMinute;
    this.lastRefill = Date.now();
    this.refillRate = maxPerMinute / 60_000;
  }

  async acquire(): Promise<void> {
    this.refill();
    if (this.tokens >= 1) { this.tokens -= 1; return; }
      ( ..({ resolve }));
  }

   () {
     now = .();
    . = .(., . + (now - .) * .);
    . = now;
     (. >=  && ..) {
      . -= ;
      ..()!.();
    }
  }
}

 limiter =  ();

Retry Strategy

async function appfolioRetry<T>(fn: () => Promise<Response>, maxRetries = 4): Promise<T> {
  for (let attempt = 0; attempt <= maxRetries; attempt++) {
    await limiter.acquire();
    const res = await fn();
    if (res.ok) return res.json();
    if (res.status === 429) {
      const retryAfter = parseInt(res.headers.get("Retry-After") || "10", 10);
      const delay = retryAfter * 1000 + Math.random() * 2000;
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, delay));
      continue;
    }
    if (res.status >= 500 && attempt < maxRetries) {
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, Math.(, attempt) * ));
      ;
    }
      ();
  }
    ();
}

Batch Processing

async function batchSyncTenants(tenants: any[], batchSize = 25) {
  const results: any[] = [];
  for (let i = 0; i < tenants.length; i += batchSize) {
    const batch = tenants.slice(i, i + batchSize);
    const batchResults = await Promise.all(
      batch.map(t => appfolioRetry(() =>
        fetch(`${BASE}/api/v1/tenants`, {
          method: "POST", headers, body: JSON.stringify(t),
        })
      ))
    );
    results.push(...batchResults);
    if (i + batchSize < tenants.length) await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 2000));
  }
  return results;
}

Error Handling

Issue	Cause	Fix
429 Too Many Requests	Exceeded partner rate limit	Backoff using Retry-After header
403 on bulk export	Hourly export cap reached	Queue exports with 15-min spacing
Timeout on property list	Large portfolio (500+ units)	Paginate with per_page=50
409 Conflict on tenant update	Concurrent write to same tenant	Retry with fresh ETag
503 during maintenance	Scheduled nightly window (2-4 AM PT)	Skip requests, retry after window

Resources

• AppFolio Stack API

Next Steps

See appfolio-performance-tuning.