apify-rate-limits

name	apify-rate-limits
description	Handle Apify API rate limits with proper backoff and request queuing. Use when hitting 429 errors, optimizing API request throughput, or implementing rate-aware client wrappers. Trigger: "apify rate limit", "apify throttling", "apify 429", "apify retry", "apify backoff", "too many requests apify".
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit
version	1.0.0
license	MIT
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
tags	["saas","scraping","automation","apify"]
compatible-with	claude-code

Apify Rate Limits

Overview

The Apify API enforces rate limits per resource. The apify-client library auto-retries 429s (up to 8 times with exponential backoff), but you need to understand the limits for bulk operations and custom API calls.

Apify Rate Limit Rules

Scope	Limit	Notes
Per resource (default)	60 req/sec	Applies to each Actor, dataset, KV store independently
Dataset push	60 req/sec per dataset	Batch items to reduce call count
Actor runs	60 req/sec per Actor	Start runs in sequence or with delays
Platform-wide	Higher limit	Aggregate across all resources

"Per resource" means: calls to dataset A and dataset B each get 60 req/sec independently.

Rate limit headers returned:

• X-RateLimit-Limit — max requests per interval
• X-RateLimit-Remaining — remaining requests
• X-RateLimit-Reset — epoch seconds when limit resets

Instructions

Step 1: Understand Built-in Retries

The apify-client package handles rate limits automatically:

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Default: retries up to 8 times on 429 and 500+ errors
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });

// Customize retry behavior
const client = new ApifyClient({
  token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN,
  maxRetries: 5,         // Default: 8
  : ,  
});