Rate Limits

Per-endpoint quotas, rate-limit response headers, and 429 handling across the SCX APIs.

The SCX APIs enforce per-endpoint rate limits to ensure fair usage and protect the system from overload. Exceeding a limit returns HTTP 429 Too Many Requests.

Limits are grouped by endpoint category rather than applied uniformly. Heavy endpoint groups like offer and order updates have higher quotas; administrative endpoints like category and attribute management have stricter ones.

Response Headers

Every SCX API response includes these headers so you can monitor your quota in real time:

Header	Description
X-RateLimit-Limit	The total number of requests allowed in the current window.
X-RateLimit-Interval-Length-Seconds	The window length in seconds.
X-RateLimit-Remaining	Requests remaining in the current window.

Monitor these headers to pace your requests rather than waiting for 429 responses.

Production Limits

Each endpoint category has its own window. The numbers below apply to production; sandbox environments may use different values, so always verify against the response headers for the environment you’re calling.

Endpoint category	Limit
General endpoints	10 requests per 60 seconds
Channel endpoints	60 requests per 60 seconds
Order endpoints	600 requests per 60 seconds
Event endpoints	240 requests per 60 seconds
Offer endpoints	1500 requests per 60 seconds
Category attributes	86,400 requests per 86,400 seconds (≈1/s average)
Global attributes and categories	5-10 requests per 1,800-3,600 seconds

429 Handling

When a request is rejected with 429:

1. Stop sending additional requests in that endpoint category until the window resets.
2. Back off exponentially, reading X-RateLimit-Interval-Length-Seconds and X-RateLimit-Remaining before retrying.
3. Spread bursts across time rather than sending batches simultaneously.

For polling-based workflows like event consumption, a steady cadence (for example, once every 60 seconds) keeps you well within the event endpoint quota and avoids self-inflicted throttling.

Next Steps

Authorization

Token exchange and Bearer header usage for SCX APIs.

Channel API Reference

Endpoint-level reference for the Channel API.