HTTP status code
HTTP status code: 429 Too Many Requests
As text you can copy
429 Too Many Requests- Kind
- Status code
What does 429 Too Many Requests mean in HTTP?
The user has sent too many requests in a given amount of time. The standard calls this rate limiting, says the reply should explain the condition, and says it may carry a Retry-After header giving how long to wait.
Risk warning: CFDs and spread bets are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You can lose money on these products, and each provider publishes its own loss figure under FCA rules. You should consider whether you understand how they work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Automated and API trading can amplify losses through bugs, connectivity failures and runaway orders.
What it means in trading API work
Each trading API sets its own limits: per key, per account, per session or per address, and often tighter for order requests than for reads. Polling prices in a loop is a common way to reach them. Not every API uses 429 for this: some report an exceeded allowance under another status with a code of their own.
This part is this site's own explanation, written for people learning to call a trading API. It is not part of the source cited above and it describes no particular broker.
What should I do about 429 Too Many Requests?
Stop, wait, and send again more slowly. Honour Retry-After when it is present, otherwise wait longer after each refusal. Then lower the steady rate: keep a copy of what does not change, and use a streaming feed for prices where the API offers one.
This page is an independent explanation in plain words. The definition itself is in the source it was read from, which is the authority if the two ever differ.
The limits behind it differ by broker
How many requests are allowed, and over what window, is set by each API and not by the standard. Rate limits, broker by broker lists the limits recorded on this site, each with its scope and source.