webflow-rate-limits

by jeremylongshore

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SKILL.md About

---
name: webflow-rate-limits
description: "Handle Webflow Data API v2 rate limits \u2014 per-key limits, Retry-After\
  \ headers,\nexponential backoff, request queuing, and bulk endpoint optimization.\n\
  Use when hitting 429 errors, implementing retry logic,\nor optimizing API request\
  \ throughput.\nTrigger with phrases like \"webflow rate limit\", \"webflow throttling\"\
  ,\n\"webflow 429\", \"webflow retry\", \"webflow backoff\", \"webflow too many requests\"\
  .\n"
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit
version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
author: Jeremy Longshore <jeremy@intentsolutions.io>
tags:
- saas
- design
- no-code
- webflow
compatibility: Designed for Claude Code
---
# Webflow Rate Limits

## Overview

Handle Webflow Data API v2 rate limits using the SDK's built-in retry, manual
backoff strategies, request queuing, and bulk endpoints to maximize throughput
without hitting 429 errors.

## Prerequisites

- `webflow-api` SDK installed
- Understanding of async/await patterns
- Knowledge of your site plan's rate limits

## Webflow Rate Limit Rules

### Per-Key Rate Limits

Rate limits are applied **per API key** (not per site or per user). Each token
has its own independent rate limit counter.

| Rule | Details |
|------|---------|
| Scope | Per API key |
| Reset window | 60 seconds (Retry-After header) |
| CDN-cached requests | Do **not** count against rate limits |
| Bulk endpoints | 1 request = 1 rate limit count (up to 100 items) |
| Site publish | Max 1 successful publish per minute |
| Webhook registrations | Max 75 per `triggerType` per site |

### Rate Limit Response Headers

| Header | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `X-RateLimit-Limit` | Max requests allowed in the window |
| `X-RateLimit-Remaining` | Requests remaining in current window |
| `Retry-After` | Seconds to wait before retrying (on 429) |

### 429 Response

```json
{
  "code": "rate_limit",
  "message": "Rate limit exceeded. Please retry after 60 seconds."
}
```

## Instructions

### Step 1: SDK Built-In Retry

The `webflow-api` SDK automatically retries 429 and 5xx errors with exponential backoff:

```typescript
import { WebflowClient } from "webflow-api";

const webflow = new WebflowClient({
  accessToken: process.env.WEBFLOW_API_TOKEN!,
  maxRetries: 3, // Default: 2. SDK uses exponential backoff.
});

// The SDK handles 429s transparently — no extra code needed
const { sites } = await webflow.sites.list();
```

### Step 2: Manual Exponential Backoff with Jitter

For operations outside the SDK or when you need custom retry logic:

```typescript
async function withBackoff<T>(
  operation: () => Promise<T>,
  config = {
    maxRetries: 5,
    baseDelayMs: 1000,
    maxDelayMs: 60000,
    jitterMs: 500,
  }
): Promise<T> {
  for (let attempt = 0; attempt <= config.maxRetries; attempt++) {
    try {
      return await operation();
    } catch (error: any) {
      const status = error.statusCode || error.status;

// Only retry on 429 (rate limit) and 5xx (server errors)
      if (attempt === config.maxRetries) throw error;
      if (status !== 429 && (status < 500 || status >= 600)) throw error;

// Honor Retry-After header if present
      const retryAfter = error.headers?.get?.("Retry-After");
      let delay: number;

if (retryAfter) {
        delay = parseInt(retryAfter) * 1000;
      } else {
        // Exponential backoff with jitter to prevent thundering herd
        const exponential = config.baseDelayMs * Math.pow(2, attempt);
        const jitter = Math.random() * config.jitterMs;
        delay = Math.min(exponential + jitter, config.maxDelayMs);
      }

console.log(`Rate limited (attempt ${attempt + 1}). Retrying in ${delay}ms...`);
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, delay));
    }
  }
  throw new Error("Unreachable");
}

// Usage
const items = await withBackoff(() =>
  webflow.collections.items.listItems(collectionId)
);
```

### Step 3: Request Queue with Concurrency Control

Use `p-queue` to limit concurrent requests and prevent rate limit bursts:

```typescript
import PQueue from "p-queue";

// Webflow rate limits reset every 60 seconds
// Adjust concurrency based on your plan's limit
const queue = new PQueue({
  concurrency: 5,       // Max parallel requests
  interval: 1000,       // Time window (ms)
  intervalCap: 10,      // Max requests per interval
});

async function queuedRequest<T>(operation: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
  return queue.add(operation) as Promise<T>;
}

// Usage — requests are automatically queued and throttled
const results = await Promise.all(
  collectionIds.map(id =>
    queuedRequest(() => webflow.collections.items.listItems(id))
  )
);
```

### Step 4: Use Bulk Endpoints to Reduce Request Count

A single bulk request counts as **one** rate limit hit but handles up to 100 items:

```typescript
// BAD: 100 individual requests = 100 rate limit counts
for (const item of items) {
  await webflow.collections.items.createItem(collectionId, { fieldData: item });
}

// GOOD: 1 bulk request = 1 rate limit count
await webflow.collections.items.createItemsBulk(collectionId, {
  items: items.slice(0, 100).map(item => ({ fieldData: item })),
});
```

Available bulk endpoints:
- `createItemsBulk` — Create up to 100 items
- `updateItemsBulk` — Update up to 100 items
- `deleteItemsBulk` — Delete up to 100 items
- `publishItem` — Publish multiple items by ID

### Step 5: Rate Limit Monitor

Track rate limit usage across your application:

```typescript
class RateLimitMonitor {
  private remaining = Infinity;
  private limit = 0;
  private resetAt: Date = new Date();

updateFromHeaders(headers: Headers) {
    const remaining = headers.get("X-RateLimit-Remaining");
    const limit = headers.get("X-RateLimit-Limit");
    const retryAfter = headers.get("Retry-After");

if (remaining) this.remaining = parseInt(remaining);
    if (limit) this.limit = parseInt(limit);
    if (retryAfter) {
      this.resetAt = new Date(Date.now() + parseInt(retryAfter) * 1000);
    }
  }

shouldThrottle(): boolean {
    return this.remaining < 5 && new Date() < this.resetAt;
  }

async waitIfNeeded(): Promise<void> {
    if (this.shouldThrottle()) {
      const waitMs = Math.max(0, this.resetAt.getTime() - Date.now());
      console.log(`Throttling: waiting ${waitMs}ms for rate limit reset`);
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, waitMs));
    }
  }

getStatus() {
    return {
      remaining: this.remaining,
      limit: this.limit,
      resetAt: this.resetAt.toISOString(),
      throttled: this.shouldThrottle(),
    };
  }
}
```

### Step 6: Batch Processing Large Datasets

For operations involving thousands of items:

```typescript
async function processLargeDataset(
  collectionId: string,
  allItems: Array<Record<string, any>>,
  batchSize = 100,
  delayBetweenBatchesMs = 1000
) {
  const results = { created: 0, failed: 0, errors: [] as any[] };

for (let i = 0; i < allItems.length; i += batchSize) {
    const batch = allItems.slice(i, i + batchSize);
    const batchNum = Math.floor(i / batchSize) + 1;
    const totalBatches = Math.ceil(allItems.length / batchSize);

try {
      await withBackoff(() =>
        webflow.collections.items.createItemsBulk(collectionId, {
          items: batch.map(item => ({ fieldData: item, isDraft: false })),
        })
      );
      results.created += batch.length;
      console.log(`Batch ${batchNum}/${totalBatches}: ${batch.length} items created`);
    } catch (error) {
      results.failed += batch.length;
      results.errors.push({ batch: batchNum, error });
    }

// Delay between batches to stay within rate limits
    if (i + batchSize < allItems.length) {
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, delayBetweenBatchesMs));
    }
  }

return results;
}
```

## Output

- SDK auto-retry configured for 429 errors
- Manual backoff with Retry-After header support
- Request queue with concurrency control
- Bulk endpoints reducing request count by 100x
- Rate limit monitoring and adaptive throttling

## Error Handling

| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| Persistent 429s | Too many keys sharing same plan | Reduce concurrency or upgrade plan |
| Site publish 429 | >1 publish/minute | Enforce 60s cooldown between publishes |
| Thundering herd | Multiple processes retry simultaneously | Add random jitter to backoff |
| Bulk request 400 | >100 items in batch | Cap batch size at 100 |

## Resources

- [Rate Limits Reference](https://developers.webflow.com/data/reference/rate-limits)
- [Bulk CMS Endpoints](https://developers.webflow.com/data/changelog/10232024)
- [p-queue Documentation](https://github.com/sindresorhus/p-queue)

## Next Steps

For security configuration, see `webflow-security-basics`.