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Rate limits

Each developer key has its own rate limit, measured in requests per minute. New keys are created with a default of 60 requests per minute. Exceeding it returns 429 Too Many Requests.
Rate limits are per key. If you run separate workloads, create a separate key for each, so one busy integration cannot starve another and you can revoke or measure them independently.

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Handling 429

Back off and retry. Simple exponential backoff (1s, then 2s, then 4s) is enough for most integrations. Spread bursts of calls out rather than firing them in parallel.

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Metering

Every tool call is metered and aggregated per key. For each key, Nikiwa tracks:
  • Current-period units, the usage in the current billing period (YYYYMM).
  • Total calls and total units, durable lifetime counters.
  • Per-tool breakdown, calls and units grouped by tool name.
You can view all of this per key in the app. See Usage & metering.
The Tools API and the MCP server are metered and rate-limited independently, each on its own per-key window.