Rate Limits

Rate Limits

PolyNode uses per-key rate limiting to ensure fair usage.

Default Limits

Endpoint	Limit
All authenticated endpoints	120 requests per minute per key
POST /v1/keys (key generation)	3 per IP per hour
WebSocket connections	1 per key (shared subscription channel)

How It Works

• Rate limits are tracked per API key using a sliding window.
• When you exceed the limit, you’ll receive a 429 Too Many Requests response.
• The error message includes a Unix timestamp for when you can retry.

Rate Limit Response

// HTTP 429
{
  "error": "Rate limit exceeded. Retry after 1709136060."
}

Best Practices

Use WebSocket for Real-Time Data

Instead of polling REST endpoints, connect via WebSocket for live updates:

// Instead of polling /v1/markets every 5 seconds (12 req/min)...
// Use WebSocket (1 connection, unlimited events)
const ws = new WebSocket('wss://polynode.dev/ws?key=pn_live_YOUR_KEY');
ws.send(JSON.stringify({
  action: 'subscribe',
  type: 'settlements'
}));

Cache Metadata Locally

Market metadata (question, slug, outcomes) changes infrequently. Cache it and only refresh periodically:

// Fetch full market list once
const markets = await fetch('/v1/markets?count=1000', { headers }).then(r => r.json());

// Cache by token_id
const cache = new Map(markets.markets.map(m => [m.token_id, m]));

// Use cache for lookups, refresh every 5 minutes

Batch Where Possible

Use /v1/markets?count=1000 instead of individual /v1/markets/:id calls to reduce requests.

Use Filtered Subscriptions

WebSocket subscriptions with filters reduce message volume and processing overhead:

{
  "action": "subscribe",
  "type": "settlements",
  "filters": {
    "tokens": ["specific-token-id"],
    "min_size": 100
  }
}

Requesting Higher Limits

Contact us for custom rate limits for production applications.