# Provider rate limiting

CrossWatch throttles requests to reduce upstream `429 Too Many Requests` errors.

Sync may be slower.

It should be more reliable.

### Defaults (no config needed)

These are the built-in defaults.

* **SIMKL**: `10` GET/sec, `1` write/sec
* **MDBList**: `10` GET/sec, `1` write/sec
* **Trakt**: `3.33` GET/sec, `1` write/sec

{% hint style="info" %}
“Write” means any non-GET request.

That includes `POST`, `PUT`, and `DELETE`.
{% endhint %}

### Override limits in `config.json`

You can override per-provider limits under `*.rate_limit`.

```json
{
  "simkl": {
    "rate_limit": {
      "get_per_sec": 10,
      "post_per_sec": 1
    }
  },
  "mdblist": {
    "rate_limit": {
      "get_per_sec": 10,
      "post_per_sec": 1
    }
  },
  "trakt": {
    "rate_limit": {
      "get_per_sec": 3.33,
      "post_per_sec": 1
    }
  }
}
```

After changing `config.json`, restart CrossWatch.

### Tuning tips

* Seeing `429 Too Many Requests`? Lower the numbers.
* Want faster sync and you’re not getting limited? Increase slowly.
* If a provider changes limits, adjust here.

{% hint style="warning" %}
If you already use **chunking** (`runtime.apply_chunk_*`), treat rate limits as the first control.

Chunking reduces blast radius.

Rate limiting reduces request pressure.
{% endhint %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://wiki.crosswatch.app/crosswatch/provider-rate-limiting.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.