LangChain Rate Limits (Python)

Overview

A team deploys 10 Cloud Run workers. Each worker initializes its ChatAnthropic with InMemoryRateLimiter(requests_per_second=10) — they read the docs, they picked a safe-looking number, they shipped. Thirty seconds later the dashboard lights up with 429s: the cluster is pushing 100 RPS to Anthropic's 50 RPM tier-1 ceiling, not the 10 RPS they configured. The name is the fix — InMemoryRateLimiter is in-process. Each worker has its own counter. Ten workers × 10 RPS = 100 RPS to the provider. This is pain-catalog entry P29 and it lands on every team that scales past one pod.

Three more traps wait on the same code path:

• P07 — .with_fallbacks([backup]) defaults exceptions_to_handle=(Exception,),

which on Python <3.12 swallows KeyboardInterrupt. Ctrl+C during a 429 retry storm silently falls through to the backup chain and keeps billing.

• P30 — ChatOpenAI and ChatAnthropic default max_retries=6. That is

retries, not attempts: 7 total requests per logical call on flaky networks. One .invoke() can bill 7x.

• P31 — Anthropic's RPM counts cache reads, cache writes, and uncached

calls uniformly. Cache-heavy workloads at 50 RPM can 429 on cache writes while the ITPM dashboard shows headroom.

This skill covers measuring demand before picking a limit; the InMemoryRateLimiter vs Redis-backed limiter vs asyncio.Semaphore decision tree; the narrow exceptions_to_handle whitelist; max_retries=2 math; and the provider-specific limit taxonomy (RPM, ITPM, OTPM, concurrent, cached-vs-uncached). Pin: langchain-core 1.0.x, langchain-anthropic 1.0.x, langchain-openai 1.0.x. Pain-catalog anchors: P07, P08, P29, P30, P31. For .batch(max_concurrency=...) tuning, see the sibling skill langchain-performance-tuning — this skill is about provider-facing rate caps.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+ (3.12+ fixes the KeyboardInterrupt half of P07)
• langchain-core >= 1.0, < 2.0
• At least one provider: pip install langchain-anthropic langchain-openai
• For multi-worker prod: redis >= 4.5 client and a Redis server reachable from every worker
• Completed langchain-model-inference — the chat-model factory from that skill is where rate_limiter= gets attached

Instructions

Step 1 — Measure actual demand before picking a number

Do not guess at requests_per_second. Instrument first, size second. Attach a BaseCallbackHandler that logs per-call input_tokens, output_tokens, and cache_read_input_tokens from response.generations[].message.usage_metadata:

python
chain.with_config({"callbacks": [DemandLogger()]})

Collect 24-48 hours of representative traffic. Roll up: p50 and p95 RPM, p95 ITPM, p95 OTPM, cache hit rate. Size the limiter at 70% of the binding constraint's tier ceiling on your p95.

See Measuring Demand for the full DemandLogger implementation, pandas roll-up, OTEL integration, load-test harness, and multi-tenant sizing strategies.

Step 2 — InMemoryRateLimiter for single-process dev only; never multi-worker prod

LangChain 1.0 ships InMemoryRateLimiter as a first-class BaseChatModel parameter:

python
from langchain_anthropic import ChatAnthropic
from langchain_core.rate_limiters import InMemoryRateLimiter

limiter = InMemoryRateLimiter(
    requests_per_second=0.58,    # 35 RPM = 70% of Anthropic tier-1 50 RPM
    check_every_n_seconds=0.1,
    max_bucket_size=5,           # burst capacity
)

llm = ChatAnthropic(
    model="claude-sonnet-4-6",
    rate_limiter=limiter,
    max_retries=2,
    timeout=30,
)

InMemoryRateLimiter is per-process. Safe for:

• Single-process local dev (python script.py)
• Single-worker uvicorn (uvicorn --workers 1)
• Jupyter notebooks, batch scripts

Unsafe for (this is P29):

• Multi-worker uvicorn / gunicorn (--workers 4)
• Any container orchestrator with replica count > 1 (Cloud Run min-instances > 1, K8s, ECS)
• Distributed job runners (Celery, Temporal, Cloud Tasks fanout)

Step 3 — Redis-backed limiter for cluster-wide enforcement

For multi-worker deployments, cluster-wide rate limiting requires shared state. Redis is the default answer — atomic Lua script for sliding-window, or Redis 6.2+ CL.THROTTLE for GCRA.

python
import redis
from langchain_anthropic import ChatAnthropic
# RedisRateLimiter class defined in references/redis-limiter-pattern.md
from your_app.limiters import RedisRateLimiter

client = redis.Redis.from_url("redis://redis.internal:6379/0")

limiter = RedisRateLimiter(
    client,
    key="anthropic:prod",
    requests_per_second=35 / 60,  # 35 RPM cluster-wide, not per-worker
)

llm = ChatAnthropic(
    model="claude-sonnet-4-6",
    rate_limiter=limiter,
    max_retries=2,
    timeout=30,
)

Key scoping decisions:

• key="anthropic:prod" — all tenants share one global budget (simplest)
• key=f"anthropic:tenant:{tenant_id}" — per-tenant quota (requires cleanup for dead tenants)
• Two-level: per-tenant + global, acquire both (best for multi-tenant SaaS)

See Redis Limiter Pattern for the full RedisRateLimiter implementation (atomic Lua sliding window), the GCRA alternative via CL.THROTTLE, failure modes (Redis down, clock skew), and per-tenant cleanup strategy.

Step 4 — asyncio.Semaphore for per-worker in-flight concurrency cap

The rate limiter throttles request rate. A semaphore throttles in-flight count. Use both:

python
import asyncio

# Cluster: 35 RPM (Redis enforces)
# Worker: 20 in-flight at once (semaphore enforces)
worker_sem = asyncio.Semaphore(20)

async def bounded_invoke(inp):
    async with worker_sem:
        return await llm.ainvoke(inp)

# Fanout
results = await asyncio.gather(*[bounded_invoke(x) for x in inputs])

Why both: a semaphore prevents a single worker from queueing hundreds of pending limiter acquires against Redis (head-of-line blocking on the event loop). The limiter prevents the cluster from exceeding the provider tier. They solve different problems.

Semaphore sizing: target latency-bandwidth-product. If p95 request latency is 2s and the worker's RPS cap is 10, in-flight count ≈ 2 × 10 = 20. Overshoot is wasted memory; undershoot leaves throughput on the table.

Step 5 — Narrow with_fallbacks(exceptions_to_handle=...) — never (Exception,)

.with_fallbacks([backup]) defaults to catching Exception. This is P07 — on Python <3.12, Exception edge-cases include KeyboardInterrupt propagation. Ctrl+C during a retry storm silently hands off to the backup and keeps running. Always narrow the tuple:

python
from anthropic import (
    RateLimitError, APITimeoutError, APIConnectionError, InternalServerError,
)

resilient = (prompt | claude | parser).with_fallbacks(
    [prompt | gpt4o | parser],
    exceptions_to_handle=(
        RateLimitError, APITimeoutError,
        APIConnectionError, InternalServerError,
    ),
    # NEVER: Exception, BaseException, AuthenticationError,
    # BadRequestError, ValidationError
)

The whitelist is only transient provider errors. AuthenticationError, BadRequestError, and ValidationError are bugs in your code/credentials — fallback produces the same crash. See the sibling skill's reference langchain-sdk-patterns/references/fallback-exception-list.md for the full per-provider whitelist (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini).

Step 6 — max_retries=2, never the default max_retries=6

max_retries is retries, not attempts. Default max_retries=6 on ChatOpenAI / ChatAnthropic means initial + 6 retries = 7 billed requests per logical call (P30). On a flaky network, one .invoke() costs 7x what you budgeted.

python
# BAD — default
llm = ChatOpenAI(model="gpt-4o")  # max_retries=6

# GOOD — production default
llm = ChatOpenAI(
    model="gpt-4o",
    max_retries=2,      # initial + 2 retries = 3 total billed requests max
    timeout=30,
    rate_limiter=redis_limiter,
)

Trade resilience off to the fallback layer — with_fallbacks is strictly cheaper than retry amplification when the primary is genuinely unhealthy. Instrument retry count via callback and alert if retry rate exceeds ~5%.

See Backoff and Retry for the full math, Retry-After header handling, and circuit-breaker pattern for sustained overload.

Step 7 — Understand the provider limit taxonomy

Different providers expose different limit types. Know which one binds your workload before you size:

| Limit | Meaning | Who enforces | Binds for | |---|---|---|---| | RPM | Requests/minute (counts every call) | All three providers | Short chat replies | | ITPM | Input tokens/minute | Anthropic, OpenAI (as TPM combined) | Long document Q&A | | OTPM | Output tokens/minute | Anthropic separately; OpenAI as combined TPM | Long completions | | Concurrent | In-flight request cap | Mainly OpenAI higher tiers | Burst traffic | | Cached reads | Cache-read input tokens (Anthropic) | Anthropic separate budget line | Cache-heavy workloads (but still counts toward RPM — P31) |

Critical for Anthropic cache workloads (P31): RPM counts uniformly across cached reads, cache writes, and uncached calls. A workload at 90% cache hit rate still trips the 50 RPM ceiling at 51 requests/min. Separate monitors for cache_read_input_tokens vs input_tokens (minus cache read/write) give early warning.

Step 8 — Decision tree: which limiter to use

┌─ Single process (dev, notebooks, sync CLI, --workers 1)?
│  └─ InMemoryRateLimiter
│
├─ Multi-process but single host (same-machine pool, local gunicorn)?
│  └─ Redis-backed limiter (even localhost Redis beats InMemoryRateLimiter —
│     which still has per-process counters)
│
├─ Multi-host cluster (Cloud Run --min-instances>1, K8s, ECS)?
│  └─ Redis-backed limiter (mandatory)
│
├─ Multi-region or cross-cloud?
│  └─ Regional Redis per zone + provider-side account quota
│     (cross-region Redis latency adds 30-200ms per acquire)
│
└─ Any of the above + multi-tenant SaaS?
   └─ Two-level Redis limiter: per-tenant + global, acquire both

Always pair with asyncio.Semaphore(N) per-worker for in-flight concurrency.

Step 9 — Provider tier snapshot (verify before shipping)

2026-04-21 snapshot — re-verify against the official console before shipping.

| Provider | Free tier RPM | Tier-1 RPM | High tier RPM | Source | |---|---|---|---|---| | Anthropic | 5 | 50 (Build 1) | 4000 (Build 4) | https://docs.anthropic.com/en/api/rate-limits | | OpenAI | 3 | 500 | 10000 (Tier 5) | https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/rate-limits | | Google Gemini | 15 | 2000 (Paid 1) | 30000 (Paid 3) | https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits |

Tiers change quarterly. A limiter sized six months ago on a different tier is a liability. See Provider Tier Matrix for the full matrix including ITPM / OTPM / cached-read separation, binding-limit math, and the pre-ship verification checklist.

Output

• Instrumented DemandLogger callback attached to your chains for 24-48h before sizing
• InMemoryRateLimiter in dev / notebooks / single-worker only
• RedisRateLimiter (sliding-window Lua or CL.THROTTLE GCRA) for any multi-worker deployment, keyed per-tenant or global
• asyncio.Semaphore(N) per-worker in-flight cap paired with the cluster-wide limiter
• max_retries=2 on every ChatAnthropic / ChatOpenAI / ChatGoogleGenerativeAI
• .with_fallbacks(exceptions_to_handle=(RateLimitError, APITimeoutError, APIConnectionError, InternalServerError)) — never (Exception,)
• Per-provider tier re-verified from the official console, sized at 70% of the binding constraint

Error Handling

| Error | Cause | Fix | |---|---|---| | anthropic.RateLimitError: 429 THROTTLED at cluster RPM = N × InMemoryRateLimiter ceiling | InMemoryRateLimiter is per-process; N workers each send at their limit (P29) | Switch to Redis-backed limiter (Step 3) | | 429 on cache writes while ITPM dashboard shows headroom | Anthropic RPM counts cache writes uniformly (P31) | Budget at RPM level with limiter; separate cached vs uncached metrics | | One .invoke() bills as 7 requests on flaky networks | Default max_retries=6 (P30) | max_retries=2 + fallback layer for resilience | | Ctrl+C during retry storm silently falls through to backup chain | exceptions_to_handle=(Exception,) catches KeyboardInterrupt on Python <3.12 (P07) | Narrow tuple to (RateLimitError, APITimeoutError, APIConnectionError, InternalServerError) | | Limiter queue p95 wait > 500ms | Limiter is oversubscribed for real traffic | Re-measure demand (Step 1); upgrade provider tier OR shed load | | redis.exceptions.ConnectionError blocks all LLM calls | Redis unavailable and limiter is fail-closed | Instrument Redis health; decide fail-open (log loudly) vs fail-closed (shed load) — for provider safety, prefer fail-closed | | retry-after header climbing 2→4→8→16 | Pushing past tier; backoff amplifying, not absorbing | Lower limiter target RPS by 20%; upgrade tier if sustained | | google.api_core.exceptions.ResourceExhausted on Gemini | Gemini free tier 15 RPM is brutal | Upgrade to paid Gemini tier 1 (2000 RPM) or use Redis limiter at 10 RPM |

Examples

Multi-worker Cloud Run deployment with Anthropic tier-1 50 RPM

Ten workers, single region, Redis in same VPC. Target: 35 RPM cluster-wide (70% of 50 RPM ceiling), 20 in-flight per worker.

python
import asyncio, os, redis
from langchain_anthropic import ChatAnthropic
from anthropic import (
    RateLimitError, APITimeoutError, APIConnectionError, InternalServerError,
)
from your_app.redis_limiter import RedisRateLimiter  # see references

_client = redis.Redis.from_url(os.environ["REDIS_URL"])
anthropic_limiter = RedisRateLimiter(
    _client, key="anthropic:prod",
    requests_per_second=35 / 60,    # 35 RPM cluster-wide
)

llm = ChatAnthropic(
    model="claude-sonnet-4-6",
    rate_limiter=anthropic_limiter, # cluster gate
    max_retries=2,                  # not 6 (P30)
    timeout=30,
)

chain = (prompt | llm | parser).with_fallbacks(
    [prompt | gpt4o_backup | parser],
    exceptions_to_handle=(          # narrow tuple (P07)
        RateLimitError, APITimeoutError,
        APIConnectionError, InternalServerError,
    ),
)

worker_sem = asyncio.Semaphore(20)  # per-worker in-flight cap
async def invoke_bounded(inp):
    async with worker_sem:
        return await chain.ainvoke(inp)

Cluster behavior: every worker's limiter call hits the same Redis key. At 35 RPM cluster-wide, individual workers see fair-share throughput. max_retries=2

• narrow fallback tuple means transient 429s surface quickly and hand off to

GPT-4o instead of amplifying cost.

Multi-tenant SaaS with per-tenant isolation

Two-level Redis limiter. Per-tenant limit prevents noisy neighbors; global limit protects the provider tier.

See Redis Limiter Pattern for the two-level acquire implementation (acquire tenant key first, then global key; release tenant if global fails) and the per-tenant cleanup cron.

Single-process dev — InMemoryRateLimiter is fine

For local debugging, notebook work, or a sync CLI tool:

python
from langchain_core.rate_limiters import InMemoryRateLimiter

limiter = InMemoryRateLimiter(requests_per_second=0.5, max_bucket_size=3)
llm = ChatAnthropic(model="claude-sonnet-4-6", rate_limiter=limiter, max_retries=2)

Do not carry this into production without re-reading Step 2.

Resources

• LangChain how-to: Chat model rate limiting
• InMemoryRateLimiter API
• Anthropic rate limits
• OpenAI rate limits
• Google Gemini rate limits
• Redis CL.THROTTLE (redis-cell module)
• Pack pain catalog: docs/pain-catalog.md (entries P07, P08, P29, P30, P31)
• Sibling skills: langchain-sdk-patterns (batch concurrency, fallback exception whitelist), langchain-performance-tuning (.batch(max_concurrency=...) tuning for throughput)