# Rate Limits Rate limit mechanics are shared by every Stream product and documented on [Rate limits](https://getstream.io/docs/platform/rate-limits/): how limits are counted, the `X-RateLimit-*` headers, inspecting your quotas, catching 429s, and enabling automatic retries in the server SDKs. This page lists the chat endpoint limits and chat-specific practices. ## Rate Limits by Endpoint Default rate limits for self-serve plans (per minute, per platform). | API Request | Limit/min | | ---------------------- | --------- | | Connect | 10,000 | | Get or Create Channel | 10,000 | | Get App | 10,000 | | Mark All Read | 10,000 | | Mark Read | 10,000 | | Query Channels | 10,000 | | Send Event | 10,000 | | Create Guest | 1,000 | | Delete Message | 1,000 | | Delete Reaction | 1,000 | | Get Message | 1,000 | | Get Reactions | 1,000 | | Get Replies | 1,000 | | Query Users | 1,000 | | Run Message Action | 1,000 | | Send Message | 1,000 | | Send Reaction | 1,000 | | Stop Watching Channel | 1,000 | | Update Message | 1,000 | | Upload File | 1,000 | | Upload Image | 1,000 | | Ban | 300 | | Create Device | 300 | | Edit Users | 300 | | Flag | 300 | | Hide Channel | 300 | | Mute | 300 | | Query Members | 300 | | Search | 300 | | Show Channel | 300 | | Unban | 300 | | Unflag | 300 | | Unmute | 300 | | Update Channel | 300 | | Update Users | 300 | | Update Users (Partial) | 300 | | Activate User | 60 | | Check Push | 60 | | Create Channel Type | 60 | | Deactivate User | 60 | | Delete Channel | 60 | | Delete Channel Type | 60 | | Delete Device | 60 | | Delete File | 60 | | Delete User | 60 | | Export Channel | 60 | | Export User | 60 | | Get Channel Type | 60 | | List Channel Types | 60 | | List Devices | 60 | | Truncate Channel | 60 | | Update App | 60 | | Update Channel Type | 60 | All endpoints also enforce the user rate limit of 60 requests per minute per user. Rate limits can be adjusted based on your use case and plan. ## Avoiding Rate Limits in Chat In addition to the [general practices](https://getstream.io/docs/platform/rate-limits/#avoiding-rate-limits), chat integrations should: 1. **Avoid redundant queries** - Channel creation is an upsert operation. Do not call `QueryChannels` to check if a channel exists before creating it. See [Query Channels](https://getstream.io/chat/docs/unreal/query-channels/). 2. **Use one WebSocket per user** - Multiple WebSocket connections per user cause performance issues, billing problems, and unexpected behavior. See [Initialization & Users](https://getstream.io/chat/docs/javascript/init-and-users/). 3. **Follow livestream best practices** - High-volume messaging scenarios require additional optimization. See [Livestream Best Practices](https://getstream.io/chat/docs/unreal/livestream-best-practices/). ## Handling 429s in the Unity SDK The Unity SDK surfaces rate limits and other API errors through `StreamApiException`. The exception classes are documented in [Error handling](https://getstream.io/docs/platform/error-handling/), and the full list of codes in [API error codes](https://getstream.io/docs/platform/api-error-codes/): ```csharp // Example 1 — single catch + switch on the numeric error code. try { await channel.SendNewMessageAsync("Hello"); } catch (StreamApiException ex) { // ex.Code / ex.StatusCode / ex.ErrorMessage / ex.ExceptionFields / ex.MoreInfo // are all available for inspection. See the API Error Codes docs page // for the full list. switch (ex.Code) { case StreamApiException.RateLimitErrorStreamCode: // HTTP 429 — back off with exponential delay before retrying. await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1)); break; case StreamApiException.CooldownErrorStreamCode: // HTTP 403 — slow-mode cooldown. Gate the send UI for `channel.Cooldown` seconds. break; case StreamApiException.PermissionDeniedErrorStreamCode: // HTTP 403 — user lacks permission. Hide / disable the control. break; default: Debug.LogError($"Stream API error {ex.Code} (HTTP {ex.StatusCode}): {ex.ErrorMessage}"); break; } } // Alternatively, use the `when` syntax combined with our dedicated // error-checking extensions. try { await channel.SendNewMessageAsync("Hello"); } catch (StreamApiException ex) when (ex.IsRateLimitExceededError()) { // HTTP 429 / Stream code 9 — back off before retrying. await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1)); } // Most common error cases have a dedicated extension method on StreamApiException. // Pick the helper that matches your branch instead of comparing `ex.Code` by hand: // IsRateLimitExceededError (429 / 9) — back off and retry // IsCooldownError (403 / 60) — gate UI for `channel.Cooldown` seconds // IsPermissionDeniedError (403 / 17) — hide the UI control // IsNoAccessToChannelsError (403 / 70) — drop the channel locally // IsAppSuspendedError (403 / 99) — show service-unavailable UI // IsAuthenticationError (401 / 5) — send the user back to sign-in // IsTokenExpiredError (401 / 40) — refresh the token // IsTokenError (401 / 40-43) — any token-related failure // IsDoesNotExistError (404 / 16) — refresh the local view // IsInputError (400 / 4) — inspect `ex.ExceptionFields` // IsMessageTooLongError (400 / 20) — show character-limit error // IsMessageModerationFailedError (400 / 73) — show "filtered" UI // IsPayloadTooBigError (413 / 22) — ask for a smaller file // IsInternalSystemError (500 / -1) — retry, then surface a transient-failure UI // // The general guidance: wrap a call in try/catch where you want to react // specifically (rate-limit back-off, cooldown UI, validation feedback, // permission gating). For everything else, let the exception propagate to // your global error handler — every SDK call already throws StreamApiException // on server-rejected requests, so a single boundary catch is enough. ``` --- This page was last updated at 2026-08-11T12:49:41.907Z. For the most recent version of this documentation, visit [https://getstream.io/chat/docs/unreal/rate-limits/](https://getstream.io/chat/docs/unreal/rate-limits/).