specification: API Commons Rate Limits
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/RateLimits
provider: Autodesk
providerId: autodesk
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: false
tags:
  - 3D Modeling
  - BIM
  - CAD
  - Construction
  - Engineering
  - Rate Limiting
description: Autodesk Platform Services (APS) APIs are rate-limited per-application and per-token. Per-API
  rate-limit numbers are documented in each API's reference page (e.g. Model Derivative, Data Management)
  rather than at a single canonical URL. Throttled responses use HTTP 429 with Retry-After. The public
  rate-limit overview pages were not directly fetchable for this revision.
sources:
  - https://aps.autodesk.com/developer/overview
  - https://aps.autodesk.com/en/docs
notes: APS does not publish a single canonical rate-limit table; values vary per API and per app. Verify
  per-API limits against the specific API's reference docs (e.g. Model Derivative API reference).
headers:
  retryAfter: Retry-After
  requestId: x-ads-trace-id
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  quotaExceeded: 429
  serviceUnavailable: 503
limits:
  - name: APS API Throttling (per-app, per-token)
    scope: account/app
    metric: varies
    limit: per-API limits documented in each API's reference page
    notes: Treat as variable per API; instrument 429 handling at the app level.
  - name: Model Derivative job concurrency
    scope: account/app
    metric: concurrent_requests
    limit: see Model Derivative API reference
    notes: Translation jobs are queued; concurrent translation count varies by app entitlement.
  - name: Design Automation cloud-engine concurrency
    scope: account/app
    metric: concurrent_requests
    limit: see Design Automation API reference
    notes: Cloud-engine slots throttle parallel work-item execution.
policies:
  - name: Backoff Strategy
    description: Honor Retry-After when present; use exponential backoff with jitter on 429 / 503.
  - name: Per-App Token Scoping
    description: APS rate limits are scoped to the calling app's client_id and to the access token; multi-app
      callers should split credentials.
  - name: Cloud Credits as Soft Cap
    description: For chargeable APIs (Model Derivative, Design Automation, Reality Capture, Data Exchange),
      the Cloud Credit balance acts as an additional consumption cap independent of per-second rate limits.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com