name: Bird API Rate Limits
description: Bird enforces per-workspace rate limits on all API endpoints. Default
  limits apply to all plans; enterprise customers can negotiate higher limits. Exceeded
  limits return HTTP 429 and requests are safe to retry. Channel-level provider limits
  trigger internal buffering with exponential backoff retries.
url: https://docs.bird.com/api/channels-api/rate-limit
created: '2026-06-13'
modified: '2026-06-13'
rate_limits:
  default:
    scope: Per workspace, per API key
    get_requests:
      limit: 50
      unit: requests per second
    post_requests:
      limit: 500
      unit: requests per second
    burst_capacity:
      limit: 250
      notes: Short burst above base rate permitted before throttling
    exceeded_response:
      http_status: 429
      message: Too Many Requests
      retry_safe: true
      notes: A 429 response means the request was not processed and can be safely
        retried
  enterprise:
    scope: Per workspace, negotiated per contract
    get_requests:
      limit: Up to 10000
      unit: requests per second
    post_requests:
      limit: Up to 10000
      unit: requests per second
    notes: Contact Bird support to increase rate limits beyond defaults
  channel_provider_limits:
    description: Individual channel providers (e.g. WhatsApp, SMS carriers) impose
      their own throughput limits independent of workspace API rate limits
    behavior: When channel-level limits are reached, Bird buffers the traffic internally
      and retries delivery automatically
    retry_policy:
      max_retries: 10
      backoff: Exponential
      success_outcome: Message transitions to SENT status upon successful retry
constraints:
  max_request_body_size:
    value: 200
    unit: KB
  list_pagination:
    max_results_per_request: 1000
    pagination_type: Cursor-based
  message_scheduling:
    min_lead_time: 10 minutes ahead of send time
    max_lead_time: 35 days ahead of send time
  tags_per_message:
    max: 10
headers:
  notes: Rate limit response headers (X-RateLimit-Remaining, X-RateLimit-Reset) are
    included in API responses to help clients track usage
authentication:
  method: Access Key
  header: Authorization
  format: 'AccessKey <access-key>'
  management_url: https://app.bird.com/settings/security/access-keys
  notes: Access keys are scoped to roles; always assign minimum required permissions