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: Bloomberg
providerId: bloomberg
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:
  - Rate Limiting
  - Market Data
  - Financial Services
  - Enterprise
description: Bloomberg's BLPAPI and enterprise data services do not publish numeric rate limits on the
  open internet; quotas are governed contractually by the Terminal seat license and by data-feed
  agreements (B-PIPE, Data License). The platform enforces per-application daily caps (notably for
  BDH/BDP historical and reference data calls) and per-feed bandwidth ceilings, but precise numbers
  are released only through customer-facing documentation behind the Terminal login.
sources:
  - https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/products/bloomberg-terminal/
notes: Concrete BLPAPI quotas (e.g. WAPI<GO> daily field/security limits, monthly reference data
  caps, B-PIPE update-rate ceilings) are documented inside the Terminal under WAPI<GO>, BPS<GO>, and
  the relevant Data License customer guides. Reconcile against the active customer agreement.
responseCodes:
  throttled: see BLPAPI session response status
  quotaExceeded: see BLPAPI session response status
limits:
  - name: BLPAPI request/response (Terminal-connected)
    scope: account/terminal
    metric: varies
    limit: see WAPI<GO> in Bloomberg Terminal
    notes: Daily and monthly caps on number of unique securities and field requests are enforced per
      Terminal user; exact numbers visible inside the Terminal.
  - name: B-PIPE streaming
    scope: contract
    metric: varies
    limit: see B-PIPE service-level agreement
    notes: Update rate, subscription count, and concurrent session ceilings governed by the
      negotiated B-PIPE contract.
  - name: Bloomberg Data License (EDF / DLWS / HAPI)
    scope: contract
    metric: varies
    limit: see Data License agreement
    notes: Per-application, per-batch, and redistribution caps are contractual; HAPI request rates
      published in the Data License Web Services customer documentation.
policies:
  - name: Contractual governance
    description: All limits flow from the Terminal Subscription Agreement and the relevant data-feed
      contract; raise-via-account-manager rather than self-service.
  - name: Terminal-bound BLPAPI
    description: BLPAPI sessions normally require a logged-in Terminal on the same workstation;
      ServerAPI and B-PIPE remove this constraint via licensed gateways.
  - name: Backoff
    description: Clients should respect SessionStatus / ServiceStatus events from BLPAPI and back off
      when slow-consumer or capacity events are signaled.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com