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: Civitai
providerId: civitai
created: '2026-05-25'
modified: '2026-05-25'
reconciled: false
tags:
  - Rate Limiting
  - Quotas
  - AI
description: |
  Documented rate-limit and quota surface for Civitai. As of May 2026 Civitai's developer docs note that
  per-tier rate limits and scope-level limits are pending finalization for the Orchestration API. The
  effective constraints in practice are Buzz balance, per-app OAuth spend caps, and the orchestrator's
  internal racing/scheduling. Site API public reads are cached; authenticated endpoints are not cached
  and are subject to abuse-mitigation throttling.
sources:
  - https://developer.civitai.com/orchestration/guide/authentication
  - https://developer.civitai.com/site/oauth/buzz-limits
  - https://developer.civitai.com/orchestration/guide/errors-and-retries
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  insufficientCredit: 402
algorithm: documented-as-token-bucket-pending
notes:
  - Site API public read endpoints (e.g. /api/v1/models, /api/v1/images) are CDN-cached and impose only
    abuse-protection throttling.
  - Authenticated endpoints (/api/v1/me, /vault/*, /permissions/check) are not cached.
  - Orchestration cost is paid in Buzz at workflow submit; insufficient balance returns HTTP 402 before
    any provider is engaged.
  - Per-app OAuth tokens carry a Buzz spend cap configured at app registration, capping per-day Buzz spend
    on the user's behalf.
  - Webhooks are retried on non-2xx with serialized in-order delivery per workflow. Endpoints must reply
    quickly (2xx within a few seconds) to avoid retry storms.
  - Civitai documents that final per-tier rate-limit tables and scope limits are forthcoming; consumers
    should implement exponential backoff on 429 responses.
limits:
  - tier: Free
    surface: Site API (authenticated)
    rpm: documented-as-pending
    notes: Standard abuse-prevention throttling.
  - tier: Free
    surface: Orchestration API
    rpm: documented-as-pending
    notes: Constrained primarily by Buzz balance, not by RPM/TPM.
  - tier: Bronze / Silver / Gold
    surface: Orchestration API
    rpm: documented-as-pending
    notes: Higher Buzz stipends + queue priority; explicit RPM tables not yet published.
  - tier: OAuth app (delegated)
    surface: Orchestration API
    rpm: documented-as-pending
    notes: Subject to per-app Buzz spend cap configured at app registration.