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: Giant Bomb
providerId: giantbomb
created: '2026-06-13'
modified: '2026-06-13'
tags:
  - Entertainment
  - Video Games
  - Game Database
  - Gaming
  - Media
  - Rate Limiting
  - Quotas
  - Throttling
description: >-
  Machine-readable rate limit definitions for the Giant Bomb API. The API enforces a limit of
  200 requests per resource per hour per API key. Excessive burst rates within a short window
  may trigger temporary blocks even before the hourly quota is reached. Responses use standard
  HTTP 429 status codes when limits are exceeded.
headers:
  limit: X-RateLimit-Limit
  remaining: X-RateLimit-Remaining
  reset: X-RateLimit-Reset
  retryAfter: Retry-After
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  quotaExceeded: 429
  serviceUnavailable: 503
limits:
  - tier: free
    name: Per Resource Hourly Rate Limit
    scope: api-key
    metric: requests_per_hour
    limit: 200
    timeFrame: hour
    applies:
      - Giant Bomb API
      - Games Resource
      - Characters Resource
      - Companies Resource
      - Concepts Resource
      - Franchises Resource
      - Genres Resource
      - Locations Resource
      - Objects Resource
      - Persons Resource
      - Platforms Resource
      - Releases Resource
      - Reviews Resource
      - Videos Resource
      - Search Resource
  - tier: free
    name: Burst Rate Velocity Detection
    scope: api-key
    metric: requests_per_second
    limit: 1
    burst: 5
    timeFrame: second
    note: >-
      Giant Bomb implements velocity detection to prevent malicious use. Sending too many
      requests per second may result in a temporary block even before the hourly limit is
      reached. Pacing requests is strongly recommended.
    applies:
      - Giant Bomb API
recovery:
  strategy: fixed-window
  windowSize: 3600
  windowUnit: seconds
  note: >-
    The hourly rate limit window resets on a rolling or fixed basis per resource.
    Implement exponential back-off and retry logic when receiving 429 responses.