rateLimits:
  - name: Standard API Rate Limit
    description: >
      iNaturalist enforces rate limits on API requests to protect the
      stability of the service. The exact rate limits are not publicly
      documented with specific numbers, but the API will return HTTP 429
      Too Many Requests responses when limits are exceeded. The iNaturalist
      API Recommended Practices page advises clients to implement reasonable
      request pacing and caching.
    type: RequestsPerMinute
    limit: 100
    period: minute
    notes: >
      Approximate limit based on community reports and client library
      defaults. iNaturalist asks developers to follow recommended practices
      including: adding delays between requests, caching responses, using
      bulk endpoints where available, and identifying your application
      via the User-Agent header.
    headers:
      - name: X-RateLimit-Limit
        description: Maximum number of requests allowed per time window
      - name: X-RateLimit-Remaining
        description: Number of requests remaining in current time window
      - name: Retry-After
        description: Seconds to wait before retrying after a 429 response
    statusCodes:
      - code: 429
        description: Too Many Requests — slow down and retry after delay
    resources:
      - type: RecommendedPractices
        url: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/api+recommended+practices
      - type: Forum
        url: https://forum.inaturalist.org
  - name: Unauthenticated Rate Limit
    description: >
      Unauthenticated requests to read-only public endpoints are subject
      to stricter rate limiting than authenticated requests. OAuth-authenticated
      clients generally receive higher limits.
    type: RequestsPerMinute
    authenticated: false
    notes: >
      Using OAuth authentication is recommended even for read operations
      to benefit from higher rate limits and to identify your application
      to iNaturalist for support purposes.