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: Linea
providerId: linea
created: '2026-06-13'
modified: '2026-06-13'
reconciled: false
tags:
  - Blockchain
  - Layer 2
  - Ethereum
  - ZK-EVM
  - Rate Limiting
description: >-
  Linea exposes three distinct API surfaces with independent rate limits. The public JSON-RPC
  endpoint (rpc.linea.build) is free but rate-limited per IP; exact limits are not published
  and vary with network load — production traffic should use private node providers (Infura,
  Alchemy). The Token REST API enforces a hard cap of 2 requests per second and 60 requests
  per minute per IP address. The Lineascan explorer API follows Etherscan V2 tier limits
  ranging from 3 calls/second on the Free tier up to 30 calls/second on Professional and
  unmetered on Enterprise. Throttled responses return HTTP 429.
sources:
  - https://docs.linea.build/api/token-api/overview
  - https://etherscan.io/apis?id=59144
  - https://docs.etherscan.io/getting-started/rate-limits
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
limits:
  - name: Public RPC endpoint
    scope: ip_address
    metric: requests_per_second
    limit: -1
    notes: >-
      rpc.linea.build is rate-limited per IP but exact thresholds are not publicly documented.
      Free and suitable for development; use Infura, Alchemy, or QuickNode for production.

  - name: Token API - per second
    scope: ip_address
    metric: requests_per_second
    limit: 2
    notes: Hard cap of 2 requests per second per IP address on the Token REST API.

  - name: Token API - per minute
    scope: ip_address
    metric: requests_per_minute
    limit: 60
    notes: Hard cap of 60 requests per minute per IP address on the Token REST API.

  - name: Lineascan Explorer API - Free tier
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_second
    limit: 3
    notes: Community chain free tier; 100,000 calls/day maximum.

  - name: Lineascan Explorer API - Free tier daily
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_day
    limit: 100000
    notes: Daily call quota for the Free tier of the Etherscan V2 API.

  - name: Lineascan Explorer API - Lite tier
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_second
    limit: 5
    notes: $49/month; 100,000 calls/day; all supported chains.

  - name: Lineascan Explorer API - Standard tier
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_second
    limit: 10
    notes: $199/month; 200,000 calls/day; includes API Pro endpoints.

  - name: Lineascan Explorer API - Advanced tier
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_second
    limit: 20
    notes: $299/month; 500,000 calls/day.

  - name: Lineascan Explorer API - Professional tier
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_second
    limit: 30
    notes: $399/month; 1,000,000 calls/day.

  - name: Lineascan Explorer API - Enterprise tier
    scope: api_key
    metric: requests_per_second
    limit: -1
    notes: Custom pricing; unmetered rate limits with dedicated infrastructure and SLA.

policies:
  - name: Exponential Backoff
    description: >-
      On HTTP 429 responses, apply exponential backoff with jitter before retrying. The Token API
      documentation explicitly recommends this pattern.
  - name: Caching
    description: >-
      Cache token metadata and price responses locally to reduce Token API call volume;
      price data updates on a cadence that does not require per-request freshness.
  - name: Pagination
    description: >-
      Use page and limit parameters on Token API list endpoints; use the Lineascan API cursor
      or offset parameters for large result sets rather than tightening page size and re-polling.
  - name: Private RPC for Production
    description: >-
      The public rpc.linea.build endpoint is unsuitable for production traffic due to undocumented
      rate limits and no SLA. Register with Infura, Alchemy, QuickNode, Chainstack, or Dwellir
      for a private endpoint with guaranteed throughput.
  - name: API Key Per Workload
    description: >-
      Obtain separate Lineascan API keys per application workload to isolate quota consumption
      and enable per-service cost attribution.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com