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: Azure Kubernetes Service
providerId: azure-kubernetes-service
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: true
tags:
  - Containers
  - Kubernetes
  - Rate Limiting
description: AKS uses a token-bucket throttle on its resource provider APIs (control plane). Buckets
  have a fixed burst size and a sustained refill rate; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry-After.
  Cluster-creation quotas are enforced per subscription per region, with subscription-type-specific defaults
  (EA 100, PAYG 10, Free Trial 3) and self-service raise paths in the Quotas blade.
sources:
  - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/quotas-skus-regions
headers:
  retryAfter: Retry-After
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
limits:
  - name: LIST ManagedClusters (subscription)
    scope: subscription
    metric: requests_burst
    limit: 500
    notes: Burst 500; refill 1 request/second.
  - name: LIST ManagedClusters (resource group)
    scope: resourceGroup
    metric: requests_burst
    limit: 60
    notes: Burst 60; refill 1 request/second.
  - name: PUT AgentPool
    scope: agentPool
    metric: requests_burst
    limit: 20
    notes: Burst 20; refill 1 request/minute.
  - name: PUT ManagedCluster
    scope: managedCluster
    metric: requests_burst
    limit: 20
    notes: Burst 20; refill 1 request/minute.
  - name: GET ManagedCluster
    scope: managedCluster
    metric: requests_burst
    limit: 60
    notes: Burst 60; refill 1 request/second.
  - name: GET Operation Status
    scope: subscription
    metric: requests_burst
    limit: 200
    notes: Burst 200; refill 2 requests/second.
  - name: All Other AKS APIs
    scope: subscription
    metric: requests_burst
    limit: 60
    notes: Burst 60; refill 1 request/second.
  - name: AKS clusters per subscription per region (EA)
    scope: subscription/region
    metric: clusters
    limit: 100
    notes: Default for new EA subscriptions; max self-service 1,000.
  - name: AKS clusters per subscription per region (PAYG / CSP / MSDN)
    scope: subscription/region
    metric: clusters
    limit: 10
    notes: Default; max self-service 100.
  - name: AKS clusters per subscription per region (Free Trial)
    scope: subscription/region
    metric: clusters
    limit: 3
    notes: Hard cap; cannot be raised.
  - name: Maximum clusters per subscription globally
    scope: subscription
    metric: clusters
    limit: 5000
  - name: Maximum nodes per cluster (VMSS + Standard LB)
    scope: cluster
    metric: nodes
    limit: 5000
  - name: Maximum nodes per node pool
    scope: nodePool
    metric: nodes
    limit: 1000
  - name: Maximum node pools per cluster
    scope: cluster
    metric: nodePools
    limit: 100
  - name: Maximum pods per node (Azure CNI)
    scope: node
    metric: pods
    limit: 250
  - name: Maximum load-balanced services per cluster
    scope: cluster
    metric: services
    limit: 300
policies:
  - name: Token-bucket throttling
    description: AKS RP APIs use token-bucket; burst then refill. 429 with Retry-After indicates the
      bucket is empty.
  - name: Backoff
    description: Honor Retry-After (delay-seconds). Use exponential backoff with jitter; avoid bursty
      list-loops in retry logic.
  - name: Quota raise
    description: Use the Azure portal Quotas page or REST API to request cluster quota increases. Free
      Trial subscriptions cannot raise quotas.
  - name: ManagedClusters and AgentPools tracked separately
    description: Even within the same AKS cluster, ManagedClusters and AgentPools have independent buckets.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com