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: Propeller Aero
providerId: propeller-aero
created: '2026-07-04'
modified: '2026-07-04'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Drone Survey
- Geospatial
- Rate Limiting
- Quotas
- Throttling
description: >-
  Propeller does not publish specific numeric rate limits for the Public API in
  its public documentation. As a paid, plan-gated REST API, access is scoped by
  subscription entitlement (Public API is available on higher tiers such as
  Scale) rather than by a metered per-call quota. Clients should assume standard
  HTTP throttling protections apply, handle HTTP 429 responses, and honor any
  Retry-After header. Survey-file download URLs are time-limited.
notes: >-
  No documented RPM/RPS/daily quota values were found as of the review date.
  Confirm any enforced limits, concurrency caps, and download-URL expiry windows
  with Propeller during reconciliation.
sources:
- https://propelleraero.readme.io/docs/getting-started
- https://propelleraero.readme.io/reference
- https://help.propelleraero.com/hc/en-us/articles/19383843944599-Using-Propeller-API
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
limits:
- name: Public API Requests
  scope: account
  metric: requests
  limit: see provider documentation
  notes: No public numeric limit documented; access is plan-gated per subscription.
- name: Survey File Download URLs
  scope: resource
  metric: expiry
  limit: time-limited
  notes: Download URLs returned for survey files expire after a short window.
policies:
- name: Plan-Gated Access
  description: Public API is a premium entitlement of higher tiers (e.g. Scale); availability is controlled by subscription rather than metered usage.
- name: Backoff Strategy
  description: Clients should implement exponential backoff with jitter and honor Retry-After on HTTP 429 responses.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com