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What a ScreenshotAPI.net 429 means
ScreenshotAPI.net maps screenshots_limit_reached with HTTP 429 to exceeding the account’s permitted requests per minute. Its Help page describes a plan-dependent range of 20–80 requests per minute; it does not provide a complete plan-by-plan mapping in the available documentation. Check your account’s current plan and limit before setting a production rate. ScreenshotAPI.net Errors documentation · ScreenshotAPI.net Help
HTTP 429 generally means a client has sent too many requests during a given period. The IETF’s RFC 6585 says a response may include Retry-After to indicate how long to wait, but the header is optional under the standard. The reviewed ScreenshotAPI.net documentation does not establish that the service always returns it. RFC 6585, section 4
First, distinguish a rate limit from a monthly quota
Do not diagnose the problem from the error label alone. ScreenshotAPI.net Help uses screenshots_limit_reached for both rate limiting and monthly quota exhaustion; the documented status differs:
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| Response | Documented meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| HTTP 429 | Requests-per-minute allowance exceeded. | Pace requests and retry after a pause. |
| HTTP 403 | Monthly screenshot quota exhausted. | Check account usage and plan allowance; waiting briefly will not restore the monthly quota. |
Inspect the HTTP status, response body, and account usage together. ScreenshotAPI.net says failed screenshot attempts do not count toward plan usage, and cached screenshots count only when they are unique and fresh. Those usage-accounting statements do not say that failed attempts are exempt from the requests-per-minute limit. ScreenshotAPI.net Help
How to handle a 429, step by step
- Stop adding pressure. Pause or slow the producer sending requests. Reduce parallel requests, queue bursts, or use a client-side rate limiter rather than immediately resubmitting every failed call.
- Check for
Retry-After. If present, wait for the indicated interval before retrying. ScreenshotAPI.net’s reviewed pages do not promise that the header is included on every 429. - If there is no header, back off. Wait before trying again, then resume at a lower rate. A bounded backoff with jitter is a reasonable client-side strategy to avoid synchronized retries; ScreenshotAPI.net does not publish a specific backoff schedule or numeric delay.
- Verify the status and usage. If the response is HTTP 403, inspect monthly usage and plan allowance instead of treating it as a temporary RPM throttle.
- Compare peak demand with your plan. If legitimate traffic regularly exceeds your account’s per-minute cap, review current plan details or contact the provider. Do not infer a cap for a particular tier from the published 20–80 RPM range.
Prevent repeated 429 responses in production
Pace bursts instead of retrying them all at once
A per-minute cap can be exceeded by a short burst even when average traffic over a longer period looks modest. Put capture work into a queue when producers can generate bursts, and limit how many requests your workers release over time. When a request is throttled, avoid having every worker retry simultaneously; use a shared delay or jitter so retries do not create another burst.
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Keep RPM and monthly usage as separate controls
Set one control for request pacing and another for monthly consumption. The first prevents short-window throttling; the second helps detect whether the account is approaching its monthly allowance. ScreenshotAPI.net Help says it sends usage notifications at 80%, 90%, and 100% thresholds, but those notifications concern monthly usage, not the RPM behavior of an individual request. ScreenshotAPI.net Help
Account for the provider’s usage rules
ScreenshotAPI.net says cached screenshots are stored for 30 days and that cached captures count toward usage only when they are unique and fresh. These are monthly usage-accounting details, not a reason to increase request concurrency. Its Terms say usage depends on the subscription plan, make customers responsible for detecting and handling returned errors, and reserve the right to limit or throttle calls for malicious activity or technical errors. ScreenshotAPI.net Help · ScreenshotAPI.net Terms of Service
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Troubleshooting common cases
- 429 persists after you lower traffic: Confirm all clients sharing the account have been included in the rate calculation. Keep new work paused long enough for the limiting interval to pass, then resume gradually. The provider’s reviewed documentation does not specify a precise reset window.
- The response has no
Retry-Afterheader: That is not, by itself, evidence of a malformed response; the HTTP standard makes the header optional. Apply a client-side pause and avoid immediate repeated retries. RFC 6585, section 4 - The body says
screenshots_limit_reached, but you are unsure why: Check the HTTP status. ScreenshotAPI.net documents 429 for an RPM overrun and 403 for monthly quota exhaustion. - Requests fail but usage does not rise: ScreenshotAPI.net says failed screenshot attempts do not count toward plan usage. That does not establish that those requests cannot contribute to the RPM cap, so continue pacing them.
- You cannot identify your account’s exact RPM allowance: The Help page gives a 20–80 RPM range depending on plan, not a full plan-by-plan table. Verify the current account-specific details with ScreenshotAPI.net before configuring a fixed production ceiling.
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