Rate Limiting and API Error Handling
Protect your Next.js route handlers with rate limiting and return consistent, well-structured error responses with correct HTTP status codes.
Why Rate Limit
Public API routes are exposed to abuse: brute-force logins, scraping, and accidental floods. Rate limiting caps how many requests a client may make in a time window, protecting your backend and external service quotas.
Identifying the Client
You need a key to count requests per client. Common choices are the IP address, an API key, or the authenticated user ID. In route handlers, read the IP from headers set by your platform.
export async function GET(req) {
const ip = req.headers.get('x-forwarded-for') ?? 'unknown';
return Response.json({ ip });
}All lessons in this course
- Building API Route Handlers
- Request Validation and Security
- Integrating External Services
- Rate Limiting and API Error Handling