> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.prompteus.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Rate Limiting

> Control the rate of requests to your Neurons to prevent abuse and manage resource usage effectively.

Rate limiting helps you control how often your Neurons can be called.

<Frame caption="Rate Limiting settings in the Neuron Settings page">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/prompteus/uTex2l3oayvFPLwX/images/rate-limiting.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=uTex2l3oayvFPLwX&q=85&s=368627edade6c93222746b3761497f30" width="1940" height="1030" data-path="images/rate-limiting.png" />
</Frame>

### Rate Limiting Rules

You can define as many rate limiting rules as you want. Each rule can have a different limit and time period. Rules are executed in order, and the first match blocks the request.

<Note>
  To speed up execution, rate limiting rules are cached for a few minutes. If you need to deploy an immediate change, we recommend [creating and deploying a new version](/neurons/editor/version-management) of your Neuron.
</Note>

### Metrics and Scopes

Rate limiting rules can be defined using the following metrics:

| Metric   | Description                                                                  |
| -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Requests | The number of requests made to the Neuron.                                   |
| Tokens   | The number of tokens processed by the Neuron, across all AI providers calls. |

<Note>
  Tokens are mixed across all AI providers calls, and are not specific to a single provider. Each provider counts tokens slightly differently, and is not normalized.
</Note>

Rate limiting rules are also defined by a scope:

| Scope    | Description                                     |
| -------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| Total    | The total number of the chosen Metrics          |
| Per IP   | The number of the chosen Metrics per IP address |
| Per User | The number of the chosen Metrics per user       |

<Note>
  `Per User` is only enforced if you are using JWT Authentication with a username property path defined, otherwise it will be ignored. See [Access Control](/neurons/settings/access-control#jwt-authentication) for more information.
</Note>

### What happens when a request is being rate limited?

When a request is being rate limited, the Neuron will return a `429` HTTP status code and an error message. Make sure to handle this error in your application.

You can monitor rate limit hits and usage patterns through the [execution logs](/neurons/logging) to fine-tune your rate limiting rules.