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LSLovableStudent

How do I rate-limit an API?

Last checked 31 Aug 2026

Short answer

Add per-user or per-IP request limits inside your Edge Function (or via a Postgres table tracking recent requests), since Lovable doesn't apply rate limiting to your custom endpoints automatically.

Why you need to add this yourself

Lovable Cloud and Supabase apply infrastructure-level protections, but application-level rate limiting for your own Edge Functions and public forms is something you (or Lovable, on request) need to build explicitly.

A simple approach

  1. Create a small table (e.g. rate_limits) recording identifier (user ID or IP), endpoint, and timestamp.
  2. In the Edge Function, before doing the real work, count recent rows for that identifier/endpoint within a time window (e.g. last 60 seconds).
  3. If the count exceeds your threshold, return a 429 Too Many Requests response instead of processing.

A prompt that helps

Add rate limiting to the /submit-contact-form Edge Function: no more than 5 requests per IP per minute, returning a clear error when exceeded.

Where it matters most

  • Public forms without login (contact forms, waitlist sign-ups)
  • Any Edge Function calling a paid third-party API (email sending, AI calls) — an abusive loop here has a real cost, not just a nuisance
  • Authentication endpoints (login/reset-password attempts) to slow brute-force guessing

What usually goes wrong

Rate limiting only by user ID misses anonymous abuse (no account needed to hit a public form), and rate limiting only by IP can over-block shared networks (offices, mobile carriers). Combine both where the endpoint allows it, and log rejected attempts so you can tell if the limit is too strict. See /questions/how-do-i-prevent-database-abuse and /questions/how-do-i-stop-bots for the surrounding strategy.

Sources

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