Reference library

Reliability & rate limiting

Retries, exponential backoff, circuit breakers, token buckets, and idempotent handlers.

11 matches
Reliability & rate limiting medium

GCRA generic cell rate algorithm in Python

Mock implementation of the Generic Cell Rate Algorithm (GCRA) for traffic shaping and rate limiting.

gcra rate-limiting traffic-shaping
Python
from collections import deque
import time

class GCRA:
    def __init__(self, rate, burst):
        self.tau = burst
        self.T = rate
        self.t = 0
        self.LCT = 0

    def add_cell(self, arrival_time):
        if arrival_time <= self.t:
            return False
        arrived_early = (arrival_time - s…
14 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

How to Implement a Bulkhead Pattern with Threading in Python

Implement a bulkhead pattern in Python that isolates concurrent tasks with a bounded semaphore, limiting active workers to prevent resource exhaustion.

bulkhead threading semaphore
Python
import threading
import time
import random


class Bulkhead:
    def __init__(self, workers: int):
        self._semaphore = threading.BoundedSemaphore(workers)
        self._lock = threading.Lock()
        self._active = 0

    def run(self, task):
        with self._semaphore:
            with self._lock:
          …
13 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

How to Implement a Sliding Window Log Rate Limiter in Python

Implements a sliding window log rate limiter in Python using a deque of timestamps to enforce a maximum request count within a rolling time window.

rate-limiting sliding-window deque
Python
from collections import deque
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from time import sleep


class SlidingWindowLog:
    def __init__(self, window_seconds: int, max_requests: int):
        self.window_seconds = window_seconds
        self.max_requests = max_requests
        self.timestamps = deque()

    def allow_…
15 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

How to Implement a Token Bucket Rate Limiter per Client IP in Python

Implements a simple sliding-window rate limiter using a dictionary of timestamp lists per client IP to limit requests per window.

rate-limiting sliding-window ip
Python
from time import time
from collections import defaultdict

class RateLimiter:
    def __init__(self, max_requests: int, window_seconds: int):
        self.max_requests = max_requests
        self.window_seconds = window_seconds
        self.clients = defaultdict(list)

    def allow(self, ip: str) -> bool:
        now…
13 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

How to Implement an Adaptive Rate Limiter in Python

Build an adaptive rate limiter that adjusts request intervals dynamically based on recent error rates, slowing down when failures spike.

rate-limiting backoff adaptive
Python
import time
import random

class AdaptiveRateLimiter:
    """Simple adaptive rate limiter that reduces requests when error rate is high."""
    
    def __init__(self, min_interval=0.1, max_interval=2.0, error_threshold=0.3):
        self.min_interval = min_interval
        self.max_interval = max_interval
        sel…
12 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

How to Send Messages to a Dead Letter Queue in Python

Simulates a poison message queue that retries failed messages up to a limit before moving them to a dead letter queue.

dlq message queue retries
Python
import json

class PoisonMessageQueue:
    def __init__(self, max_retries=3):
        self.dlq = []
        self.max_retries = max_retries
        self.processed_count = 0
        self.failed_count = 0

    def process_message(self, message_body):
        if "poison" in message_body:
            self.failed_count += 1…
15 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

How to implement a rate-limited shared counter in Python

Implements a thread-safe global counter that allows a maximum number of increments per second using a lock and time-based refill.

rate-limiting threading global-counter
Python
import threading
import time
import random

counter = 0
lock = threading.Lock()
MAX_CALLS_PER_SECOND = 3
last_refill = time.time()

def rate_limited_increment():
    global counter, last_refill
    with lock:
        now = time.time()
        if now - last_refill >= 1.0:
            last_refill = now
            count…
12 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

How to implement rate limiting per API key in Python

A simple sliding-window rate limiter that tracks request timestamps per API key and rejects requests exceeding the configured limit.

rate-limiting api time-window
Python
import time

API_RATE_LIMITS = {"api_key_1": 5, "api_key_2": 3}  # max requests per window
WINDOW_SECONDS = 10

class RateLimiter:
    def __init__(self, limits, window):
        self.limits = limits
        self.window = window
        self.requests = {key: [] for key in limits}

    def allow(self, api_key):
       …
13 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

Leaky Bucket Rate Limiter in Python: Smooth Burst Traffic

Implements a token-bucket-style leaky bucket rate limiter that smooths bursty traffic by draining at a fixed rate and dropping excess packets.

rate-limiting traffic-shaping simulation
Python
import time
import random


class LeakyBucket:
    def __init__(self, capacity, drain_rate):
        self.capacity = capacity
        self.drain_rate = drain_rate
        self.water = 0.0
        self.last_time = time.time()

    def allow(self, packet_size=1.0):
        now = time.time()
        elapsed = now - self.…
14 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

Mock Distributed Rate Limiter with Dict in Python

Simulates a distributed token-bucket rate limiter with a thread-safe dict, useful for testing before moving to Redis.

rate-limiting token-bucket threading
Python
import time
import threading
from collections import defaultdict


class DistributedRateLimiter:
    """
    A mock distributed rate limiter using a dict with thread-safe access.
    Implements a token bucket algorithm per user.
    """

    def __init__(self, rate_per_second=5, burst_capacity=10):
        self.rate_p…
13 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

Token bucket rate limiter in Python (in-memory)

Implement a thread-safe in-memory token bucket rate limiter that throttles requests based on a steady refill rate.

rate-limiting token-bucket threading
Python
import time
import threading


class TokenBucket:
    def __init__(self, capacity, refill_rate, refill_interval=1.0):
        self.capacity = capacity
        self.tokens = capacity
        self.refill_rate = refill_rate
        self.refill_interval = refill_interval
        self.last_refill = time.monotonic()
       …
14 0 Open

Browse by section

Each section groups closely related Python snippets.

Reliability & rate limiting — Python code examples

What you will find here

This page collects reliability & rate limiting snippets — short, copy-ready Python you can paste into our free online IDE and run without installing anything. Each sample includes a plain-English explanation and the full source code.

Samples vs tutorials and challenges

Samples are quick reference — one concept per page. For step-by-step teaching, use our Python tutorials. To test yourself, try quizzes or coding challenges. Clean up style with the Python formatter.