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

# Rate Limiting

> Configure custom rate limiters with the RateLimiter facade, apply them to API routes with the throttle middleware, and handle high-traffic scenarios with Redis-backed limiting.

## How Laravel rate limiting works

Laravel's rate limiting is built on `Illuminate\Cache\RateLimiting\Limit` and the `RateLimiter` facade. Internally, a counter is stored in the cache driver (file or Redis by default) and incremented on each matching request. When a request arrives, the `throttle` middleware executes the closure you defined with `RateLimiter::for()`. If the limit has been reached, Laravel returns `429 Too Many Requests` automatically.

## Defining rate limiters in AppServiceProvider

Define your rate limiters in the `boot()` method of `App\Providers\AppServiceProvider`.

```php theme={null}
<?php

namespace App\Providers;

use Illuminate\Cache\RateLimiting\Limit;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\RateLimiter;
use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;

class AppServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
    public function boot(): void
    {
        RateLimiter::for('api', function (Request $request) {
            return Limit::perMinute(60)->by($request->user()?->id ?: $request->ip());
        });
    }
}
```

The first argument to `RateLimiter::for()` is the limiter name — you reference this name in the `throttle` middleware. The closure must return a `Limit` instance (or an array of `Limit` instances).

## Defining limits per user, plan, or IP

### Authenticated users vs guests

```php theme={null}
RateLimiter::for('uploads', function (Request $request) {
    return $request->user()
        ? Limit::perHour(100)->by($request->user()->id)
        : Limit::perHour(10)->by($request->ip());
});
```

### Per-plan limits

```php theme={null}
RateLimiter::for('api', function (Request $request) {
    $user = $request->user();

    if (! $user) {
        return Limit::perMinute(30)->by($request->ip());
    }

    return match ($user->plan) {
        'enterprise' => Limit::none(),
        'pro'        => Limit::perMinute(500)->by($user->id),
        default      => Limit::perMinute(60)->by($user->id),
    };
});
```

### Global IP-based limit

Throttle all requests from a single IP address regardless of the route.

```php theme={null}
RateLimiter::for('global', function (Request $request) {
    return Limit::perMinute(1000)->by($request->ip());
});
```

### Combining multiple limits

Return an array of `Limit` instances to enforce all limits simultaneously. Laravel returns `429` as soon as any one of them is exceeded.

```php theme={null}
RateLimiter::for('login', function (Request $request) {
    return [
        Limit::perMinute(10)->by($request->ip()),
        Limit::perMinute(3)->by($request->input('email')),
    ];
});
```

<Info>
  When multiple limits share the same `by` key, they will overwrite each other in the cache. Add a prefix to keep them separate.
</Info>

```php theme={null}
RateLimiter::for('uploads', function (Request $request) {
    return [
        Limit::perMinute(10)->by('minute:' . $request->user()->id),
        Limit::perDay(1000)->by('day:' . $request->user()->id),
    ];
});
```

## Attaching limiters to routes with the throttle middleware

Pass the limiter name to the `throttle` middleware.

```php theme={null}
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

Route::middleware(['throttle:api'])->group(function () {
    Route::get('/user', function () { /* ... */ });
    Route::post('/posts', function () { /* ... */ });
});
```

### Registering in bootstrap/app.php

In Laravel 11+, middleware is managed in `bootstrap/app.php`.

```php theme={null}
use Illuminate\Foundation\Application;

return Application::configure(basePath: dirname(__DIR__))
    ->withRouting(
        web: __DIR__ . '/../routes/web.php',
        api: __DIR__ . '/../routes/api.php',
        apiPrefix: 'api',
    )
    ->withMiddleware(function (\Illuminate\Foundation\Configuration\Middleware $middleware): void {
        $middleware->throttleApi('api');
    })
    ->create();
```

## Full API example

<Steps>
  <Step title="Define the limiters">
    Add multiple limiters to `AppServiceProvider`.

    ```php theme={null}
    public function boot(): void
    {
        // General API access
        RateLimiter::for('api', function (Request $request) {
            return Limit::perMinute(60)->by($request->user()?->id ?: $request->ip());
        });

        // File uploads
        RateLimiter::for('uploads', function (Request $request) {
            return $request->user()?->isPro()
                ? Limit::perHour(500)->by($request->user()->id)
                : Limit::perHour(50)->by($request->user()?->id ?: $request->ip());
        });

        // Login attempts
        RateLimiter::for('login', function (Request $request) {
            return [
                Limit::perMinute(10)->by($request->ip()),
                Limit::perMinute(5)->by($request->input('email')),
            ];
        });
    }
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Apply middleware to routes">
    ```php theme={null}
    // routes/api.php
    use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

    Route::middleware(['auth:sanctum', 'throttle:api'])->group(function () {
        Route::get('/user', [\App\Http\Controllers\UserController::class, 'show']);
        Route::get('/posts', [\App\Http\Controllers\PostController::class, 'index']);
    });

    Route::middleware(['auth:sanctum', 'throttle:uploads'])->group(function () {
        Route::post('/uploads', [\App\Http\Controllers\UploadController::class, 'store']);
    });

    Route::middleware(['throttle:login'])->group(function () {
        Route::post('/login', [\App\Http\Controllers\AuthController::class, 'login']);
    });
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Response headers

The `throttle` middleware automatically adds rate limit headers to every response.

| Header                  | Description                                                    |
| ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `X-RateLimit-Limit`     | Total requests allowed in the window                           |
| `X-RateLimit-Remaining` | Requests remaining in the current window                       |
| `Retry-After`           | Seconds until the next request is allowed (429 responses only) |
| `X-RateLimit-Reset`     | Unix timestamp when the limit resets                           |

```http theme={null}
HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
X-RateLimit-Limit: 60
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 0
Retry-After: 45
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1717000000
Content-Type: application/json

{
    "message": "Too Many Requests."
}
```

### Returning a custom response

```php theme={null}
RateLimiter::for('api', function (Request $request) {
    return Limit::perMinute(60)
        ->by($request->user()?->id ?: $request->ip())
        ->response(function (Request $request, array $headers) {
            return response()->json([
                'message' => 'Rate limit exceeded. Please try again later.',
                'retry_after' => $headers['Retry-After'],
            ], 429, $headers);
        });
});
```

## Response-based rate limiting

Use `after()` when you only want to count certain responses toward the limit. The callback receives the response and should return `true` if the response should be counted.

```php theme={null}
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;

RateLimiter::for('resource-lookup', function (Request $request) {
    return Limit::perMinute(10)
        ->by($request->user()?->id ?: $request->ip())
        ->after(function (Response $response) {
            return $response->getStatusCode() === 404;
        });
});
```

This pattern prevents enumeration attacks by limiting consecutive 404 responses without penalising requests that return valid resources.

## Manual rate limiting with RateLimiter::attempt()

When you need to apply rate limiting outside of the `throttle` middleware — for example, inside a controller action — use `RateLimiter::attempt()`.

```php theme={null}
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\RateLimiter;

class SmsController extends Controller
{
    public function send(Request $request): \Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse
    {
        $key = 'sms:' . $request->user()->id;

        $executed = RateLimiter::attempt(
            key: $key,
            maxAttempts: 5,
            callback: function () use ($request) {
                app(SmsService::class)->send(
                    $request->user()->phone,
                    $request->input('message')
                );
            },
            decaySeconds: 3600, // 1 hour window
        );

        if (! $executed) {
            $seconds = RateLimiter::availableIn($key);

            return response()->json([
                'message' => "SMS limit exceeded. Try again in {$seconds} seconds.",
            ], 429);
        }

        return response()->json(['message' => 'SMS sent.']);
    }
}
```

### Inspecting and resetting counters

```php theme={null}
// Current hit count
$hits = RateLimiter::attempts($key);

// Seconds until the window resets
$seconds = RateLimiter::availableIn($key);

// Check whether the limit has been exceeded
$tooMany = RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($key, $maxAttempts = 5);

// Manually reset the counter (e.g. after logout)
RateLimiter::clear($key);
```

### Login throttling example

```php theme={null}
public function login(Request $request): mixed
{
    $key = 'login:' . $request->input('email');

    if (RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($key, 5)) {
        $seconds = RateLimiter::availableIn($key);

        throw ValidationException::withMessages([
            'email' => "Too many login attempts. Try again in {$seconds} seconds.",
        ]);
    }

    if (! Auth::attempt($request->only('email', 'password'))) {
        RateLimiter::hit($key, 300); // 5-minute window

        throw ValidationException::withMessages([
            'email' => 'The provided credentials are incorrect.',
        ]);
    }

    RateLimiter::clear($key);

    return redirect()->intended('/dashboard');
}
```

## Redis-backed rate limiting

Switching the cache driver to Redis automatically makes the `throttle` middleware use Redis as its backing store.

### Configuring Redis as the cache driver

```php theme={null}
// config/cache.php
'default' => env('CACHE_DRIVER', 'redis'),
```

```ini theme={null}
# .env
CACHE_DRIVER=redis
REDIS_HOST=127.0.0.1
REDIS_PORT=6379
```

### Using throttleWithRedis

For Redis-optimised throttling with atomic increment operations, call `throttleWithRedis()` in `bootstrap/app.php`. This maps the `throttle` middleware to `ThrottleRequestsWithRedis`.

```php theme={null}
use Illuminate\Foundation\Application;

return Application::configure(basePath: dirname(__DIR__))
    ->withRouting(
        web: __DIR__ . '/../routes/web.php',
        api: __DIR__ . '/../routes/api.php',
        apiPrefix: 'api',
    )
    ->withMiddleware(function (\Illuminate\Foundation\Configuration\Middleware $middleware): void {
        $middleware->throttleWithRedis();
    })
    ->create();
```

<Warning>
  `throttleWithRedis()` requires Redis to be reachable. If the Redis connection fails, requests may be rejected. Monitor your Redis instance and configure appropriate timeouts.
</Warning>

Redis-backed rate limiting provides:

* **Horizontal scaling** — counters are shared across multiple server instances
* **Precision** — atomic operations prevent race conditions
* **Automatic cleanup** — Redis TTLs expire counters without additional maintenance

## Related page

<Card title="Caching" icon="database" href="/en/cache">
  Configure Redis and other cache drivers used by the rate limiter.
</Card>


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