# 42910: System rate limit exceeded

Identifier: `rate_limit_exceeded_generic`



An operation was rejected because a system rate limit was exceeded. The limit protects Ably against overload; the operation can be retried.

## What you should do

Retry the operation after a short delay, increasing the delay if it is rejected again. This is a protection Ably applies to keep the service healthy under load, not a limit specific to your account, so it is usually brief and clears on its own. If it persists, contact Ably.

## Why it happens

Ably applies system-level rate limits to protect the service from overload. While the system is shedding load, individual operations may be rejected until the pressure eases. This is independent of your account's own limits, and the specific protection involved is identified by the metric named in the error message.

## What you'll see

The operation is rejected. The error is reported with code 42910 and HTTP status 429, with a message of the form `Rate limit exceeded; request rejected (nonfatal); metric = ...`.