# 42922: Too many requests

Identifier: `rate_limit_exceeded_too_many_requests`



A request was blocked because too many requests were received in a short period, triggering Ably's flood protection. This protects the service against excessive or abusive traffic, separately from your account's own rate limits.

## What you should do

Back off and retry rather than repeating the request immediately, as short-lived bursts clear on their own. If your application is blocked persistently during legitimate use, contact Ably.

## Why it happens

Ably protects its service from excessive or abusive traffic by limiting requests at its network edge, before they reach the rest of the platform. When too many requests arrive in a short period, the excess is blocked until the rate subsides. This protection is separate from your account's configured rate limits.

## What you'll see

The request is rejected with HTTP status 429. Because it is blocked at the network edge rather than by the platform itself, the response carries the error in the headers `x-ably-errorcode: 42922` and `x-ably-errormessage: rate limit exceeded; too many requests`.