Rate Limiter Designer Skill

Overview

This skill designs and implements rate limiting strategies including token bucket, sliding window, and quota systems to protect APIs while providing fair access.

Capabilities

• Implement token bucket and leaky bucket algorithms
• Configure per-key and per-user limits
• Design quota and usage systems
• Generate rate limit HTTP headers
• Implement distributed rate limiting
• Configure burst allowances
• Design rate limit tiers
• Handle rate limit exceeded responses

Target Processes

• Platform API Gateway Design
• Authentication and Authorization Patterns
• Developer Portal Implementation

Integration Points

• Redis for distributed state
• Rate limiting middleware
• API gateway plugins
• CDN rate limiting
• Database-backed quotas

Input Requirements

• Rate limit requirements
• Tier definitions
• Burst allowances
• Distribution strategy
• Header conventions

Output Artifacts

• Rate limiting implementation
• Quota management system
• Rate limit headers
• Tier configuration
• Admin management API
• Usage tracking

Usage Example

skill:
  name: rate-limiter-designer
  context:
    algorithm: sliding-window
    storage: redis
    tiers:
      - name: free
        requests: 100
        window: 1h
        burst: 10
      - name: pro
        requests: 10000
        window: 1h
        burst: 100
    headers:
      limit: X-RateLimit-Limit
      remaining: X-RateLimit-Remaining
      reset: X-RateLimit-Reset
    responses:
      exceeded:
        status: 429
        retryAfter: true

Best Practices

1. Use sliding window for accuracy
2. Include burst allowances
3. Return standard rate limit headers
4. Provide clear Retry-After values
5. Implement distributed limiting
6. Design fair quota systems