OpenClaw Rate Limit 429: How to Fix It
Identify whether a 429 comes from a model provider, Gateway security limiter, webhook, or ClawHub and follow the correct retry signal.
A model turn, Gateway request, webhook, or ClawHub command returns HTTP 429, rate limited, retry later, or a retryAfter value.
Do not assume every 429 means provider quota. Find the failing surface in the error body and logs.
Classify the limiter
openclaw logs --follow
openclaw models status
openclaw status --all- Provider 429: model quota, account tier, concurrency, or long-context eligibility.
- Gateway auth limiter: repeated wrong token, password, device, or browser-origin authentication.
- Gateway write limiter: too many control-plane mutations in a short window.
- Webhook limiter: repeated unauthenticated ingress attempts.
- ClawHub 429: marketplace API rate limit with
Retry-Afterinformation.
Follow the retry signal
Respect Retry-After, retryAfterMs, or the provider’s reset time. Immediate automatic retries extend lockouts and can multiply cost. Stop duplicate workers or browser tabs before retrying.
For a provider limit, reduce concurrency or context, wait for the reset, or use a separately qualified fallback. For failed Gateway authentication, correct the credential and wait for the lockout; do not weaken authentication to bypass it.
Expected result
- Logs identify one limiting surface.
- Duplicate retries stop.
- The documented wait expires.
- One controlled retry succeeds.
- A fallback is used only when it supports the same required tools.
If the message specifically mentions long-context eligibility, use Context window exceeded.
Source notes
Technical facts on this page were checked against primary sources.