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instantly-rate-limits

Implement Instantly.ai rate limiting, backoff, and request throttling patterns. Use when handling 429 errors, implementing retry logic, or building high-throughput Instantly integrations. Trigger with phrases like "instantly rate limit", "instantly 429", "instantly throttle", "instantly backoff", "instantly retry".

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SKILL.md
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Security

Instantly Rate Limits

Overview

Handle Instantly API v2 rate limits. The API returns 429 Too Many Requests when limits are exceeded. Most endpoints follow standard limits. The email listing endpoint has a stricter constraint of 20 requests per minute. Failed webhook deliveries are retried up to 3 times within 30 seconds.

Prerequisites

  • Completed instantly-install-auth setup
  • Understanding of exponential backoff patterns

Known Rate Limits

EndpointLimitNotes
Most API endpointsStandard REST limitsVaries by plan
GET /emails20 req/minStricter — email listing
Webhook deliveries3 retries in 30sInstantly retries to your endpoint
Background jobsN/AAsync — poll via GET /background-jobs/{id}

Instructions

Step 1: Exponential Backoff with Jitter

import { InstantlyApiError } from "./src/instantly/client";

interface RetryOptions {
  maxRetries: number;
  baseDelayMs: number;
  maxDelayMs: number;
}

const DEFAULT_RETRY: RetryOptions = {
  maxRetries: 5,
  baseDelayMs: 1000,
  maxDelayMs: 30000,
};

async function withBackoff<T>(
  operation: () => Promise<T>,
  opts: Partial<RetryOptions> = {}
): Promise<T> {
  const { maxRetries, baseDelayMs, maxDelayMs } = { ...DEFAULT_RETRY, ...opts };

  for (let attempt = 0; attempt <= maxRetries; attempt++) {
    try {
      return await operation();
    } catch (err) {
      const isRetryable =
        err instanceof InstantlyApiError &&
        (err.status === 429 || err.status >= 500);

      if (!isRetryable || attempt === maxRetries) throw err;

      // Parse Retry-After header if available
      let delay = baseDelayMs * Math.pow(2, attempt);
      delay = Math.min(delay, maxDelayMs);

      // Add jitter (10-30% of delay)
      const jitter = delay * (0.1 + Math.random() * 0.2);
      const totalDelay = delay + jitter;

      console.warn(
        `Rate limited (attempt ${attempt + 1}/${maxRetries}). Waiting ${Math.round(totalDelay)}ms...`
      );
      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, totalDelay));
    }
  }
  throw new Error("Unreachable");
}

Step 2: Request Queue with Concurrency Control

class RequestQueue {
  private queue: Array<() => Promise<void>> = [];
  private running = 0;
  private readonly maxConcurrent: number;
  private readonly delayBetweenMs: number;

  constructor(maxConcurrent = 5, delayBetweenMs = 200) {
    this.maxConcurrent = maxConcurrent;
    this.delayBetweenMs = delayBetweenMs;
  }

  async add<T>(operation: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
      this.queue.push(async () => {
        try {
          const result = await withBackoff(operation);
          resolve(result);
        } catch (err) {
          reject(err);
        } finally {
          this.running--;
          this.processQueue();
        }
      });
      this.processQueue();
    });
  }

  private async processQueue() {
    while (this.running < this.maxConcurrent && this.queue.length > 0) {
      const task = this.queue.shift()!;
      this.running++;
      if (this.delayBetweenMs > 0) {
        await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, this.delayBetweenMs));
      }
      task();
    }
  }
}

// Usage — add 500 leads with controlled concurrency
const queue = new RequestQueue(3, 300); // 3 concurrent, 300ms gap

for (const lead of leads) {
  queue.add(() =>
    instantly("/leads", {
      method: "POST",
      body: JSON.stringify({ campaign: campaignId, email: lead.email, ...lead }),
    })
  );
}

Step 3: Rate-Limited Email Listing

// The /emails endpoint has a 20 req/min limit
// Use a dedicated throttled fetcher
class ThrottledEmailFetcher {
  private requestTimestamps: number[] = [];
  private readonly maxPerMinute = 18; // leave 2 req margin

  private async waitForSlot() {
    const now = Date.now();
    this.requestTimestamps = this.requestTimestamps.filter(
      (t) => now - t < 60000
    );

    if (this.requestTimestamps.length >= this.maxPerMinute) {
      const oldest = this.requestTimestamps[0];
      const waitMs = 60000 - (now - oldest) + 1000; // +1s buffer
      console.log(`Email API throttle: waiting ${waitMs}ms`);
      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, waitMs));
    }

    this.requestTimestamps.push(Date.now());
  }

  async listEmails(params: {
    campaign_id?: string;
    is_unread?: boolean;
    limit?: number;
    starting_after?: string;
  }) {
    await this.waitForSlot();

    const qs = new URLSearchParams();
    if (params.campaign_id) qs.set("campaign_id", params.campaign_id);
    if (params.is_unread !== undefined) qs.set("is_unread", String(params.is_unread));
    if (params.limit) qs.set("limit", String(params.limit));
    if (params.starting_after) qs.set("starting_after", params.starting_after);

    return instantly(`/emails?${qs}`);
  }
}

Step 4: Batch Operations Pattern

// Instead of creating leads one-by-one, batch where possible
async function addLeadsBatched(
  campaignId: string,
  leads: Array<{ email: string; first_name?: string }>,
  batchSize = 10,
  delayBetweenBatchesMs = 1000
) {
  let added = 0;
  let failed = 0;

  for (let i = 0; i < leads.length; i += batchSize) {
    const batch = leads.slice(i, i + batchSize);

    const results = await Promise.allSettled(
      batch.map((lead) =>
        withBackoff(() =>
          instantly("/leads", {
            method: "POST",
            body: JSON.stringify({
              campaign: campaignId,
              email: lead.email,
              first_name: lead.first_name,
              skip_if_in_workspace: true,
            }),
          })
        )
      )
    );

    added += results.filter((r) => r.status === "fulfilled").length;
    failed += results.filter((r) => r.status === "rejected").length;

    console.log(`Batch ${Math.floor(i / batchSize) + 1}: ${added} added, ${failed} failed`);

    if (i + batchSize < leads.length) {
      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, delayBetweenBatchesMs));
    }
  }

  console.log(`\nTotal: ${added} added, ${failed} failed out of ${leads.length}`);
}

Error Handling

ErrorCauseSolution
429 on lead importToo many sequential POSTsUse batch pattern with delays
429 on email listing>20 req/minUse ThrottledEmailFetcher
5xx intermittentInstantly server overloadBackoff + retry; check status.instantly.ai
Webhook delivery retries exhaustedYour endpoint too slowReturn 200 immediately, process async
Queue memory growingToo many queued operationsSet max queue size, reject overflow

Resources

  • Instantly API v2 Docs
  • Instantly Blog: API Rate Limits

Next Steps

For security patterns, see instantly-security-basics.

Repository
jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills
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