itch.io Community » itch.io » Ideas & Feedback

Way too easy to get error 429 when using itch

A topic by MrNoSock created Apr 19, 2023 Views: 3,068 Replies: 12

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I don't know if others experience this issue, but I can barely use the site because of the constant 429 errors when browsing. I can look at maybe 2 assets before I get bombarded with 429 errors. I don't need any large amount of requests to the site, just enough I can actually use it. I think it's unreasonable that I have to basically wait like 3-5 min. for every page I want to visit. It's not like I'm looking at hundreds of assets a day or anything either. I normally look at a small handful, usually grabbing updates and checking out a couple of new releases.

*Edit: ~~One of the latest updates to the itch app fixed this issue~~.

*Edit 2: Nevermind, it's definitely still an issue

*Edit 3: It's the itch.io app. Closing out of it completely fixes the issue

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leafoAdmin2 years ago (1 edit)

Are you triggering a large number of requests at once? Can you share any details about how you browse for assets?

Generally, regular browsing shouldn’t trigger that kind of error. Our rate limiting is designed for slow down bad actors triggering automated responses.

I have not heard of anyone else experiencing a problem like this. Are you using shared network connection or something similar?

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MrNoSock2 years ago

Just firefox and browsing the site as I assume a normal person would. No one else on the network uses itch(it's a house with a private router). I usually go to the homepage, then to my feed. After about the second asset I click is when the rate limit errors start showing up. I do usually actually download the assets from the app. I totally get why you have the rate limits, but I really shouldn't be doing anything to trigger them.

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leafoAdmin2 years ago

The only thing I could think of is that perhaps you have the itch.io app running in the background and it’s making a large number of requests for some reason. If you do have the app running, try turning it off and see if it makes a difference to your on-site browsing.

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Usta Games2 years ago

This was happening to me a lot lately. I don't bulk download either. And also I kept seeing "a new version available" all the time on top right. I click it and it seemingly installs successfully (because no errors) but in fact, nothing happens. I think the auto-installer helper is running in the background and fetching a lot of data repeatedly. Then failing and then fetching again. I installed it manually and I think it's gone now.

I think I was stuck on 25.5.1 if I remember correctly and now upgraded to the latest (25.6.2)

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MrNoSock2 years ago

Thanks, I just updated. Fingers crossed!

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Hyena.2 years ago

I don’t know how the itch.io app works, but does it only ever make HTTP requests? Seems like there would have been an API for that.

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randomdude2972 days ago(+2)

Yeah, I tried to open a page, and got 429'd and couldn't open it for like ever

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MrNoSock9 days ago

I've noticed not using the itch app helps some, but it can still be an issue and I buy enough that I shouldn't be triggering anything if they target people only going after free stuff. Actually haven't been on the site in awhile. Hopefully it's been/being fixed, or is fixed soon.

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poidokoff45 days ago(+2)

I can easily reproduce this by just enabling the browser platform filter, "free" for pricing and then add a tag, say, "strategy" and presto: 429 too many requests. Works every time and it´s kinda annoying, also happens intermittently while just browsing.

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Whoopwhoops38 days ago(+2)

In April 2025 they posted on twitter that "We have been experiencing elevating slamming by AI crawlers and bad bots which is why you may have seen the 429 "Too Many Requests" Error."
This might be here to stay unless they get some kind of protection

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poidokoff37 days ago

Makes sense and I hope they do get it sorted. Luckily the filters on the site are URL based so I can at least enter things manually and bookmark anything I might use frequently.

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bangbangay36 days ago

I opened the itch.io desktop app for the first time in a while, dead set on searching for some new games to play. I open the "browse" tab, click the tags "windows" since I'll be playing on my laptop, "free" since I'm short on money, and decide on "management" games for my search. I then decide to add "cute" to the tags to see if anything will pop up, and then I get the error: 429 Too Many Requests. So I assume a lot of people are using it. No problem. I'll wait a bit and come back later. I do so, but when I come back, I do the same thing, this time still with the same tags. I get the same error. I go back a page and see that it doesn't do it on only the first 3 tags. Then I click "newest" and I get the error again. So I do two tags and the newest and it's fine. This confirms it's a tag issue and not a too many users issue. Which isn't fantastic, since I can't get very much out of the tag system at all if I can't specify the system and cost without using up the space.

So what I propose is that the "newest/popular" tag not be included in the 3 tag limit, should that limit be important to the itch.io team. That way, the actual sorting of the games in view are not affected by that system, and you can still use three tags outside of that. Otherwise it's more of a 2 tag system, which sucks.

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