A production-focused guide to handling Claude API 429 rate-limit errors in Python. Covers parsing Anthropic's proprietary rate-limit headers, implementing jitter-aware exponential backoff using the tenacity library, building a ClaudeRateLimitHandler class with proactive throttling, and adding a circuit breaker for sustained outages. Includes complete code examples and pytest-based testing strategies using mocked responses.
Table of contents
Table of ContentsWhy 429 Errors Deserve Their Own StrategyDecoding Claude's Rate-Limit HeadersImplementing Exponential Backoff with JitterBuilding the Production-Ready ClaudeRateLimitHandler ClassAdding a Circuit Breaker for Sustained OutagesTesting Your Retry Logic Without Burning API CreditsKey Takeaways and Quick-Reference ChecklistSort: