--- title: HTTP RateLimit headers – Tony Finch | daily.dev description: The IETF draft for standardizing HTTP RateLimit headers can work with any rate limiting algorithm, not just quota-reset approaches. Linear algorithms like GCRA... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/http-ratelimit-headers-tony-finch-iaaxjyaal twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: HTTP RateLimit headers – Tony Finch | daily.dev og:description: The IETF draft for standardizing HTTP RateLimit headers can work with any rate limiting algorithm, not just quota-reset approaches. Linear algorithms like GCRA... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/http-ratelimit-headers-tony-finch-iaaxjyaal og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/IAAxjYAAl.png og:image:alt: HTTP RateLimit headers – Tony Finch og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # HTTP RateLimit headers – Tony Finch **[Lobsters](https://daily.dev/sources/lobsters)** · 8 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary The IETF draft for standardizing HTTP RateLimit headers can work with any rate limiting algorithm, not just quota-reset approaches. Linear algorithms like GCRA (Generic Cell Rate Algorithm) encourage smoother client behavior by dynamically shrinking the effective window during bursts, unlike quota-reset or sliding-window algorithms that promote cyclic burst-pause patterns. The article provides a detailed implementation of GCRA adapted for RateLimit headers, explaining how to calculate the available quota and effective window using a simple "not-before" timestamp per client. This approach uses less memory and simpler code while naturally smoothing request intervals. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [hybrid quota-linear rate limiter – Tony Finch](https://daily.dev/posts/hybrid-quota-linear-rate-limiter-tony-finch-9xgabdhhl) · Programming Digest · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Python Rate Limiting: The Limiter That Caused Our Outage](https://daily.dev/posts/python-rate-limiting-the-limiter-that-caused-our-outage-2y3xnfeyu) · SitePoint · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Rate Limiting Algorithms: Token Bucket vs Sliding Window vs Fixed Window](https://daily.dev/posts/rate-limiting-algorithms-token-bucket-vs-sliding-window-vs-fixed-window-c6i3q4jdl) · Arcjet · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [28 Million Decisions Per Second. Zero Allocations. 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