Rate limits
Per-key limits you can read at runtime, usage headers on responses, and a 429 policy your agent can follow mechanically.
Know your limit before you hit it
GET /v1/account/auth returns rate_limit_per_minute for the calling key — read it at startup instead of hardcoding. Current Pro plan ships 50,000 API calls/month with usage headers in responses so clients can track consumption.
On 429
Back off exponentially and retry — 429 is always retryable, and with idempotency-keyed writes a retry can never double-create. The OrderCore SDKs (@ordercore/sdk, ordercore for Python) implement this policy out of the box.
Design agents to batch reads
Catalog reads (search_products, get_prices, get_inventory) dominate agent traffic. Prefer one filtered list call over N item calls, and cache stable catalog data between turns — your rate limit is spent where it earns conversions: on checkout.