Proposal: Add Rate Limiting Support to FastAPI #16340

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Example Code

from fastapi import FastAPI
from fastapi.rate_limit import RateLimiter

app = FastAPI()


@app.get(
    "/items",
    dependencies=[RateLimiter(limit=100, window=60)]
)
async def get_items():
    return {"items": []}

Description

I would like to explore whether FastAPI could provide built-in rate limiting support, with a simple API like the example above. The goal would be to limit requests per client and return HTTP 429 when the limit is exceeded. I would like to get feedback from the maintainers on whether this belongs in FastAPI and, if so, what API/design would be appropriate before implementing it.

Operating System

Linux, Windows, macOS

Operating System Details

No response

FastAPI Version

0.141.1

Pydantic Version

2.13.4

Python Version

Python 3.13.13

Additional Context

Hi FastAPI community,

I’m interested in contributing to FastAPI and I have an idea for adding rate-limiting support.

Would a built-in rate limiter be something that FastAPI would consider accepting?

For example:

@app.get("/items", dependencies=[RateLimiter(limit=100, window=60)])
async def get_items():
return {"items": []}

Before I start working on it, I wanted to ask:

Is rate limiting a feature that belongs in FastAPI?
Would you prefer this to be a separate package?
If it is suitable for FastAPI, is there a recommended design or approach I should follow?

I’d be happy to implement it and add tests if the idea is considered appropriate.

Thanks!