Rate Limiting

Agent Wall supports both global and per-rule rate limits to prevent runaway agents from overwhelming your systems.

Global Rate Limit

Controls the total number of tool calls across all tools:

globalRateLimit:
  maxCalls: 200       # Maximum calls allowed
  windowSeconds: 60   # Rolling time window in seconds

When the global rate limit is exceeded, further tool calls are denied until the window resets.

Per-Rule Rate Limits

Apply rate limits to specific tool patterns:

rules:
  - name: limit-shell
    tool: "shell_exec|run_command|bash"
    action: allow
    rateLimit:
      maxCalls: 10
      windowSeconds: 60

  - name: limit-http
    tool: "fetch|http_request"
    action: allow
    rateLimit:
      maxCalls: 30
      windowSeconds: 60

How It Works

Rate limits use a sliding window algorithm:

1. Each tool call's timestamp is recorded
2. When a new call arrives, expired timestamps (outside the window) are removed
3. If the remaining count exceeds maxCalls, the call is denied

Rate Limit Priority

1. Global rate limit is checked first — before any rule matching
2. Per-rule rate limits are checked when a rule matches, before the action is applied
3. If either limit is exceeded, the call is denied regardless of the rule action

Example: Defense in Depth

# Global: no more than 200 calls/minute total
globalRateLimit:
  maxCalls: 200
  windowSeconds: 60

rules:
  # Shell commands: max 5/minute  
  - name: limit-shell
    tool: "shell_exec|run_command|bash"
    action: prompt
    rateLimit:
      maxCalls: 5
      windowSeconds: 60

  # File writes: max 20/minute
  - name: limit-writes
    tool: "write_file|edit_file|create_file"
    action: allow
    rateLimit:
      maxCalls: 20
      windowSeconds: 60

  # Everything else: allowed within global limit
  - name: allow-rest
    tool: "*"
    action: allow