WhatsApp error 130429: Rate limit hit — cause and fix

WhatsApp error 130429 means your number went over its sending throughput on Meta's Cloud API: 80 messages per second by default, 20 for a number in coexistence with the WhatsApp Business app. Nothing is broken. Slow down, retry with a growing delay, and spread large sends over time instead of firing them all at once.

What does error 130429 mean?

Meta files it under throttling errors:

"Cloud API message throughput has been reached." — Meta, Cloud API error codes

In other words, the number has used up its allowed message rate. In the Graph response, the message field combines the code and its title: (#130429) Rate limit hit. Meta warns that these titles will eventually be deprecated, so build your handling on the code, never on the text.

Throughput is counted per number and includes inbound and outbound messages of every type (Meta, Throughput):

Meta keeps returning 130429 until you are back under that ceiling.

When does error 130429 happen?

• A send loop with no pacing: a script walking a 10,000-contact list as fast as the network allows crosses 80 messages/s within moments.
• A coexistence number: the 20 messages/s cap applies whatever your tier. A 100,000-recipient campaign takes at least 83 minutes on it.
• Several senders on one number: two workers, two campaigns, or a stream of API calls running next to a campaign all share the same throughput without coordinating.
• A spike of inbound messages: they count against the same throughput as your sends.

Do not confuse 130429 with two other ceilings:

Where do you see it in Genuka WA?

{
  "error": "send_retryable",
  "message": "Cloud API message throughput has been reached.",
  "meta": {
    "errorClass": "retryable",
    "retryable": true,
    "code": 130429,
    "details": "Cloud API message throughput has been reached.",
    "traceId": "Az8or2yhqkZfEZ-_4Qn_Bam"
  }
}

The HTTP status is 400, not 429: decide whether to retry from meta.retryable, not from the status.

How do I fix error 130429?

const API = "https://wa.genuka.com/api/v1";

export async function sendWithBackoff(payload: unknown, maxAttempts = 5) {
  for (let attempt = 1; ; attempt++) {
    const response = await fetch(`${API}/messages`, {
      method: "POST",
      headers: {
        Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.GENUKA_WA_API_KEY}`,
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
      },
      body: JSON.stringify(payload),
    });
    // A 5xx can arrive as plain text (the proxy's "error code: 502"): JSON is not guaranteed.
    const json = await response.json().catch(() => null);
    if (response.ok) return json?.data; // { messageId, warning? }

    // meta.retryable is true for throughput limits (130429, 131056, 4, 80007), Meta internal
    // errors (131000, 5xx), stale media and 131048. That last one is retried later, not in this
    // loop (see the 131048 page). A 5xx with no `meta` does not tell whether the message left:
    // it is thrown as-is, check before resending to avoid a duplicate.
    const retryable = json?.meta?.retryable === true && json.meta.code !== 131048;
    if (!retryable || attempt >= maxAttempts) {
      throw new Error(`${response.status} ${json?.error ?? ""}: ${json?.message ?? ""}`);
    }
    const base = Math.min(30_000, 1_000 * 2 ** (attempt - 1));
    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, base / 2 + Math.random() * (base / 2)));
  }
}

How do I prevent error 130429?

• One sender per number. Route every send for a number through a single queue, paced under messagesPerSecond. That is what stops two processes from stepping on each other.
• Plan the duration of large sends. At 20 messages/s, a coexistence number sends at most 72,000 messages an hour. Announce the duration instead of discovering it.
• Use media hosted by Meta for fast sends: Meta recommends sending a media ID rather than a URL on your own servers to take advantage of higher throughput (Meta, Throughput). With Genuka WA, assetId does exactly that.
• Do not retry on a fixed interval. A "three tries, one second apart" loop sends the same burst at the same moment and gets another 130429.

Related error codes

• 131056: too many messages to the same recipient in a short time.
• 131048: sends restricted after blocks or spam reports, a quality problem rather than a speed problem.
• 4 and 80007: the two other limits in the same family, which count API calls by the app and by the WhatsApp Business account, not messages sent.

FAQ

Can my number go up to 1,000 messages per second?

Yes, automatically and at no cost, when three conditions are met: an unlimited messaging limit, at least 100,000 unique users messaged outside a service window within a rolling 24 hours, and a quality rating of at least medium. During the upgrade, which takes up to a minute, the number answers 131057 (Meta, Throughput). A coexistence number stays at 20 messages/s.

Does Meta bill a message refused with 130429?

No. Meta only charges for a template message when it is delivered (Meta, Pricing), and a message refused with 130429 never left. On the Genuka WA side, a refused send does not consume your subscription quota either: only messages Meta accepted are counted.

Why does Genuka WA answer 400 and not 429?

Because every Meta refusal on a send comes back as 400, except token, permission and number registration problems, which come back as 409. Whether to retry is in meta.retryable and meta.errorClass, which exist for that purpose.

Can 130429 come from the Genuka WA API itself?

No. 130429 is a Meta code that Genuka WA relays as-is in meta.code: it is always about the sending number's throughput at Meta, not about your API key.

Sources

• Meta — Error codes
• Meta — Throughput
• Meta — Messaging limits
• Meta — Pricing
• Meta — About the platform, rate limits