From 34f68bf8c9f116c93222cfef26c31a7537a6aa15 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Brian Pepple Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2026 11:43:19 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Fix incorrect quota claim in API best practices post MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Conditional requests (304 responses) still count against the daily rate limit quota — only bandwidth is saved. Correct the claim and add a dated update note for readers of the original post. --- blog/2026-04-18-api-tips/index.md | 4 +++- 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/blog/2026-04-18-api-tips/index.md b/blog/2026-04-18-api-tips/index.md index bdbe8dd8..8f8cd4b5 100644 --- a/blog/2026-04-18-api-tips/index.md +++ b/blog/2026-04-18-api-tips/index.md @@ -154,7 +154,9 @@ Store the timestamp of your last successful sync and pass it on the next run. Th ## Use Conditional Requests to Avoid Redundant Work -Detail endpoints (`GET /api/{resource}/{id}/`) support HTTP conditional requests via `If-Modified-Since` / `Last-Modified` headers. If the resource has not changed since you last fetched it, the server returns `304 Not Modified` with an empty body — saving bandwidth and not counting against your quota in any meaningful sense while keeping your data fresh. +Detail endpoints (`GET /api/{resource}/{id}/`) support HTTP conditional requests via `If-Modified-Since` / `Last-Modified` headers. If the resource has not changed since you last fetched it, the server returns `304 Not Modified` with an empty body — saving bandwidth while keeping your data fresh. + +> **Update (2026-08-21):** An earlier version of this post stated that conditional requests do not count against your daily rate limit quota. That's incorrect — a `304 Not Modified` response still counts as a request against both the burst and sustained limits. Conditional requests save bandwidth (and the cost of re-parsing a payload you already have), but they don't give you extra headroom in your daily quota. Factor that into any polling frequency you choose. ```python import requests