RateLimitError: The server had an error with no reason given

gabriel.roskowski0 · 2023-03-23T17:31:30.675Z

It’s happening now with GPT4. Can’t have complex interactions with it for long

raymonddavey · 2023-03-23T18:21:00.653Z

Rate limits can happen when the API is overloaded

It doesn’t actually mean it has hit “your” rate limit. The message returned in the response is slightly different too

tashku · 2023-03-29T19:04:00.091Z

I’m having the same issue with text-davinci-003 again, despite being on a pay-as-you-go 48H+ plan (it errors after ~3 requests of 200 text tokens each unless I use a wide delay of 120 seconds). has anyone encountered this issue again?

RonaldGRuckus · 2023-03-29T19:06:13.008Z

I’m a bit confused by this.

Are you sending parallel requests? Are you saying that after roughly 3 requests you are being timed out unless you wait 2 minutes to send the next request? On the last request that fails, are you being timed out or given a RateLimitError?

tashku · 2023-03-29T19:14:45.833Z

Just one request at a time.
After around 3 requests, I hit an unspecified, generic RateLimitError. I can bypass this if I put a delay of around at least a minute (inconsistently, but closer to 2 minutes) between individual, unbatched requests.

RonaldGRuckus · 2023-03-29T19:31:46.013Z

That’s really strange.

First, I love your profile picture. Spirited Away, right? I don’t usually watch animated movies, but man it was so powerful & moving.

Have you looked at your usage in the account overview? It may be possible that these requests are being sent multiple times?

Here’s a great OpenAI cookbook on managing RateLimitErrors. Although, it has been in the past that an unspecified RateLimitError was being thrown for a mishandled server error. Are you by any chance outside of North America?

github.com

openai/openai-cookbook/blob/main/examples/How_to_handle_rate_limits.ipynb

{
 "cells": [
  {
   "attachments": {},
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "# How to handle rate limits\n",
    "\n",
    "When you call the OpenAI API repeatedly, you may encounter error messages that say `429: 'Too Many Requests'` or `RateLimitError`. These error messages come from exceeding the API's rate limits.\n",
    "\n",
    "This guide shares tips for avoiding and handling rate limit errors.\n",
    "\n",
    "To see an example script for throttling parallel requests to avoid rate limit errors, see [api_request_parallel_processor.py](api_request_parallel_processor.py).\n",
    "\n",
    "## Why rate limits exist\n",
    "\n",
    "Rate limits are a common practice for APIs, and they're put in place for a few different reasons.\n",
    "\n",
    "- First, they help protect against abuse or misuse of the API. For example, a malicious actor could flood the API with requests in an attempt to overload it or cause disruptions in service. By setting rate limits, OpenAI can prevent this kind of activity.\n",

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tashku · 2023-03-29T19:46:31.589Z

Hi, thank you. Kiki’s Delivery Service a very touching film.

Yes – the Usage specifies just 5 requests sent within the last five minutes, totalling 1215 tokens. Is there a way to view more fine-grained information on the usage, in case repeat requests might be sending by accident?
Thank you, I took a look through this beforehand, unfortunately these strategies were unable to help with my case. (There is an update on this, I will note at the end of my response).
I am in North America.

Update: Even after waiting 1-2 minutes with no executions, even just attempting to send one request is met with a RateLimitError immediately. I generated a new API key and tried again and after about 9 requests spaced 2 minutes apart from each other, the mysterious RateLimitError returned. If this is a server issue, is there someway to notify OpenAI about it? Alternatively, any other ways to figure out more detailed usage information?

proxima · 2023-03-29T20:00:07.120Z

I think there’s a distinction between an app that genuinely hits a rate limit through excessive requests, and receiving a 429 because of an OpenAI server-side issue.

In the past Mods in Discord have acknowledged as an issue their side, and resolved. For 2 hours earlier, I made approximately 5 requests/minute, and approximately 2 of them returned 429.

tashku · 2023-03-29T20:40:32.869Z

Thank you. I’m still having the issue on my end (now attempting just one request hits a RateLimitError, including when attempting batching), but was wondering if the Discord link was available (I sent a help message to the Support team but no response yet).

RonaldGRuckus · 2023-03-29T20:43:12.292Z

Interesting.

@proxima You’re completely right. It’s always a good idea to knock-out any potential client-side issues beforehand though.

Although I am not running any requests right now, if this was a widespread issue the forums & discord are usually overwhelmed by spam.

Would you mind posting the request that you make?

proxima · 2023-03-31T14:52:13.101Z

Absolutely agree with validating client-side issues first. I think it’s cleared up now - thanks for your help.

xuanlong001 · 2023-05-30T14:55:38.877Z

Can anyone ping the staffs? I consistently got the error and have no idea, despite setting time sleep to 1 after every call. @RonaldGRuckus

raise self.handle_error_response(
openai.error.RateLimitError: The server had an error while processing your request. Sorry about that!

info136 · 2023-06-02T10:03:30.642Z

Since yesterday: openai.error.RateLimitError: The server had an error while processing your request. Sorry about that!

I am nowhere near any rate limit.

calebnma · 2023-06-06T13:49:17.025Z

Same issue here when using text-davinci-003. We are nowhere near the rate limit for our account, but we get the rate limit error almost every request.

gordon1 · 2023-06-06T16:12:10.424Z

What’s your max token allotment? I changed mine from 3k to 2k and it seems to be working (after previously erroring).

bscarl88 · 2023-07-19T14:55:09.191Z

I haven’t made any request, and can confirm via my dashboard, but I’m still getting a RateLimitError. So I guess the rate limit must be 0 lol. My app makes one then sleeps 60 seconds between requests and has been sitting for almost 30 minutes getting the rate error. I’ve tried multiple different models, and it’s the same thing. Any help is appreciated

Foxabilo · 2023-07-19T15:00:03.174Z

Welcome to the developer forum!

Have you added a billing method to your OpenAI API account? If not, that will be why you are seeing the rate limit error at 0 usage. You can add a billing method here

platform.openai.com

OpenAI Platform

Explore developer resources, tutorials, API docs, and dynamic examples to get the most out of OpenAI's platform.

bscarl88 · 2023-07-19T15:07:05.523Z

Thank you! I have not, I was planning on testing my app on at least a 1 call before paying. I thought there were monthly free credits allotted to free user? It looks like mine expired July 1st, but I only signed up today?

Foxabilo · 2023-07-19T15:09:15.872Z

You’re welcome! The Free token grant starts from when you open your OpenAI account, not from the date you register a payment method.

novaphil · 2023-07-19T15:09:46.737Z

There’s no monthly free credits. There’s supposedly one-time $5 free credits when you sign up, but many people miss out on them. I believe you get the credits the first time you use your phone number with OpenAI and that may include signing up for ChatGPT. Regardless, if they’re expired you can try contacting support but that may take awhile, so if you want to get started with API you’ll need to provide payment info.