What Is HTTP 429 Too Many Requests Retry?

HTTP 429 Too Many Requests Retry explained, and what it means when you see it in CI/CD and deployments.

HTTP 429 means you have sent too many requests in a given window and are being rate-limited.

What it means

A 429 is the server asking you to slow down, often with a Retry-After header indicating how long to wait. It is transient by nature.

When you see it in CI/CD

CI hits 429 from package registries, Docker Hub, and APIs under load. Honor Retry-After and back off. Self-healing managed runners like Latchkey auto-retry rate-limited steps so a brief 429 does not fail the build.

Key takeaways

• 429 means you are rate-limited.
• Honor the Retry-After header.
• Transient; auto-retry/backoff resolves it.

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