The Fast Purge API uses a token bucket model to protect itself from inadvertent or malicious overuse. The following table summarizes our usage limits.

Limit TypeMax Client RequestsClient Reques Refill Rate
API request10050 per second
├ URL/ARL10,000200 per second
CP Code30030 per minute
Cache Tag5,000500 per minute

A Purge API request can contain only URLs/ARLs, only CP Codes, or only Cache Tags in the request body. An individual request can't contain multiple object types. Each object (URL/ARL, CP Code, or Cache Tag) in an API request consumes 1 token of its respective type from the table above.

The rate limit applies to all API clients in your ​Akamai​ account as a whole. For example, 4 API clients in your account each submitting 1 purge request containing 10 URLs at the same time consumes 4 request tokens and 40 URL/ARL tokens for the purpose of rate limiting.

The API denies requests if either there is no request token available or if there aren't enough object tokens to satisfy the entire request. Tokens aren't consumed if a request is denied with the 429 error.

Purge requests have a body size limit of 50KB. Requests with body sizes greater than 50KB result in a 413 error.

To optimize purge, fit as many objects as possible in a single request, while adhering to the size and rate limits. Try to purge by larger units, such as cache tags and CP codes, rather than individual URLs. Refer to Purge Best Practices for further details.