Upstash Ratelimit Not Working

How to fix it

// try these in order, the most common fix is first

1. FIX 1Check why a request was allowed

   Copy steps
   1. 01Log result.success, result.remaining and result.reason
   2. 02If reason is 'timeout', fix latency (same-region database) or raise the timeout option
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. FIX 2Pass pending to waitUntil

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   1. 01const { success, pending } = await ratelimit.limit(id)
   2. 02In Next.js middleware: event.waitUntil(pending)
   3. 03In Cloudflare Workers: ctx.waitUntil(pending)
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. FIX 3Use a stable identifier

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   1. 01Use the user ID or the real client IP (x-forwarded-for / request.ip on Vercel)
   2. 02Don't fall back to a constant or random value
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. FIX 4Fix analytics timeouts

   Copy steps
   1. 01Analytics is off by default; leave it off on Lambda unless you await pending
   2. 02If enabled, await pending before the function returns
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Rate limiting doesn't block anyone, limits reset unexpectedly, analytics dashboard stays empty, or Lambda tasks time out after adding analytics.

Why it happens

• C-01Redis call exceeds the timeout, so limit() returns success with reason 'timeout'
• C-02'pending' promise not passed to waitUntil in Vercel middleware / Cloudflare Workers
• C-03Using an identifier that changes per request (e.g. missing IP behind a proxy)
• C-04Free plan command quota exhausted

// this guide also covers

• upstash ratelimit not working
• upstash ratelimit timeout
• @upstash/ratelimit pending waituntil
• upstash ratelimit analytics not showing

The same problem in other apps

All plan limits, paywalls & watermarks guides →

• Pinecone Upsert Failing: Batch and Size Limits (Pinecone)

Other Upstash errors

• Upstash ERR Max Requests Limit Exceeded
• Upstash ERR Max Request Size Exceeded
• Upstash Redis ECONNRESET Error
• Upstash WRONGPASS Invalid or Missing Auth Token
• Upstash ERR Max Concurrent Connections Exceeded
• Upstash Free Database Archived or Deleted
• Upstash Redis Slow or Timing Out
• QStash Signature Verification Failed (Invalid Signature)