We’re syncing customer and order data from our ERP system to Zendesk Sell every hour using the REST API. The sync works fine for small batches, but when processing larger datasets (500+ records), we consistently hit rate limit errors and the sync fails partway through.
We’re getting 429 responses with ‘Rate limit exceeded’ after about 200-250 API calls. Our integration makes sequential requests to update accounts and deals based on ERP changes. The API documentation mentions rate limits but doesn’t specify the exact thresholds for zs-2021.
What are the actual rate limits, and what’s the recommended approach for batch syncing larger datasets? We need to sync up to 2000 records per hour during peak times.
Error example:
{"error": "rate_limit_exceeded",
"retry_after": 3600,
"message": "API rate limit reached"}
We solved this by implementing a queue-based approach with rate limiting. Instead of syncing everything at once, we batch records into groups of 50 and process them with a 5-second delay between batches. This keeps us under the rate limit while still completing hourly syncs on time. Also monitor the ‘X-RateLimit-Remaining’ response header to dynamically adjust your request rate.
Consider requesting a rate limit increase from Zendesk support if your use case requires higher throughput. Enterprise accounts can often get elevated limits. Also, make sure you’re using a single API token for all requests - creating multiple tokens doesn’t give you multiple rate limit buckets, it just fragments your quota.
Don’t forget about retry strategies when you do hit limits. Implement exponential backoff with jitter - wait progressively longer between retries (2s, 4s, 8s, etc.) and add random jitter to prevent thundering herd problems if multiple sync jobs hit limits simultaneously. Also log rate limit hits so you can tune your batch sizes over time based on actual usage patterns.
Rather than sequential requests, use the bulk endpoints for batch operations. Zendesk Sell has bulk import APIs that let you send multiple records in a single request. This dramatically reduces your API call count and stays well under rate limits. Check the documentation for ‘/api/v2/bulk/accounts’ and similar endpoints.
In zs-2021, the standard rate limit is 200 requests per minute per API token. For batch operations, you’ll need to implement rate limiting on your end. Add delays between requests or use exponential backoff when you receive 429 responses. The ‘retry_after’ header tells you how long to wait before retrying.