# 10.4 Rate Limiting & Abuse Protection Rate limiting is applied at multiple layers: * API gateway level * Per-key and per-plan limits * Infrastructure-level protections Important distinction: * Rate limiting protects **availability** * It does not protect **authority** Even if limits are exceeded: * No signing authority is exposed * No identity can be impersonated * No funds can be moved > Abuse affects throughput, not security. *** --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.kakrlabs.com/10.-operations-and-scaling/10.4-rate-limiting-and-abuse-protection.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.