Unthrottled loop HTTP in n8n
Why making rapid HTTP requests in a loop can get you rate-limited or blocked
What is this issue?
When HTTP Request nodes are placed inside loops without any delay or rate limiting, they fire requests as fast as possible. This can overwhelm external APIs, trigger rate limits, or get your IP temporarily blocked.
Common patterns:
•Split In Batches with HTTP Request inside•Loop Over Items calling external API per item•Code node with fetch() in a for loop•Multiple HTTP nodes in parallel branches
Why is this dangerous?
Rate limit errors
APIs return 429 Too Many Requests, causing partial workflow failures.
IP blocking
Some services temporarily or permanently block IPs that send too many requests.
API quota exhaustion
You may consume your entire API quota in minutes instead of hours.
Inconsistent results
Some requests succeed while others fail, leaving data in an inconsistent state.
How to fix it
- 1
Add Wait node
Insert a Wait node with a small delay (100-500ms) inside the loop.
- 2
Use batch operations
Where available, use batch API endpoints to process multiple items in one request.
- 3
Configure retry on rate limit
Set up HTTP node to retry with exponential backoff on 429 errors.
- 4
Reduce concurrency
Lower the batch size in Split In Batches to control request rate.
Scan your workflow now
Upload your n8n workflow JSON and detect HTTP requests in loops without throttling.