Default request limits per minute, hour and day, sized for API use (closes #176)
check / check (push) Successful in 5m15s

The default request limits now suit programmatic use of an API, such
as an automation fleet on another host, and still catch abusive bots:

- per minute: 300, passed within seconds by a client firing as fast
  as it can;
- per hour: 30000;
- per day: 300000, passed by a crawler that keeps up 4 a second.

At the default minute limit no client reaches the hour limit: 300 a
minute is at most 18,000 an hour.

The byte limits and ban lengths are unchanged. SPEC.md, README.md and
docs/settings.md give the reasons; docs/gitea.md redoes the Actions
runner sums.

Judgement call: the docs/alerts.md ban example shows the minute limit.

Model: opus-5-5
This commit is contained in:
2026-11-04 20:16:50 +00:00
parent fdabf4974b
commit 3b9afd5ec4
8 changed files with 85 additions and 51 deletions
+33 -17
View File
@@ -369,22 +369,38 @@ Conventions:
owner's own networks. `SWWAF_RATE_LIMIT_EXEMPT_NETS` bypasses the request and
byte limits only; the error burst, attack detection and bans still apply.
- Many people can share one address, as in an office, on a mobile carrier or
through Tor. They are one client, and share its limits and its bans. The
default limits are sized for about 40 busy people on one address. A known
shared address busier than that belongs in `SWWAF_ALLOW_NETS` or
through Tor. They are one client, and share its limits and its bans. A known
shared address busier than the limits allow belongs in `SWWAF_ALLOW_NETS` or
`SWWAF_RATE_LIMIT_EXEMPT_NETS`.
### Request rate limits, per client
Breaking one bans the client, so the defaults sit about twice above what 40
people busy with heavy web apps make together on one address. Each such person
makes about 75 requests in a busy minute, and 1,250 an hour for ten hours a day.
Breaking one bans the client. The defaults suit programmatic use of an API, such
as an automation fleet on another host, and still stop abusive bots. A fleet of
20 agents, each making a request every 10 seconds at its busiest, makes 120
requests a minute and 7,200 an hour. Working around the clock, it makes 172,800
a day. It stays under all three limits.
A client slower than those 40 people cannot be told from them by counting. Only
the other checks can catch an abuser that slow. They include the trap paths, the
rule files, the Core Rule Set and the blocklists. An abuser that trips none of
them is not caught. A machine that talks to the app all day can still pass the
day limit. Its address belongs in `SWWAF_RATE_LIMIT_EXEMPT_NETS`.
- Per minute: 300, 5 requests a second. A client firing requests as fast as it
can passes it within seconds. It leaves room for the fleet and a few quick
first visits with an empty cache. A Gitea page opened with an empty cache
loads about 40 files.
- Per hour: 30,000, about 8 requests a second for a whole hour. At the default
minute limit no client reaches it, since 300 a minute is at most 18,000 an
hour. With the minute limit raised or off, a crawler that keeps up 10 a second
makes 36,000 an hour, and passes it.
- Per day: 300,000, about 3.5 requests a second around the clock. A crawler that
keeps up 4 a second makes 345,600 a day, and passes it. At 240 a minute and
14,400 an hour, it stays under the other two limits.
Counting cannot catch a client that stays under all three limits, such as one
that keeps up 3 requests a second. Only the other checks can catch an abuser
that slow. They include the trap paths, the rule files, the Core Rule Set and
the blocklists. An abuser that trips none of them is not caught. A machine that
keeps up more than 5 requests a second passes the minute limit. One that keeps
up more than about 3.5 a second all day passes the day limit, as two busy
Actions runners on one address do. Such a machine's address belongs in
`SWWAF_RATE_LIMIT_EXEMPT_NETS`.
`SWWAF_RATE_LIMIT_EXEMPT_PATHS` takes path prefixes out of the count, such as
static assets or health checks; their bytes are not counted either. A prefix is
@@ -397,12 +413,12 @@ matched the same way.
### Byte limits, per client
Each of the same 40 people moves about 256 MiB an hour, for ten hours a day. The
hour and day limits sit about twice above what they move together. A response's
bytes are counted when it ends (see step 15). So the minute limit holds two of
the largest responses, with their requests, ending in the same minute. No single
download then breaks a limit. An operator who raises `SWWAF_RESPONSE_MAX_BYTES`
raises the byte limits with it.
The hour and day limits sit about twice above what 40 people busy with heavy web
apps move together on one address. Each moves about 256 MiB an hour, for ten
hours a day. A response's bytes are counted when it ends (see step 15). So the
minute limit holds two of the largest responses, with their requests, ending in
the same minute. No single download then breaks a limit. An operator who raises
`SWWAF_RESPONSE_MAX_BYTES` raises the byte limits with it.
### Size and time limits