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Alex Devson
Alex Devson

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Rotate API Keys Automatically with This Open Source Proxy — Never Hit Rate Limits Again

Rate limits are the bane of every developer's existence. You're building something cool, hitting an API, and suddenly: 429 Too Many Requests.

The common solutions:

  • Pay for a higher tier 💰
  • Implement complex retry logic 🔄
  • Rate limit your own requests ⏱️

But what if you could just... use more keys?

Introducing Rotato

Rotato is a lightweight API proxy that automatically rotates through multiple API keys. Drop it between your app and any REST API, and it handles key rotation transparently.

Your App → Rotato (rotates keys) → API Service
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How It Works

  1. Configure Rotato with multiple API keys
  2. Point your app at Rotato instead of the API directly
  3. Rotato forwards requests using a different key each time
  4. When a key hits its limit, Rotato automatically skips to the next

Your app code doesn't change at all. It just talks to one endpoint.

Use Cases

OpenAI / LLM APIs

Have 3 free-tier OpenAI keys? Rotato gives you 3x the rate limit without paying a cent.

Google Maps

Distribute API calls across multiple project keys to stay within free quotas.

Any REST API

If it uses API keys and has rate limits, Rotato can help.

Features

  • 🔄 Round-robin key rotation
  • 🚫 Automatic 429 detection and key skipping
  • 🏥 Health check endpoint
  • 📊 Request logging
  • 🪶 Zero dependencies
  • ⚡ Minimal latency overhead

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/p32929/Rotato.git
cd Rotato
# Add your API keys to config
npm start
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Then change your API URL from api.service.com to localhost:3000. Done.

github.com/p32929/Rotato

If rate limits have ever cost you time or money, star this repo. It'll pay for itself on the first use.

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