I built a rate limiter because I wanted to see my API traffic

#node #express #backend #programming

When I add rate limiting to an Express API, it usually looks like this:

requests get blocked
logs scroll by
maybe there’s a counter somewhere

But I never really see what’s happening in real time.

I wanted to answer simple questions while developing APIs:

How many requests are hitting this endpoint right now?
Are we rate-limiting too aggressively?

I wanted a rate-limiting middleware that focuses on blocking and visibility.

So I built something small to scratch that itch.

What I built

I built Apimeter — an Express.js middleware that:

rate-limits API requests
shows real-time request counts in a dashboard
runs locally (no external services)

The main idea is simple:

Don’t just block requests — see them.

What makes it different

📊 Live dashboard showing request activity as it happens

🚦 Rate limiting and monitoring in one place

⚡ Zero external dependencies (fully managed)

🧩 Drop-in Express middleware

This is especially useful during development and early staging, where you want fast feedback instead of delayed metrics.

How to try it (quick)

npm install apimeter

Basic Usage

const express = require('express');
const apimeter = require('apimeter');

const app = express();

// Apply rate limiting to all routes
app.use(apimeter({
  apiKey: 'your-api-key-here' //See below how to get your api key
}));

app.get('/api/users', (req, res) => {
  res.json({ users: [] });
});

app.listen(3000);

Open the dashboard, hit the API a few times, and you’ll see the numbers move in real time.

Getting Your API Key