429 - API errors

[deyehomeassistant]

Hi, I've been experiencing an issue where my Solcast integration has been throwing an "Error 429/Try again later for API key" for a few days now.

I'm starting to wonder if my setup is causing an API storm, but I'm not sure. I have a standard Home Assistant installation and I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary.

Is there any way I can check this on my end?

[MarkRS-UK]

Is there something particular happening (at the server end) at the moment?

I've been getting this quite a bit recently. Lasted about 36 hours last week. Never seen it before the last couple of weeks.

[Nilogax]

I'm starting to wonder if my setup is causing an API storm, but I'm not sure.

It's not you, it's them. @autoSteve has done a lot of work to make this integration behave very well with regard to Solcast API requests. We absolutely do not cause sustained 429 issues.

429 storms are likely caused by someone writing their own code and getting it horribly wrong. When the folks at Solcast identify the cause they will block the user causing it and that then frees up the API for everyone else. The Solcast integration also uses a specific user agent in its API requests so they can identify us and confirm it's not being caused by the integration.

Is there something particular happening (at the server end) at the moment?

The free hobbyist rooftop API is a pretty low priority for Solcast - they have plenty of paying customers to deal with. If someone is hammering the API it can take a while to get noticed but then they're pretty good at fixing it. Yes it'd be great to have a low value hobbyist subscription with a dedicated end point and higher API limit but quite understandably that's not something that Solcast want to support.

[Nilogax]

Actually @deyehomeassistant it looks like you're setting up the integration for the first time? Unlucky timing to hit this issue - all you can do is wait it out.

There's a discussion pinned to the top of the list which will disappear when the API frees up again - have another go then.

[autoSteve]

Solcast will identify and contact or block the source that is causing this.

Hobbyist users will see this when one hobbyist user has spoiled everything for everyone. It is a mechanism for the service to defend its paying customers from non-paying customers who spam the API endpoints. The API is fine. The status page is fine. Hobbyist calls are not fine.

There is nothing you can do, nor should do here. You could write a note to Solcast support (using very nice and friendly language, because you do not pay them anything) to point out that this is occurring.

There is nothing that the makers of this integration can do, except learn from the experiences reported here to make the code better at handling these situations. The latest version (which you likely have not installed, v4.5.1 carries improvements to the issue raised when a 429 storm is seen, bolstering the advice to do absolutely f...ing nothing.

BJ's automation noted, "The latest 429 storm was detected at 2026-03-18 11:36:21 UTC". He uses up 45 API calls per day so can provide an alert in the discussions within 30 minutes of a storm having brewed.

I had estimated actuals fetch fail for me around midnight AEDT. I had the first forecast update fail for me. And I am preparing to do absolutely nothing about it.

[autoSteve]

As an aside, this storm has resulted in an exception logged for me.

Early days investigating it, but the TL>DR is because the estimated actuals fetch failed.

Why am I writing this? As demonstration that the makers of the integration do something about these situations and learn from each and every occurrence to make the code better.

[deyehomeassistant]

Thanks for the explanation, Steve. I have the latest version of the integration, and the message is definitely very helpful – it's what brought me to this discussion. It's just that my attempts to launch the integration coincided with the 429 storm alerts. That's why I wanted to ask if I might be doing something wrong.

Just like you said – I picked a bad time because I can't even enable the integration and finish the installation :) Now I know all that's left is to patiently wait.

[autoSteve]

Normal service has returned for BJ and I.

[BJReplay]

I will try to determine the age of the repair, and only add the detection comment if it is fresh.

@autoSteve you may want to unsubscribe from the 429 storm discussion that my tagging you has resulted in you being subscribed to comments.

[autoSteve]

Nah. I get every whimper here, BJ. More the merrier.