Rate Limits¶

Dexter manages message delivery to avoid hitting Discord and Telegram API rate limits, and to prevent individual users from overwhelming the system with overly broad tracking.

How It Works¶

Dexter tracks messages sent per user/channel within a rolling time window. When a user exceeds their limit, messages are queued and delivered more slowly. If a user consistently exceeds limits, their tracking can be automatically disabled.

Configuration¶

{
  "alertLimits": {
    "timingPeriod": 240,
    "dmLimit": 20,
    "channelLimit": 40,
    "maxLimitsBeforeStop": 10,
    "disableOnStop": false,
    "shameChannel": "",
    "limitOverride": {}
  }
}

Option	Default	Description
`timingPeriod`	`240`	Rolling window in seconds for rate calculation
`dmLimit`	`20`	Maximum DMs to a user per period
`channelLimit`	`40`	Maximum messages to a channel per period
`maxLimitsBeforeStop`	`10`	Number of times a user can hit the limit before being stopped
`disableOnStop`	`false`	Permanently disable the user's tracking (requires admin to re-enable)
`shameChannel`	`""`	Channel ID to post notifications when users are rate-limited

Per-Route Overrides¶

Override limits for specific users or channels:

{
  "alertLimits": {
    "limitOverride": {
      "CHANNEL_ID": {
        "dmLimit": 50,
        "channelLimit": 100
      }
    }
  }
}

Platform Limits¶

Discord¶

Discord has a global rate limit of approximately 5 messages per 5 seconds per channel
Dexter automatically backs off when hitting Discord's rate limits
Worker bots help distribute load across multiple connections

Telegram¶

Telegram limits bots to approximately 30 messages per second overall
Per-chat limit of approximately 1 message per second
Dexter respects these limits with automatic retry and backoff

Tuning¶

For high-volume setups, adjust the concurrency settings:

{
  "tuning": {
    "concurrentDiscordDestinationsPerBot": 10,
    "concurrentTelegramDestinationsPerBot": 10,
    "concurrentDiscordWebhookConnections": 10
  }
}

Everything Flag¶

Control how broadly users can track:

{
  "tracking": {
    "everythingFlagPermissions": "allow-any"
  }
}

Value	Description
`"allow-any"`	Users can use `everything` in tracking commands
`"allow-and-always-individually"`	`everything` works but always tracks individually too
`"allow-and-ignore-individually"`	`everything` works but ignores individual tracking
`"deny"`	Disable the `everything` flag