Reference

Working notes on inference API errors and provider limits, kept current as providers change their models and tiers. Vendor-neutral — some entries end in "here is how to fix it yourself".

Error reference One entry per exact error string — status, code, whether waiting helps, and the fixes

Switching providers Moving between OpenAI-compatible endpoints with a base URL change

API documentation Authentication, requests, models, streaming and errors for this API

Trackers

Model deprecations

Retired API models with shutdown dates, replacements and where the same model is still served.

Free-tier rate limits

Current free-tier limits per provider and model, and how each provider signals which limit you hit.

Error reference All entries

Groq	Entry	Can you wait it out?
`429 · rate_limit_exceeded`	HTTP 429 rate_limit_exceeded (Groq) A per-minute or per-day counter (RPM, RPD, TPM, TPD) for the model is exhausted	Per-minute limits: yes, seconds. Per-day limits: no — until the 24h window resets
`413 · rate_limit_exceeded`	HTTP 413 "Request too large for model" (Groq) One request (prompt + history + expected completion) is larger than the model's entire per-minute token budget on your tier	<strong>No.</strong> The limit is per request, not per window — the same request fails again after any wait
`404 · model_not_found`	404 model_not_found: llama-3.3-70b-versatile (Groq) Since 2026-08-16, on any free or developer-tier request that names this model (or llama-3.1-8b-instant)	No — the model was retired; the request will fail until you change the model or the provider
`Billing · upgrade blocked`	Groq: "Developer tier upgrades are temporarily unavailable" You try to move from the Free plan to the Developer plan to raise rate limits	Only if you can accept free-tier limits until Groq reopens upgrades (no date given)

OpenAI-compatible APIs	Entry	Can you wait it out?
`404 · model_not_found`	404 model_not_found: "The model … does not exist or you do not have access to it" The id in <code class="inline-code">model</code> is not served by the endpoint you called, or your key is not allowed to use it	No — it fails deterministically until the id or the endpoint changes

Google Gemini	Entry	Can you wait it out?
`429 · RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED`	HTTP 429 RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED (Gemini API) A per-minute (RPM / TPM) or per-day (RPD) quota for the model is used up on your tier — most often the free tier's daily request quota	Per-minute quotas: yes — honour <code class="inline-code">retryDelay</code>. Per-day quotas: no — until the daily reset (midnight Pacific)

How-tos

Switching OpenAI-compatible providers with a base URL change

Python, Node, LiteLLM and LangChain examples, plus the three things to check before you flip the switch.

Missing an error you hit? Send us the exact string and we will add an entry.