Use RateLimiter inside queue job middleware to throttle background job execution against third-party API rate limits.
When background queue workers process external API calls (such as sending transactional emails via SendGrid or synchronizing data with Shopify), workers can easily exceed third-party API rate limits.
Laravel provides rate limiting middleware directly for queued jobs.
Defining Rate Limiters for Jobs
In AppServiceProvider::boot():
namespace App\Providers;
use Illuminate\Cache\RateLimiting\Limit;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\RateLimiter;
use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;
class AppServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
public function boot(): void
{
// Limit third-party API sync to 10 jobs per minute
RateLimiter::for('shopify-api', function ($job) {
return Limit::perMinute(10)->by($job->account_id);
});
}
}Applying Middleware in Queue Jobs
namespace App\Jobs;
use Illuminate\Bus\Queueable;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Queue\ShouldQueue;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Bus\Dispatchable;
use Illuminate\Queue\InteractsWithQueue;
use Illuminate\Queue\Middleware\RateLimited;
class SyncShopifyOrdersJob implements ShouldQueue
{
use Dispatchable, InteractsWithQueue, Queueable;
public function __construct(public int $account_id) {}
public function middleware(): array
{
// Automatically releases job back to queue if rate limit is reached
return [new RateLimited('shopify-api')];
}
public function handle(): void
{
// Make rate-limited API calls safely
}
}Summary
- Releases jobs back onto the queue automatically when rate limits are reached.
- Prevents 429 API threshold blocks from third-party services.
- Partitions limits dynamically by tenant ID or account ID.
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