GitLab joins rush to slow AI coders with rate limits

GitLab will tighten rate limits on API requests, web requests, and authenticated Git over HTTPS requests beginning in October, with unauthenticated users and free-tier users hit first via preview windows from 3pm to 7pm UTC on October 7 and October 14 before the changes take effect for those users on October 19. Higher-tier users, including most enterprise customers, will not see changes until January, and GitLab says most users already fall inside the new limits. Anthropic and GitHub have introduced similar rate limits.

Devops platform GitLab already rate-limits some functionality https://docs.gitlab.com/user/gitlab com/rate limits/ rate-limits-by-plan on its hosted service, but will tighten those-limits for some functions and for some users beginning next month. The new limits will affect API requests https://about.gitlab.com/blog/rate-limit-change-2026/ , web requests, and authenticated Git over HTTPS requests. Users on the lowest payment tiers will be the first to be affected, as will those making unauthenticated requests, including those running automations running against a paid account without credentials. GitLab will give unauthenticated users and users of its free tier a taste of the new restrictions during two “preview” windows between 3pm and 7pm UTC on October 7 and October 14. The changes will definitively take effect for those users from October 19. Users with higher rate limits — which will include most enterprise users — will not see any changes until January. The organization is keen to stress that most users will be unaffected by any of these changes, as it recognizes that almost all users are already inside the new limits. GitLab is not alone in making these changes. Companies including Anthropic https://www.infoworld.com/article/4151196/anthropic-throttles-claude-subscriptions-to-meet-capacity.html and GitHub https://www.infoworld.com/article/4164236/github-shifts-copilot-to-usage-based-billing-signaling-new-cost-model-for-enterprise-ai-tools.html have introduced similar rate limits.