Velocity Quota
Per-organization configurable rate limit that stops runaway AI agents before they flood external APIs. Token bucket implementation — containment, not throttling.
A velocity quota is a per-organization configurable rate limit that stops runaway AI agents before they flood external APIs. Unlike simple throttling, velocity quotas are designed for containment— a cap on agent tool call frequency that prevents a single misconfiguration from generating thousands of API calls per minute.
Token bucket implementation
Velocity quotas use a token bucket algorithm: each organization has a bucket of tokens that refills at a configurable rate. Every agent tool call consumes one token. When the bucket is empty, calls are rejected with a rate-limit response. This provides burst tolerance while enforcing a long-term rate ceiling.
Throttling vs containment
Throttling makes things slower. Containment stops things from breaking. A velocity quota says "this agent cannot call more than 100 Stripe API operations per minute" — full stop. The rate limit is a safety boundary, not a performance tradeoff.
Related terms
Monitoring for changes in MCP server tool signatures after approval — new tools added, tool schemas modified, endpoints changed. Alerts fire so teams can re-evaluate before the agent uses new tools.
Signed, verifiable proof tokens produced for every authorization decision. Non-repudiable audit trail that can be verified without trusting the authorization service.