# Am I hitting the rate limit in the last phase?

**URL:** <https://forum.codecrafters.io/t/am-i-hitting-the-rate-limit-in-the-last-phase/15928>\
**Category:** Challenges\
**Tags:** challenge:claude-code\
**Created:** [February 23, 2026, 3:59am UTC](https://forum.codecrafters.io/t/am-i-hitting-the-rate-limit-in-the-last-phase/15928 "2026-02-23T03:59:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NGWi](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.codecrafters.io/ngwi/32/23524_2.png) [@NGWi](https://forum.codecrafters.io/u/NGWi)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 3:59am UTC](https://forum.codecrafters.io/t/am-i-hitting-the-rate-limit-in-the-last-phase/15928/1 "2026-02-23T03:59:12Z")

</div>

On the last stage, for the second test (#OZ7 (Implement the write tool)) on the third API call I keep getting:

```auto
Error code: 500 - {'error': {'message': 'Internal Server Error', 'code': 500}}!)

```

I would guess that this is rate-limit issue. No amount of cycling through the providers or sleeping for 30s helped, though (see my code below. I realize it’s a little more complicated than it needs to be because I am constraining Bash - see the Course Feedback topic. But removing the os path lookup didn’t make a difference). I can’t sleep for longer as the Test times out in 45s.

```python
import argparse
import os
import sys
import json
import re
import subprocess
import time
import random

from openai import OpenAI

API_KEY = os.getenv("OPENROUTER_API_KEY")
BASE_URL = os.getenv("OPENROUTER_BASE_URL", default="https://openrouter.ai/api/v1")

def safe_bash_list(current_dir):
    """ Handle list command - only list current directory """
    try:
        # Use subprocess.run with capture_output to get ls output
        # This runs 'ls' in the current directory only
        process = subprocess.run(
            ['ls'],
            capture_output=True,
            text=True,
            cwd=current_dir # Ensure it runs in the correct directory
        )
        result = process.stdout if process.returncode == 0 else process.stderr
    except Exception as e:
        result = f"Error executing ls: {str(e)}"
    
    return result
                                  
def safe_bash_delete(tool_args):
    """
    Allows deleting a file via bash, while constraining it to 
    only running a non-recursive rm, and only within 
    the test's directory.

    Parameters
    ----------
    tool_args 

    Returns
    -------
    result: string

    """
    # Get the current working directory to restrict file operations
    # This prevents the model from deleting files outside the project directory
    current_dir = os.getcwd()
    command = tool_args.get("command")
    
    # Check if command is a simple delete (rm) command
    # Pattern: rm <filename> (no flags like -rf, no pipes, no &&)
    command = command.strip()
    
    # Only allow simple "rm <filename>" commands
    # This prevents: rm -rf, rm *, sudo rm, etc.
    is_rm_command = re.match(r'^rm\s+[^\s]+$', command)
    is_ls_command = re.match(r'^ls(\s+)?$', command)
    
    if is_rm_command:
        # Extract the file path from the command
        parts = command.split(None, 1) # Split on whitespace
        if len(parts) == 2:
            file_to_delete = parts[1]
            
            # Security: Ensure the file path doesn't escape current directory
            if not file_to_delete.startswith("/") and not "../" in file_to_delete:
                full_path = os.path.join(current_dir, file_to_delete)
                full_path = os.path.abspath(full_path)
                
                # Verify the file is within current directory
                if full_path.startswith(current_dir):
                        try:
                            os.remove(full_path)
                            result = "File deleted successfully"
                        except Exception as e:
                            result = f"Error deleting file: {str(e)}"
                else:
                    result = f"Error: File path '{file_to_delete}' escapes working directory"
            else:
                result = f"Error: Invalid file path '{file_to_delete}' - absolute paths and ../ not allowed"
        else:
            result = "Error: Invalid rm command format"
            
    elif is_ls_command:
        result = safe_bash_list(current_dir)
    else:
        # Reject any other commands for security
        # This blocks: ls -la, ls -l, ls /path, cd, rm -rf, sudo, etc.
        result = "Error: Only simple 'rm <filename>' or 'ls' commands are allowed. Other commands are blocked for security."
    
    return result

def make_api_call(client, messages, tools, providers, provider, max_retries=5):
    """Make API call with retry logic for rate limiting"""
    for attempt in range(max_retries):
        try:
            return client.chat.completions.create(
                model="anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5",
                messages=messages,
                tools=tools,
                extra_body={
                    "provider": {
                        "order": [providers[provider]],
                        "allow_fallbacks": False
                    }
                }
            )

        except Exception as e:
            print(e)
            if attempt < max_retries - 1 and "500" in str(e):
                seconds = 15
                print(f"API rate limit hit, retrying in {seconds}s...", file=sys.stderr)
                time.sleep(seconds) # Increasing backoff
                if provider == 2:
                    provider = 0
                else:
                    provider += 1
            else:
                raise e

def main():
    p = argparse.ArgumentParser()
    p.add_argument("-p", required=True)
    args = p.parse_args()

    if not API_KEY:
        raise RuntimeError("OPENROUTER_API_KEY is not set")

    client = OpenAI(api_key=API_KEY, base_url=BASE_URL)
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": args.p}]
    
    providers = ["Google"]
    others = ["Anthropic", "Amazon Bedrock"]
    next = random.choice(others)
    providers.append(next)
    providers.remove(next)
    providers.extend(others)
    provider = 0
    last_provider = None
    
    while True:
        tools=[
            {
              "type": "function",
              "function": {
                "name": "Read",
                "description": "Read and return the contents of a file",
                "parameters": {
                  "type": "object",
                  "required": ["file_path"],
                  "properties": {
                    "file_path": {
                      "type": "string",
                      "description": "The path to the file to read"
                    }
                  }
                }
              }
            },
            {
              "type": "function",
              "function": {
                "name": "Write",
                "description": "Write content to a file",
                "parameters": {
                  "type": "object",
                  "required": ["file_path", "content"],
                  "properties": {
                    "file_path": {
                      "type": "string",
                      "description": "The path of the file to write to"
                    },
                    "content": {
                      "type": "string",
                      "description": "The content to write to the file"
                    }
                  }
                }
              }
            },
            {
              "type": "function",
              "function": {
                "name": "Bash",
                "description": "Execute a shell command",
                "parameters": {
                  "type": "object",
                  "required": ["command"],
                  "properties": {
                    "command": {
                      "type": "string",
                      "description": "The command to execute"
                    }
                  }
                }
              }
            }
        ]
        
        chat = make_api_call(client, messages, tools, providers, provider)

        if not chat.choices or len(chat.choices) == 0:
            raise RuntimeError("no choices in response")
    
        print("chat returned as:", chat, file=sys.stderr)
        
        message = chat.choices[0].message
        if message:
            messages.append(message)
            content = message.content
            tool_calls = message.tool_calls
            if tool_calls and len(tool_calls) > 0:
                for call in tool_calls:
                    tool = call.function
                    args = json.loads(tool.arguments)
                    if tool:
                        name = tool.name
                        result = None
                        if name == 'Read':
                            with open(args.get("file_path"), 'r') as file:
                                result = file.read()
                        elif name == 'Write':
                            with open(args.get("file_path"), 'w') as file:
                                file.write(args.get("content"))
                        elif name == 'Bash':
                            result = safe_bash_delete(args)
                                
                        messages.append({
                            "role": "tool",
                            "tool_call_id": call.id,
                            "content" : result
                        })
                
                last_provider = chat.provider
                if provider == 2:
                    provider = 0
                else:
                    provider += 1

            else:
                # TODO: Uncomment the following line to pass the first stage
                print(content)
                break

if __name__ == " __main__":
    main()
    seconds = 30
    print("sleeping for:", seconds)
    time.sleep(seconds)

```

If it is a rate-limit issue, can we have the option of falling back to some other free model when this happens?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![andy1li](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.codecrafters.io/andy1li/32/10_2.png) [@andy1li](https://forum.codecrafters.io/u/andy1li)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 6:34am UTC](https://forum.codecrafters.io/t/am-i-hitting-the-rate-limit-in-the-last-phase/15928/3 "2026-03-04T06:34:16Z")

</div>

Hey @NGWi, could you [upload your code to GitHub](https://docs.codecrafters.io/features/publish-to-github) and share the link? It will be much easier to debug if I can run it directly.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![andy1li](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.codecrafters.io/andy1li/32/10_2.png) [@andy1li](https://forum.codecrafters.io/u/andy1li)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 8:45am UTC](https://forum.codecrafters.io/t/am-i-hitting-the-rate-limit-in-the-last-phase/15928/7 "2026-03-09T08:45:37Z")

</div>

Closing this thread due to inactivity. If you still need assistance, feel free to reopen or start a new discussion!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/uploads/codecrafters/original/3X/7/0/700657133935c15703e22c7c8870394f6e6dc27d.svg) [@system](https://forum.codecrafters.io/u/system)\
**Post date:** [March 14, 2026, 8:46am UTC](https://forum.codecrafters.io/t/am-i-hitting-the-rate-limit-in-the-last-phase/15928/8 "2026-03-14T08:46:04Z")

</div>

Closed on March 14, 2026, 8:46am UTC

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