> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.goldsky.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Edge RPC security: authentication and rate limiting

> How Edge RPC authenticates requests with API keys via query string or header, and how rate limits are applied per key across chains and methods.

Edge RPC provides authentication and rate limiting controls to secure your endpoints.

## Authentication

Each Edge RPC endpoint requires an API key for authentication. The key is included in the URL:

```
https://edge.goldsky.com/standard/evm/{chainId}?key=demo
```

Pass the key as a URL query parameter:

```bash theme={"dark"}
curl "https://edge.goldsky.com/standard/evm/1?key=demo" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[],"id":1}'
```

## Rate Limiting

Rate limits can be configured per key in the [Goldsky Dashboard](https://app.goldsky.com). The following options are available:

| Option                                     | Total RPS | Per-IP RPS | Description                               |
| ------------------------------------------ | --------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| `None (Unlimited)`                         | Unlimited | Unlimited  | No rate limiting applied                  |
| `edge-tier-6krpm-total-unlimited-per-ip`   | \~100     | Unlimited  | Low volume, no per-IP restrictions        |
| `edge-tier-60krpm-total-unlimited-per-ip`  | \~1,000   | Unlimited  | Medium volume, no per-IP restrictions     |
| `edge-tier-180krpm-total-unlimited-per-ip` | \~3,000   | Unlimited  | High volume, no per-IP restrictions       |
| `edge-tier-360krpm-total-unlimited-per-ip` | \~6,000   | Unlimited  | Very high volume, no per-IP restrictions  |
| `edge-tier-600krpm-total-unlimited-per-ip` | \~10,000  | Unlimited  | Enterprise volume, no per-IP restrictions |
| `edge-tier-6krpm-total-500rpm-per-ip`      | \~100     | \~8        | Low volume with per-IP protection         |
| `edge-tier-60krpm-total-500rpm-per-ip`     | \~1,000   | \~8        | Medium volume with per-IP protection      |
| `edge-tier-180krpm-total-500rpm-per-ip`    | \~3,000   | \~8        | High volume with per-IP protection        |
| `edge-tier-360krpm-total-500rpm-per-ip`    | \~6,000   | \~8        | Very high volume with per-IP protection   |
| `edge-tier-600krpm-total-500rpm-per-ip`    | \~10,000  | \~8        | Enterprise volume with per-IP protection  |
| `edge-tier-unlimited-total-100rpm-per-ip`  | Unlimited | \~1.7      | Strict per-IP limiting only               |
| `edge-tier-unlimited-total-500rpm-per-ip`  | Unlimited | \~8        | Moderate per-IP limiting only             |

* **Total RPS**: Maximum requests per second across all IPs using this key
* **Per-IP RPS**: Maximum requests per second from a single IP address


## Related topics

- [Why Edge RPC](/edge-rpc/why-edge.md)
- [HTTP Handler](/turbo-pipelines/transforms/http-handler.md)
- [x402 nanopayments: pay-per-call access to Edge RPC](/edge-rpc/capabilities/x402.md)
- [Monitoring](/edge-rpc/platform/monitoring.md)
- [Goldsky MCP Server](/mcp-server.md)