Claude AI Overloaded Error | HTTP status code 529

The Claude AI “Overloaded Error” with HTTP status code 529 indicates that Anthropic’s servers are temporarily overwhelmed and unable to process incoming requests due to very high traffic volumes.

This is a server-side issue affecting all users, regardless of account type or subscription tier. Unlike typical rate limit errors (HTTP 429), the 529 “overloaded_error” means the system’s capacity is exceeded globally.

✅ What it means

• According to the official docs from Anthropic, this error arises when the API returns:

  {
"type":"error",
"error":{"type":"overloaded_error","message":"Overloaded"}
}


  with HTTP status code 529.

• In short: “Overloaded” = the service is currently under too much load (peak traffic / capacity constraints).

• It’s not (necessarily) a bug in your code or your account’s rate-limit. It’s more of a global/server-side capacity issue. For comparison: 429 = “you exceeded your rate/usage limit”; 529 = “system is overloaded” (user side not directly fixable).

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🛠 What you can do

Here are practical steps to address the issue on your end:

1. Wait a few minutes and retry

   • Since this is a capacity overload, traffic will ease and service should resume. Many user reports say retrying after ~5-10 minutes works.

   • On Reddit:

     “I keep getting … API Error (529 {"type":"error","error":{"type":"overloaded_error","message":"Overloaded"}})”

2. Use exponential back-off for retries

   • Rather than hammering retries every second, wait 1s, then 2s, then 4s, etc. This reduces load and is better for system health.

   • Example:

     attempt 1 → wait 1s
attempt 2 → wait 2s
attempt 3 → wait 4s
… up to N attempts


3. Check your model / endpoint choice

   • Sometimes the heavier/larger models (with higher compute) are more affected by capacity constraints than lightweight models. If possible, try a smaller model or endpoint.

   • Some user reports say switching models helped.

4. Monitor status pages or announcements

   • Though these errors may not always show up as “service outage” because they may be capacity/traffic constraints rather than full failures. The docs note:“Capacity issues occur when Claude’s infrastructure experiences high demand… These issues are temporary and typically resolve as demand patterns shift throughout the day.”

   • Still check for any announcements from Anthropic about maintenance, updates, or degraded performance.

5. Gracefully handle the error in your code

   • If you’re using Claude via API in production, treat 529 errors like “transient server busy” errors.

   • Structure your code like:

     try request
if error type == overloaded_error:
wait & retry
else if error type == rate_limit_error:
handle differently


   • This ensures user-facing features degrade gracefully rather than crash outright.

⚠️ Things to keep in mind

• If you’re repeatedly getting the error for long durations (e.g., 15-30 minutes or more) and it’s severely blocking you, it may indicate:

  • A major load spike or incident at Anthropic’s side (not just a momentary blip).

  • Your usage pattern is heavy (many parallel requests) and you might hit additional limits or queue delays.

• Even if you think your usage is light, the global pool may be saturated—you still might get the overload message.

• The fact that the error is global means just you waiting doesn’t always solve it instantly—you may need to retry later when overall load falls.