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Handling Claude API 'overloaded_error' and Rate Limits in Production

  Nothing breaks a production release faster than a third-party dependency failing under load. If you are integrating Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet or Opus into your backend, you have likely encountered the infamous   overloaded_error   (HTTP 529) or the   rate_limit_error   (HTTP 429). These errors are not standard crashes; they are signals of congestion. When handled poorly, they cause cascading failures in your application. When handled correctly, they are mere latency hiccups that your users never notice. This guide provides a production-grade strategy for stabilizing your Python backend against Anthropic API volatility using exponential backoff, jitter, and the  tenacity  library. The Root Cause: Why 529 and 429 Errors Occur Before applying the fix, we must understand the mechanics of the failure. This ensures we treat the disease, not just the symptoms. The 529 Overloaded Error An HTTP 529 error means Anthropic's compute clusters are temporarily ...