Migrate from Unkey

Unkey's rate-limiting SDK (@unkey/ratelimit) and Brume Limit solve the same problem with similar ergonomics: one client, one call, a verdict. This guide is the side-by-side swap.

Before / after

// ── Unkey ──────────────────────────────────────────────
import { Ratelimit } from '@unkey/ratelimit';

const ratelimit = new Ratelimit({
  rootKey: process.env.UNKEY_ROOT_KEY!,
  namespace: 'api',
  limit: 100,
  duration: '60s',
});

const { success, remaining, reset } = await ratelimit.limit(user.id);

// ── Brume Limit ────────────────────────────────────────
import { createLimitClient } from '@brume/limit';

const limit = createLimitClient({
  apiKey: process.env.BRUME_API_KEY!,
});

const result = await limit.limit('api', user.id);
// result.success, result.remaining, result.reset, result.retry_after

Concept map

Step by step

1. Create the project and key. Sign in at app.brume.run, create a project, mint a rate_limit-scoped key.
2. Recreate your namespaces as rules. For each Unkey namespace, create a Brume rule with the same limit and window. Unkey's duration: '60s' becomes window_seconds: 60.
3. Swap the client. Replace the import and the constructor as above. The call shape is the same: limit(identifier).
4. Use retry_after. Brume returns retry_after seconds on denial — forward it as the Retry-After header. Unkey's reset is a timestamp; Brume's reset is too, plus the convenience field.
5. Pick your failure mode. Brume fails open with degraded: true when its Redis is down, and the SDK adds timeout.fallback / onError knobs. Decide your availability-vs-correctness tradeoff explicitly.
6. Cut over per namespace. Because rules are independent, you can migrate one namespace at a time.

What you gain

• Two more algorithms (sliding window log, sliding window counter).
• Per-identifier overrides, long-window quotas, and block/allow lists as first-class objects.
• Flat-rate pricing: a known number instead of step-tier jumps.

What you lose

• Unkey's API-key management product is a non-goal here. If you use Unkey for key issuance, keep it for that and use Brume for the limiting.