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

# Access & Rate Limits

> Public Nova API requests are open and protected by rate limits.

Public Nova API requests do not require an API key or `Authorization` header:

```bash theme={"dark"}
curl "https://api-nova.tech/v1/data/tokens/search?query=bonk"
```

## Open Public Access

The public API is intended for browser playgrounds, docs examples, demos, and lightweight integrations. Send public-chain identifiers only.

## Public User Context

When an endpoint needs user context, pass the public wallet address:

```json theme={"dark"}
{
  "walletAddress": "9xQeWvG816bUx9EPfQ5D9b8fRGyJitf8F6f4fH6QJjAo"
}
```

That keeps the playground easy to understand and safe to expose.

## Rate Limits

Nova uses layered rate limits:

* Per IP
* Per IP for docs playground traffic
* Per endpoint
* Per high-cost capability, such as wallet trade history or Nova Bridge route plans

If a request is limited, Nova returns `429` with retry guidance.

## Safe Use

Do not send private keys, seed phrases, recovery phrases, passcodes, backup codes, or signing payloads. Wallet approvals and signing stay in the wallet.