🔒 Rate Limiting Educational Project (Java + Python)

This repository contains a full-stack ethical API security testing project with:

• ✅ A Java GUI application to test rate limits
• ✅ A Flask-based Python server with rate-limited endpoints
• ✅ Support for both GET and POST
• ✅ Logging, stats, response times, and more
• ✅ Bonus: Basic CRUD and multithreading examples in Java

⚠️ Ethical Use Only: This tool is created solely for educational purposes to demonstrate how rate limiting works. Do not use this to target any system without full authorization.

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📦 Project Structure

📁 rate-limit-project/
├── 📁 java-client/           # Java GUI app with threading
│   └── RateTester.java
├── 📁 python-server/         # Flask API with rate limit
│   └── app.py
└── README.md                 # This file

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🧠 What You Learn

• 🔄 API request automation in Java
• 🧵 Multithreading and concurrency
• 🧪 How to test server rate limits
• 🎨 Simple Java Swing GUI
• 🔐 Flask server security features
• 📊 Approximate rate limit detection

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🖥️ Java GUI Tester

✅ Features

• Choose request type: GET or POST
• Enter custom endpoint and JSON payload
• Launch multithreaded requests
• Detect server rate limit (req/min)
• Stop on rate-limit detection
• Output logs and response times

🚀 Run Java Client

Compile and run:

javac RateTester.java
java RateTester

Or use your IDE like IntelliJ or Eclipse.

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🧪 Python Flask Server

✅ Features

• /test endpoint with GET and POST
• Built-in 50 requests/minute rate limit
• Automatic 429 error handling
• JSON body handling in POST

📦 Install Dependencies

pip install flask flask-limiter

▶️ Run the Server

python app.py

Server starts on: http://127.0.0.1:5000/test

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🧪 API Usage

🔹 GET Example

curl http://127.0.0.1:5000/test

🔹 POST Example

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:5000/test -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"username": "test", "password": "123"}'

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💡 Advanced Features (Java)

• Multithreaded stress test using Executors
• Auto-measure actual rate limit per minute
• Stops all threads after first 429 error
• JSON editor only appears if POST is selected
• Swing-based GUI with input validation

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📊 Example Output (Java App)

Starting 100 requests with 10 threads
Request 37 failed with status 429 (Rate Limit)
Stopped after hitting rate limit.
Approx. Rate Limit: 48.5 req/min

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📄 License

This project is open-source under the MIT License.

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🙏 Credits

Built for a university project on web security and API testing. This repository is intended for educational and ethical testing only.