diff --git a/openapi/templates/rest.mustache b/openapi/templates/rest.mustache
index 17a85a1d9..e65520a45 100644
--- a/openapi/templates/rest.mustache
+++ b/openapi/templates/rest.mustache
@@ -17,7 +17,10 @@ from rapidata.api_client.exceptions import ApiException, ApiValueError
 _logger = logging.getLogger("rapidata.api_client")
 _TRANSIENT_RETRY_MAX_ATTEMPTS = 3
 _TRANSIENT_RETRY_BASE_DELAY = 0.5
-_RETRYABLE_STATUS_CODES = {502, 503, 504}
+# 429 = rate limit, 502/503/504 = transient upstream / gateway errors.
+# All five are safe to retry with exponential backoff.
+_RETRYABLE_STATUS_CODES = {429, 502, 503, 504}
+_RETRY_AFTER_MAX_SECONDS = 60.0
 
 
 class RESTResponse(io.IOBase):
@@ -139,7 +142,11 @@ class RESTClientObject:
                 continue
 
             if r.status_code in _RETRYABLE_STATUS_CODES and attempt < _TRANSIENT_RETRY_MAX_ATTEMPTS:
-                delay = _TRANSIENT_RETRY_BASE_DELAY * (2 ** attempt)
+                # Prefer the server's `Retry-After` hint when present
+                # (common for 429). Fall back to exponential backoff.
+                delay = self._retry_after_from_response(r)
+                if delay is None:
+                    delay = _TRANSIENT_RETRY_BASE_DELAY * (2 ** attempt)
                 _logger.warning(
                     "Server error on %s %s (attempt %d/%d): %d. Retrying in %.1fs...",
                     method, url, attempt + 1, _TRANSIENT_RETRY_MAX_ATTEMPTS + 1,
@@ -213,6 +220,26 @@ class RESTClientObject:
                     data[key] = value
         return files, data
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _retry_after_from_response(response: httpx.Response) -> Optional[float]:
+        """Parse a `Retry-After` header into a bounded float seconds value.
+
+        Accepts the integer-seconds form (RFC 7231). HTTP-date form is
+        intentionally not supported; in that case we fall back to the
+        exponential backoff schedule. Bounded by `_RETRY_AFTER_MAX_SECONDS`
+        so a hostile or broken server can't extend the retry loop.
+        """
+        raw = response.headers.get("Retry-After")
+        if not raw:
+            return None
+        try:
+            seconds = float(raw)
+        except (TypeError, ValueError):
+            return None
+        if seconds < 0:
+            return None
+        return min(seconds, _RETRY_AFTER_MAX_SECONDS)
+
     @staticmethod
     def _build_timeout(_request_timeout):
         """Build a Timeout object from the request timeout parameter."""
diff --git a/src/rapidata/api_client/rest.py b/src/rapidata/api_client/rest.py
index 0e2bcee85..9ae39f9d6 100644
--- a/src/rapidata/api_client/rest.py
+++ b/src/rapidata/api_client/rest.py
@@ -27,7 +27,10 @@
 _logger = logging.getLogger("rapidata.api_client")
 _TRANSIENT_RETRY_MAX_ATTEMPTS = 3
 _TRANSIENT_RETRY_BASE_DELAY = 0.5
-_RETRYABLE_STATUS_CODES = {502, 503, 504}
+# 429 = rate limit, 502/503/504 = transient upstream / gateway errors.
+# All five are safe to retry with exponential backoff.
+_RETRYABLE_STATUS_CODES = {429, 502, 503, 504}
+_RETRY_AFTER_MAX_SECONDS = 60.0
 
 
 class RESTResponse(io.IOBase):
@@ -149,7 +152,11 @@ def request(
                 continue
 
             if r.status_code in _RETRYABLE_STATUS_CODES and attempt < _TRANSIENT_RETRY_MAX_ATTEMPTS:
-                delay = _TRANSIENT_RETRY_BASE_DELAY * (2 ** attempt)
+                # Prefer the server's `Retry-After` hint when present
+                # (common for 429). Fall back to exponential backoff.
+                delay = self._retry_after_from_response(r)
+                if delay is None:
+                    delay = _TRANSIENT_RETRY_BASE_DELAY * (2 ** attempt)
                 _logger.warning(
                     "Server error on %s %s (attempt %d/%d): %d. Retrying in %.1fs...",
                     method, url, attempt + 1, _TRANSIENT_RETRY_MAX_ATTEMPTS + 1,
@@ -223,6 +230,26 @@ def _parse_multipart_params(post_params):
                     data[key] = value
         return files, data
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _retry_after_from_response(response: httpx.Response) -> Optional[float]:
+        """Parse a `Retry-After` header into a bounded float seconds value.
+
+        Accepts the integer-seconds form (RFC 7231). HTTP-date form is
+        intentionally not supported; in that case we fall back to the
+        exponential backoff schedule. Bounded by `_RETRY_AFTER_MAX_SECONDS`
+        so a hostile or broken server can't extend the retry loop.
+        """
+        raw = response.headers.get("Retry-After")
+        if not raw:
+            return None
+        try:
+            seconds = float(raw)
+        except (TypeError, ValueError):
+            return None
+        if seconds < 0:
+            return None
+        return min(seconds, _RETRY_AFTER_MAX_SECONDS)
+
     @staticmethod
     def _build_timeout(_request_timeout):
         """Build a Timeout object from the request timeout parameter."""