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Throttlebird is a simple http request throttler to help limit the number of client requests within a given period of time.

In your WebApiConfig file under the App_Start folder of your ASP.NET MVC project, add the following code block within the Register method:

// Implement our custom throttling handler to limit API method calls.
// Specify the throttle store, max number of allowed requests within specified timespan,
// and message displayed in the error response when exceeded.
config.MessageHandlers.Add(new ThrottlingHandler(
    new InMemoryThrottleStore(),
    id => 3,
    TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5),
    "You have exceeded the maximum number of allowed calls. Please wait until after the cooldown period to try again."
));

This works across all http requests on your site, limiting the number of requests to 3 every 5 seconds. To adjust, simply modify the id parameter to the number of requests, and the timespan to any valid TimeSpan value (FromSeconds, FromMinutes, etc.) to the values that work for you.

This is the the first iteration of this library. Future expansions will allow you to selectively apply throttling on specific controller actions through the use of attributes.