diff --git a/backend/apps/library/e621.py b/backend/apps/library/e621.py
index 98c4c50..adecd5b 100644
--- a/backend/apps/library/e621.py
+++ b/backend/apps/library/e621.py
@@ -13,7 +13,10 @@ import time
 import requests
 from django.conf import settings
 
-REQUEST_INTERVAL = 0.5  # seconds between requests, per process
+# Seconds between requests, per process. e621 allows 2/s hard and 1/s
+# sustained; each gunicorn worker throttles on its own, so leave enough
+# headroom that combined traffic does not trip the limit.
+REQUEST_INTERVAL = 1.0
 
 
 class E621Error(Exception):
diff --git a/frontend/src/features/upload/UploadPage.tsx b/frontend/src/features/upload/UploadPage.tsx
index 2e07dce..4591831 100644
--- a/frontend/src/features/upload/UploadPage.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/features/upload/UploadPage.tsx
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import { api, authHeaders, apiUrl, errorMessage, uploadFile } from "@/lib/api";
 import { cn } from "@/lib/cn";
 import {
   E621Error,
+  e621CooldownRemainingMs,
   e621ErrorMessage,
   effectiveCredentials,
   fetchPost,
@@ -823,6 +824,15 @@ export default function UploadPage() {
     setIqdbError(null);
     try {
       while (iqdbQueueRef.current.length > 0) {
+        // Wait out a rate-limit cooldown before touching e621 again.
+        const cooldown = e621CooldownRemainingMs();
+        if (cooldown > 0) {
+          setIqdbError(
+            `e621 rate limit — resuming in ${Math.ceil(cooldown / 1000)}s`,
+          );
+          await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, cooldown + 250));
+          setIqdbError(null);
+        }
         const tempId = iqdbQueueRef.current.shift() as string;
         const cached =
           queryClient.getQueryData<TempUpload[]>(["uploads"]) ?? [];
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/e621.ts b/frontend/src/lib/e621.ts
index fcecd60..ae7acb0 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/e621.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/e621.ts
@@ -89,13 +89,50 @@ export function effectiveCredentials(
 const GIT_HASH = typeof __GIT_HASH__ === "string" ? __GIT_HASH__ : "dev";
 const CLIENT_VERSION = `J621/${GIT_HASH} (JakeBreath)`;
 
-// e621 allows 2 requests/second hard, 1/second sustained. Serialize every
-// request through a queue with a 1s minimum gap.
+// e621 allows 2 requests/second hard, 1/second sustained — and the IQDB
+// endpoint is stricter, so stay comfortably under it. Serialize every request
+// through a queue with a minimum gap.
 let lastRequestAt = 0;
 let queue: Promise<unknown> = Promise.resolve();
 
 /** A hung request would block the whole serialized queue forever. */
 const REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS = 20_000;
+const REQUEST_GAP_MS = 1500;
+
+/** A 429 (or a CORS-blocked failure) pauses every e621 call for a while. */
+const RATE_LIMIT_COOLDOWN_MS = 60_000;
+const COOLDOWN_KEY = "j621.e621.cooldown";
+let cooldownUntil = 0;
+
+function storedCooldown(): number {
+  try {
+    return Number(window.localStorage.getItem(COOLDOWN_KEY)) || 0;
+  } catch {
+    return 0;
+  }
+}
+
+export function e621CooldownRemainingMs(): number {
+  return Math.max(0, Math.max(cooldownUntil, storedCooldown()) - Date.now());
+}
+
+function startCooldown(): void {
+  cooldownUntil = Date.now() + RATE_LIMIT_COOLDOWN_MS;
+  try {
+    window.localStorage.setItem(COOLDOWN_KEY, String(cooldownUntil));
+  } catch {
+    // Storage disabled; the in-memory cooldown still applies.
+  }
+}
+
+function isRateLimitError(error: unknown): boolean {
+  if (error instanceof E621Error) {
+    return error.status === 429 || error.status === 503;
+  }
+  // Browsers hide the status of a CORS-blocked response; a rate-limited 429
+  // arrives here as a network error.
+  return error instanceof TypeError || error instanceof DOMException;
+}
 
 function schedule<T>(task: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
   const run = queue.then(task, task);
@@ -107,7 +144,11 @@ function schedule<T>(task: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
 }
 
 async function throttle(): Promise<void> {
-  const wait = Math.max(0, lastRequestAt + 1000 - Date.now());
+  const wait = Math.max(
+    0,
+    lastRequestAt + REQUEST_GAP_MS - Date.now(),
+    e621CooldownRemainingMs(),
+  );
   if (wait > 0) {
     await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, wait));
   }
@@ -177,6 +218,12 @@ export function e621Request<T>(
         return undefined as T;
       }
       return (await response.json()) as T;
+    } catch (error) {
+      // Cancelled requests (navigation, unmounted query) are not rate limits.
+      if (!options.signal?.aborted && isRateLimitError(error)) {
+        startCooldown();
+      }
+      throw error;
     } finally {
       clearTimeout(timer);
       options.signal?.removeEventListener("abort", forwardAbort);
@@ -209,7 +256,7 @@ export function e621ErrorMessage(error: unknown): string {
     return "e621 did not answer in time.";
   }
   if (error instanceof TypeError) {
-    return "Could not reach e621. Check the base URL and your connection.";
+    return "Could not reach e621. If this keeps happening it is usually the rate limit — wait a minute and retry.";
   }
   return error instanceof Error
     ? error.message