Why is a rate limit metadata snippet disrupting my streaming completion output?

Below is an explanation of what you might be seeing and some steps to address it.

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What’s Happening

The snippet starting with { "rate_limit_usage": { is coming from our back-end as part of the streaming data. In some cases, especially when using streaming mode, additional metadata (such as your current rate limit usage) can be sent alongside the generated content. This is expected behavior in some scenarios—even if you’re not over your rate limit.

This metadata is emitted as a separate event (similar to the documented rate limit event). It is valid JSON but can cause issues if your client code is assuming that every chunk is part of the completion’s main text output.

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How to Handle It

1. Adjust Your Stream Parser:
   If you’re expecting pure completion text or a specific JSON response, consider updating your client’s parser to detect and either ignore or handle these separate events. For example, you could look for keys like "rate_limit_usage" or "event_id" to differentiate these events from the main message.

2. Explicit JSON Instructions (if applicable):
   When using JSON mode, ensure that you instruct the model to produce JSON output (using a system or user message). This minimizes unintended output, although system-level metadata (like rate limit usage) might still come through separately.

3. Check for Recent Changes:
   Since you mentioned this started about an hour ago and never happened before, it might be related to a recent update. It’s a good idea to check the latest OpenAI Platform update notes or reach out to our support channels if this behavior disrupts your workflow.

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Example Code Snippet (Python)

Below is a sample snippet that shows how you might filter out events related to rate limit usage from your streaming responses:

PYTHONCopied
import json

def process_stream_chunk(chunk):
    try:
        data = json.loads(chunk)
    except json.JSONDecodeError:
        # Handle non-JSON content
        return chunk

    # Check if this is a rate limit metadata event
    if "rate_limit_usage" in data or data.get("type") == "rate_limits.updated":
        # Optionally log the rate limit info and ignore it
        print("Received rate limit usage event:", data)
        return None
    # Otherwise, process the main completion data
    return data.get("choices", [{}])[0].get("text", "")

# Example usage in your stream processing loop:
for chunk in stream_completions():
    result = process_stream_chunk(chunk)
    if result is not None:
        # Continue processing the valid completion text
        print(result)

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Summary

• The extra JSON snippet is an expected part of some streaming responses that include metadata.
• Update your stream parsing logic to handle or ignore these metadata events.
• Ensure that if you’re operating in JSON mode, you give explicit instructions for JSON output to avoid extra formatting issues.
• If this unexpected behavior impacts your integration, consider checking for updates or contacting our support.

This should help you manage the content coming through your stream without breaking your application.