A Cloudflare rate-limiting rule matched the request. Either the client genuinely exceeded a limit, or a rule is scoped too broadly and is catching normal traffic.
Short answer
A Cloudflare rate-limiting rule matched the request. Either the client genuinely exceeded a limit, or a rule is scoped too broadly and is catching normal traffic.
What Cloudflare Error 1015 means
1015 comes from Cloudflare's rate limiting, not from the origin. The origin never sees the request, which is why nothing appears in its logs.
Causes and fixes, most likely first
A rate-limiting rule is too aggressive for real traffic patterns. Review the rule's threshold and window in Security → WAF → Rate limiting rules, and scope it to the specific paths that need protection.
Many users share one IP behind a corporate NAT and collectively trip the limit. Rate limit on a session or API key characteristic instead of raw IP where possible.
An integration or crawler is hammering an endpoint. Identify the source in the Cloudflare Security Events log and either throttle it at source or allowlist it deliberately.
How to stop it happening again
Alert on 1015 rate — a rule that starts catching real users looks exactly like a traffic drop otherwise.
Scope rate-limit rules to endpoints rather than the whole hostname.
Check your own domain
An external probe shows whether the limit applies broadly or only to specific clients and paths.
Frequently asked questions
Why is nothing in my server logs?
Because Cloudflare blocks the request at the edge. Check Cloudflare's Security Events log instead of the origin's access log.