fix: show rate limiting countdown as informational message instead of error

packages/evals/src/cli/runTask.ts

@@ -302,6 +302,7 @@ export const runTask = async ({ run, task, publish, logger, jobToken }: RunTaskO
 		"condense_context",
 		"condense_context_error",
 		"api_req_retry_delayed",
+		"api_req_rate_limited",
 		"api_req_retried",
 	]
 

packages/types/src/message.ts

@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ export function isNonBlockingAsk(ask: ClineAsk): ask is NonBlockingAsk {
  * - `api_req_finished`: Indicates an API request has completed successfully
  * - `api_req_retried`: Indicates an API request is being retried after a failure
  * - `api_req_retry_delayed`: Indicates an API request retry has been delayed
+ * - `api_req_rate_limited`: Indicates user-configured rate limiting countdown (not an error)
  * - `api_req_deleted`: Indicates an API request has been deleted/cancelled
  * - `text`: General text message or assistant response
  * - `reasoning`: Assistant's reasoning or thought process (often hidden from user)
@@ -155,6 +156,7 @@ export const clineSays = [
 	"api_req_finished",
 	"api_req_retried",
 	"api_req_retry_delayed",
+	"api_req_rate_limited",
 	"api_req_deleted",
 	"text",
 	"image",

src/core/task/Task.ts

@@ -3706,10 +3706,9 @@ export class Task extends EventEmitter<TaskEvents> implements TaskLike {
 
 		// Only show rate limiting message if we're not retrying. If retrying, we'll include the delay there.
 		if (rateLimitDelay > 0 && retryAttempt === 0) {
-			// Show countdown timer
+			// Show countdown timer using dedicated rate limit message type
 			for (let i = rateLimitDelay; i > 0; i--) {
-				const delayMessage = `Rate limiting for ${i} seconds...`
-				await this.say("api_req_retry_delayed", delayMessage, undefined, true)
+				await this.say("api_req_rate_limited", String(i), undefined, true)
 				await delay(1000)
 			}
 		}

webview-ui/src/components/chat/ChatRow.tsx

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import { ReasoningBlock } from "./ReasoningBlock"
 import Thumbnails from "../common/Thumbnails"
 import ImageBlock from "../common/ImageBlock"
 import ErrorRow from "./ErrorRow"
+import { RateLimitCountdown } from "./RateLimitCountdown"
 
 import McpResourceRow from "../mcp/McpResourceRow"
 
@@ -1086,6 +1087,10 @@ export const ChatRowContent = ({
 							)}
 						</>
 					)
+				case "api_req_rate_limited":
+					// User-configured rate limiting countdown (not an API error)
+					const rateLimitSeconds = parseInt(message.text || "0", 10)
+					return <RateLimitCountdown seconds={rateLimitSeconds} />
 				case "api_req_retry_delayed":
 					let body = t(`chat:apiRequest.failed`)
 					let retryInfo, rawError, code, docsURL

webview-ui/src/components/chat/RateLimitCountdown.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+import React, { memo } from "react"
+import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next"
+import { Timer } from "lucide-react"
+
+export interface RateLimitCountdownProps {
+	seconds: number
+}
+
+/**
+ * Displays a user-configured rate limiting countdown as an informational message.
+ * This is NOT an error state - it's expected behavior based on user settings.
+ *
+ * Uses neutral/informational styling instead of error styling.
+ */
+export const RateLimitCountdown = memo(({ seconds }: RateLimitCountdownProps) => {
+	const { t } = useTranslation()
+
+	return (
+		<div className="flex items-center gap-2 text-vscode-descriptionForeground">
+			<Timer className="size-4 shrink-0" strokeWidth={1.5} />
+			<span className="text-sm">
+				{t("chat:rateLimit.countdown", { seconds, defaultValue: `Rate limiting: ${seconds}s` })}
+			</span>
+		</div>
+	)
+})
+
+RateLimitCountdown.displayName = "RateLimitCountdown"
+
+export default RateLimitCountdown

webview-ui/src/components/chat/__tests__/RateLimitCountdown.spec.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+import React from "react"
+
+import { render, screen } from "@/utils/test-utils"
+
+import { RateLimitCountdown } from "../RateLimitCountdown"
+
+// Mock i18n
+vi.mock("react-i18next", () => ({
+	useTranslation: () => ({
+		t: (key: string, params?: { seconds?: number }) => {
+			if (key === "chat:rateLimit.countdown") {
+				return `Rate limiting: ${params?.seconds}s`
+			}
+			return key
+		},
+	}),
+	initReactI18next: {
+		type: "3rdParty",
+		init: vi.fn(),
+	},
+}))
+
+describe("RateLimitCountdown", () => {
+	it("renders with countdown seconds", () => {
+		render(<RateLimitCountdown seconds={5} />)
+
+		expect(screen.getByText("Rate limiting: 5s")).toBeInTheDocument()
+	})
+
+	it("renders with zero seconds", () => {
+		render(<RateLimitCountdown seconds={0} />)
+
+		expect(screen.getByText("Rate limiting: 0s")).toBeInTheDocument()
+	})
+
+	it("uses informational styling (not error styling)", () => {
+		const { container } = render(<RateLimitCountdown seconds={10} />)
+
+		// Check that the component has the expected informational styling class
+		const rootDiv = container.firstChild as HTMLElement
+		expect(rootDiv).toHaveClass("text-vscode-descriptionForeground")
+
+		// Verify it does NOT have error-related styling
+		expect(rootDiv).not.toHaveClass("text-vscode-errorForeground")
+	})
+
+	it("renders the Timer icon", () => {
+		const { container } = render(<RateLimitCountdown seconds={5} />)
+
+		// Lucide icons render as SVG elements
+		const svgIcon = container.querySelector("svg")
+		expect(svgIcon).toBeInTheDocument()
+	})
+})

webview-ui/src/i18n/locales/en/chat.json

@@ -470,5 +470,8 @@
 		"updated": "Updated the to-do list",
 		"completed": "Completed",
 		"started": "Started"
+	},
+	"rateLimit": {
+		"countdown": "Rate limiting: {{seconds}}s"
 	}
 }