# Stream disconnects or errors

> Why a stream closes or returns 401, 402, or 429, why it can seem to skip events, and how to recover from each — including after a dropped connection.

The matches are flowing but the connection misbehaves. Match the symptom below.

## The stream closes after a few minutes

This is **normal**. A stream closes with an `end` event once it hits `timeout` (default **300s**, max 300)
or the `limit` you set:

```text
event: end
data: {}
```

**Fix:** reconnect to continue. Send the last event's `id:` back as the `Last-Event-ID` header to resume
from the next event — within the ~24h replay buffer you won't miss anything in between. See
[Streaming](/stream/streaming#reconnecting).

## I get a 401 from a browser `EventSource`

The native browser `EventSource` API **cannot send custom headers**, so it can't pass the
`Authorization: Bearer` token — every request comes back `401`.

**Fix:** use the `eventsource` npm package or a fetch-based SSE client that supports headers. See the
[code examples](/api-reference/examples).

## I get a 402 opening the stream

A `402` means the organization's **prepaid balance is exhausted** — new stream connections are refused
until you add credit.

**Fix:** top up from the [Billing page](/billing/how-billing-works). See
[How billing works](/billing/how-billing-works) for how matches draw down credit.

## I get a 429

A `429` means a per-tap rate limit was exceeded: **30 stream connections/min** and **60 rule
requests/min**.

**Fix:** back off and retry. One long-lived connection that you reconnect on `end` is the intended
pattern — don't reconnect in a tight loop. See [Errors & limits](/api-reference/errors-and-limits).

## I dropped a connection and think I missed events

Events are buffered for roughly **24 hours**, so a brief drop loses nothing if you resume correctly.

**Fix:** reconnect with the `Last-Event-ID` header (the browser `EventSource` does this automatically).
To deliberately catch up, use [`since`](/stream/streaming) (e.g. `?since=1h`) or an exact `offset`.
Precedence is `Last-Event-ID` > `offset` > `since` > live tail.

## Next steps

<CardGrid>
  <Card title="Streaming reference" href="/stream/streaming">
    Event types, parameters, and the full reconnection contract.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Errors & limits" href="/api-reference/errors-and-limits">
    Every status code and rate limit.
  </Card>
</CardGrid>