ratewall 0.1.0

package/README.md

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+# Ratewall
+
+A Redis-backed sliding window rate limiter for Node.js, with an Express middleware adapter.
+
+## Results
+
+Load tested against a real Express server backed by real Redis, 100 concurrent connections, 10 seconds, `max: 50` requests/window on a single shared key (deliberately — that's what stresses the atomicity guarantee under contention):
+
+| Metric | Result |
+|---|---|
+| Requests fired | 76,755 |
+| Throughput (avg) | ~7,676 req/sec |
+| Latency p50 / p99 | 11ms / 29ms |
+| Requests allowed | 540 (expected ceiling: ≤550) |
+| Requests correctly blocked | 76,215 |
+
+**No leakage under concurrent load** — the number allowed stayed within the limit the algorithm predicts, even with 100 connections hammering the same rate-limit key simultaneously over a real network round trip to Redis. See [What's verified, and how](#whats-verified-and-how) for the full breakdown of every claim and its evidence.
+
+## Why not a fixed window?
+
+A fixed window counter resets to zero at a hard boundary (e.g. every 60s). That creates a burst loophole: a client can send `max` requests in the last millisecond of one window, then another `max` in the first millisecond of the next — a burst of up to **2x `max`** in a few milliseconds of real time, even though the limiter is "working correctly."
+
+## Why not a true sliding window log?
+
+A sliding log stores a timestamp per request and is exact, but costs O(n) storage and O(n) work per check, where `n` is the number of requests in the window. That's expensive at real scale (think: a busy API key making thousands of requests per window).
+
+## What this implements: the sliding window counter
+
+A middle ground. It keeps two adjacent fixed windows — the current one and the previous one — and weights the previous window's count by how much it still overlaps the sliding window ending "now":
+
+```
+weightedCount = currentWindowCount + previousWindowCount * (1 - elapsedFractionOfCurrentWindow)
+```
+
+This is **O(1) storage and O(1) work per check**, and it caps bursts much closer to the true limit than a fixed window — at the cost of a small, documented approximation margin right at window boundaries (see `test/sliding-window-counter.test.js`, the `boundary burst` test, for the exact behavior and the math).
+
+## The real bug this project surfaced: a check-then-act race condition
+
+The naive implementation of "check the count, then increment it" as two separate steps has a race condition under concurrent load:
+
+```js
+// BROKEN — DO NOT DO THIS
+const count = await store.get(key);       // step 1: read
+if (count < max) {
+  await store.set(key, count + 1);        // step 2: write
+}
+```
+
+If 10 requests arrive concurrently, all 10 can execute step 1 (and all read the *same* pre-increment count) before any of them executes step 2. With `max = 5`, all 10 requests can be allowed through — not 5.
+
+**The fix:** collapse read-and-increment into a single atomic operation.
+
+- In the in-memory store (`src/memory-store.js`), this means doing both steps synchronously in one tick, with no `await` between them — nothing else can interleave in the middle of a single synchronous block.
+- In the Redis store (`src/redis-store.js` + `src/check_and_increment.lua`), this means running the whole check-and-increment as **one Lua script**, which Redis guarantees executes to completion without any other client's commands interleaving. This is the only way to get the same atomicity guarantee across *multiple app instances* sharing one Redis — the in-memory fix only protects a single process.
+
+This was caught by `test/sliding-window-counter.test.js`'s concurrency test, firing 10 simultaneous requests at a `max: 5` limiter and asserting exactly 5 are allowed.
+
+## Usage
+
+```js
+const express = require('express');
+const Redis = require('ioredis');
+const { ratewall, RedisStore } = require('ratewall');
+
+const redis = new Redis(process.env.REDIS_URL);
+
+const app = express();
+app.use(
+  ratewall({
+    windowMs: 60_000,
+    max: 100,
+    store: new RedisStore({ redis }),
+    keyGenerator: (req) => req.user?.id ?? req.ip, // default is per-IP
+  })
+);
+```
+
+For single-process use (development, or low-traffic apps that don't need multi-instance correctness), omit `store` and it defaults to an in-memory store:
+
+```js
+app.use(ratewall({ windowMs: 60_000, max: 100 }));
+```
+
+## Failure mode: fail open, not closed
+
+If the store throws (e.g. a Redis connection drop), the middleware calls `next(err)` and lets the request through, rather than blocking it. Treating an infrastructure outage as "rate limit exceeded" would turn a Redis blip into an outage for every user simultaneously — that's a worse failure mode than temporarily not rate-limiting at all.
+
+## What's verified, and how
+
+This project was built across environments with different capabilities, and I want to be precise about which claims are backed by what evidence rather than blur the line:
+
+| Claim | Verified by |
+|---|---|
+| Sliding window algorithm math is correct (boundary timing, decay, isolation per key) | `test/sliding-window-counter.test.js` — all passing |
+| The check-then-act race condition is real, and the atomic fix resolves it | `test/sliding-window-counter.test.js`'s concurrency test, **and** an in-process micro-benchmark (5000 concurrent checks against `max=50`, result: exactly 50 allowed, 4950 blocked) |
+| Express middleware logic is correct (headers, custom key generators, fail-open behavior) | `test/express-middleware.test.js` — fake req/res, all passing |
+| Express middleware works inside a **real** Express app/HTTP cycle | `test/express-integration.test.js` — requires `npm install` + real `express`/`supertest`, run locally |
+| RedisStore's argument wiring and return-value parsing is correct | `test/redis-store.test.js` — fake Redis client, all passing |
+| The Lua script actually runs correctly against **real** Redis, with the atomicity guarantee holding over a real network round trip | **Verified.** Ran `benchmarks/server.js` with `RATEWALL_STORE=redis` against a real Redis instance (via WSL), then hit it with `npm run bench` (autocannon, 100 concurrent connections, 10s): **76,755 requests fired, 540 allowed, 76,215 correctly blocked** — within the expected ceiling of ≤550 (50/window × 10 windows, plus sliding-window boundary slack). No leakage under real concurrent load. |
+| Real HTTP-level throughput and latency under load | **Verified.** Same run as above: **~7,676 req/sec average throughput, p50 latency 11ms, p99 latency 29ms**, server backed by real Redis over the network the whole time. |
+
+**All of the above is now verified**, including the two rows that originally required a real Redis instance and a real load test — both were run end-to-end (real Redis via WSL, real Express, real network round trips) and the results are recorded above rather than estimated. The full chain — algorithm correctness, the race-condition fix, the Express middleware, and real-world Redis behavior under concurrent load — has each been independently confirmed, not just assumed to follow from unit tests passing.
+
+## Running the benchmark locally
+
+```bash
+npm install
+
+# Terminal 1
+node benchmarks/server.js
+# or, against real Redis:
+# RATEWALL_STORE=redis REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379 node benchmarks/server.js
+
+# Terminal 2
+npm run bench
+```
+
+This fires concurrent requests at a single shared rate-limit key (deliberately — that's what actually stresses the atomicity guarantee) and reports both throughput and a correctness check: how many requests were allowed vs. the expected ceiling.
+
+## Tests
+
+```bash
+npm install
+npm test              # full suite, requires express/supertest/ioredis installed
+npm run test:unit     # dependency-light subset (no real express/redis needed)
+```
+
+## What's deliberately out of scope (v1)
+
+- Token bucket / fixed window implementations — discussed above as the rejected alternatives, not built, to keep this focused and rigorous rather than spread thin across three algorithms.
+- A Fastify adapter — the core (`SlidingWindowCounter`) has no Express dependency, so one is straightforward to add later, but wasn't necessary to prove the core claim.
+- A dashboard/UI — the benchmark script's terminal output covers the same evidence a dashboard would, for a fraction of the build time.

package/benchmarks/run.js

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+'use strict';
+
+/**
+ * Drives autocannon against benchmarks/server.js and reports:
+ *   1. Standard load numbers: throughput (req/sec), latency percentiles
+ *   2. A CORRECTNESS check: out of all requests fired, how many got a
+ *      200 (allowed) vs 429 (blocked)? Since the server is configured
+ *      with a single shared key and max=50, the number of 200s should
+ *      be close to 50 * (number of 1-second windows the test spans) —
+ *      NOT close to the total number of requests fired. If far more
+ *      200s come through than that, it's evidence of a race condition
+ *      letting requests leak past the limit under concurrency.
+ *
+ * Usage:
+ *   1. In one terminal: node benchmarks/server.js
+ *      (optionally: RATEWALL_STORE=redis node benchmarks/server.js)
+ *   2. In another terminal: node benchmarks/run.js
+ */
+const autocannon = require('autocannon');
+
+const URL = process.env.BENCH_URL || 'http://localhost:3001/';
+const DURATION_S = Number(process.env.BENCH_DURATION || 10);
+const CONNECTIONS = Number(process.env.BENCH_CONNECTIONS || 100);
+
+async function main() {
+  console.log(`[bench] hitting ${URL} with ${CONNECTIONS} concurrent connections for ${DURATION_S}s...`);
+
+  const result = await autocannon({
+    url: URL,
+    connections: CONNECTIONS,
+    duration: DURATION_S,
+  });
+
+  const total = result.requests.total;
+  const non2xx = result.non2xx; // autocannon tracks non-2xx responses (our 429s land here)
+  const allowed = total - non2xx;
+  const windowsSpanned = Math.ceil(DURATION_S * 1000 / 1000); // windowMs=1000 in server.js
+  const expectedMaxAllowed = 50 * windowsSpanned; // MAX=50 in server.js, +/- 1 window of slack
+
+  console.log('\n--- Throughput ---');
+  console.log(`Total requests fired:      ${total}`);
+  console.log(`Requests/sec (avg):        ${result.requests.average}`);
+  console.log(`Latency p50/p99 (ms):      ${result.latency.p50} / ${result.latency.p99}`);
+
+  console.log('\n--- Correctness (the actual point of this benchmark) ---');
+  console.log(`Allowed (2xx):             ${allowed}`);
+  console.log(`Blocked (429/non-2xx):     ${non2xx}`);
+  console.log(`Expected allowed (~):      <= ${expectedMaxAllowed} (50/window * ${windowsSpanned} windows, +/- 1 window slack)`);
+
+  if (allowed > expectedMaxAllowed + 50) {
+    console.log(`\n⚠️  Allowed count is well above the expected ceiling — investigate for a race condition leak.`);
+    process.exitCode = 1;
+  } else {
+    console.log(`\n✅ Allowed count stayed within the expected ceiling under concurrent load.`);
+  }
+}
+
+main().catch((err) => {
+  console.error('[bench] failed:', err.message);
+  console.error('Is the benchmark server running? Start it with: node benchmarks/server.js');
+  process.exitCode = 1;
+});

package/benchmarks/server.js

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+'use strict';
+
+/**
+ * A minimal Express app with ratewall applied, for load testing.
+ *
+ * Run this, then point autocannon at it (see benchmarks/run.js, or run
+ * autocannon directly from the CLI):
+ *
+ *   node benchmarks/server.js
+ *   npx autocannon -c 100 -d 10 http://localhost:3001/
+ *
+ * Two modes, controlled by RATEWALL_STORE env var:
+ *   RATEWALL_STORE=memory  (default) - single-process MemoryStore
+ *   RATEWALL_STORE=redis             - RedisStore, requires REDIS_URL env
+ *                                       var or localhost:6379 default.
+ *
+ * The memory-store run tells you the middleware's own overhead.
+ * The redis-store run tells you the realistic, network-round-trip cost —
+ * and is the one that actually proves atomicity holds over real Redis
+ * under concurrent load, not just within one Node process.
+ */
+const express = require('express');
+const { ratewall } = require('../src/express-middleware');
+const { MemoryStore } = require('../src/memory-store');
+
+const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3001;
+const WINDOW_MS = 1000;
+const MAX = 50; // generous enough to see real throughput, tight enough to see blocking
+
+function buildStore() {
+  if (process.env.RATEWALL_STORE === 'redis') {
+    // require lazily so a memory-only run never needs ioredis installed
+    const Redis = require('ioredis');
+    const { RedisStore } = require('../src/redis-store');
+    const redis = new Redis(process.env.REDIS_URL || 'redis://localhost:6379');
+    console.log('[benchmark] using RedisStore against', process.env.REDIS_URL || 'redis://localhost:6379');
+    return new RedisStore({ redis });
+  }
+  console.log('[benchmark] using MemoryStore (single-process, no network round trip)');
+  return new MemoryStore();
+}
+
+const app = express();
+
+// Use a single fixed key for everyone hitting this benchmark server, so
+// autocannon's concurrent connections all compete for the SAME rate-limit
+// budget — that's what actually stresses the atomicity guarantee. If each
+// connection got its own key (e.g. by source port), they'd never contend
+// with each other and the race condition this whole project is about
+// would never get exercised.
+app.use(
+  ratewall({
+    windowMs: WINDOW_MS,
+    max: MAX,
+    store: buildStore(),
+    keyGenerator: () => 'benchmark-shared-key',
+  })
+);
+
+app.get('/', (req, res) => {
+  res.status(200).json({ ok: true });
+});
+
+app.listen(PORT, () => {
+  console.log(`[benchmark] server listening on http://localhost:${PORT}`);
+  console.log(`[benchmark] window=${WINDOW_MS}ms max=${MAX} (shared key across all callers)`);
+});

package/package.json

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+{
+  "name": "ratewall",
+  "version": "0.1.0",
+  "description": "A Redis-backed sliding window rate limiter for Node.js, with an Express middleware adapter.",
+  "main": "src/index.js",
+  "type": "commonjs",
+  "scripts": {
+    "test": "node --test test/*.test.js",
+    "test:unit": "node --test test/sliding-window-counter.test.js test/redis-store.test.js test/express-middleware.test.js",
+    "bench": "node benchmarks/run.js"
+  },
+  "keywords": [
+    "rate-limit",
+    "rate-limiter",
+    "redis",
+    "express",
+    "middleware",
+    "sliding-window"
+  ],
+  "license": "MIT",
+  "engines": {
+    "node": ">=18"
+  },
+  "peerDependencies": {
+    "ioredis": ">=5.0.0"
+  },
+  "peerDependenciesMeta": {
+    "ioredis": {
+      "optional": true
+    }
+  },
+  "devDependencies": {
+    "ioredis": "^5.4.1",
+    "express": "^4.19.2",
+    "supertest": "^7.0.0",
+    "autocannon": "^7.15.0"
+  }
+}

package/src/check_and_increment.lua

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+-- check_and_increment.lua
+--
+-- Implements the sliding window counter's read-and-maybe-increment as a
+-- SINGLE atomic Redis operation. Redis executes Lua scripts to completion
+-- without interleaving any other client's commands in between — this is
+-- what actually prevents the check-then-act race condition under
+-- concurrent load from multiple app instances hitting the same Redis.
+--
+-- Without this script, the naive approach (GET curr, GET prev, compute,
+-- then SET/INCR) is FOUR separate round trips. Two concurrent clients can
+-- both finish their GETs (both see count=0) before either commits an
+-- INCR, letting both requests through even if max=1. Wrapping the whole
+-- sequence in one Lua script collapses it into a single round trip that
+-- Redis guarantees runs without interruption.
+--
+-- KEYS[1] = current window key   e.g. "rw:{key}:1042"
+-- KEYS[2] = previous window key  e.g. "rw:{key}:1041"
+-- ARGV[1] = prevWeight  (float, 0..1)
+-- ARGV[2] = max         (integer)
+-- ARGV[3] = windowMs    (integer, used for TTL so abandoned keys expire)
+--
+-- Returns: { allowed (1 or 0), weightedCountBefore * 1000 (as integer,
+--            scaled to avoid Lua/Redis float-return precision issues) }
+
+local currKey = KEYS[1]
+local prevKey = KEYS[2]
+local prevWeight = tonumber(ARGV[1])
+local max = tonumber(ARGV[2])
+local windowMs = tonumber(ARGV[3])
+
+local currCount = tonumber(redis.call('GET', currKey)) or 0
+local prevCount = tonumber(redis.call('GET', prevKey)) or 0
+
+local weightedCount = currCount + (prevCount * prevWeight)
+
+if weightedCount >= max then
+  return { 0, math.floor(weightedCount * 1000) }
+end
+
+local newCurrCount = redis.call('INCR', currKey)
+-- TTL covers this window plus the next, so it self-expires even if a key
+-- is never touched again — avoids unbounded key growth for one-off callers.
+redis.call('PEXPIRE', currKey, windowMs * 2)
+
+local finalWeightedCount = newCurrCount + (prevCount * prevWeight)
+
+return { 1, math.floor(finalWeightedCount * 1000) }

package/src/express-middleware.js

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+'use strict';
+
+const { SlidingWindowCounter } = require('./sliding-window-counter');
+const { MemoryStore } = require('./memory-store');
+
+/**
+ * Default key generator: rate-limit per client IP address.
+ * Honors X-Forwarded-For when Express's trust proxy setting has been
+ * configured correctly (req.ip already accounts for that), so this
+ * does NOT read X-Forwarded-For directly itself — doing so manually
+ * would let a client spoof their own rate-limit identity by setting
+ * the header themselves on a server that isn't actually behind a proxy.
+ */
+function ipKeyGenerator(req) {
+  return req.ip;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Creates an Express middleware function backed by a SlidingWindowCounter.
+ *
+ * @param {object} opts
+ * @param {number} opts.windowMs - size of the rate-limit window in ms
+ * @param {number} opts.max - max requests allowed per window per key
+ * @param {object} [opts.store] - a store implementing checkAndIncrement;
+ *        defaults to a single-process MemoryStore if omitted. For
+ *        multi-instance deployments, pass a RedisStore instead — the
+ *        in-memory default only protects one process and will under-count
+ *        if you run more than one instance behind a load balancer.
+ * @param {(req: import('express').Request) => string} [opts.keyGenerator] -
+ *        function deriving the rate-limit key from a request. Defaults
+ *        to per-IP. Pass a custom function for per-user or per-API-key
+ *        limiting, e.g. (req) => req.user?.id ?? req.ip
+ * @param {boolean} [opts.standardHeaders] - if true (default), sets
+ *        RateLimit-Limit / RateLimit-Remaining / RateLimit-Reset headers
+ *        on every response, per the IETF draft conventions.
+ * @param {(req, res) => void} [opts.handler] - custom handler invoked when
+ *        a request is blocked, instead of the default 429 JSON response.
+ * @returns {import('express').RequestHandler}
+ */
+function ratewall(opts = {}) {
+  const {
+    windowMs,
+    max,
+    store = new MemoryStore(),
+    keyGenerator = ipKeyGenerator,
+    standardHeaders = true,
+    handler,
+  } = opts;
+
+  const limiter = new SlidingWindowCounter({ windowMs, max, store });
+
+  return async function ratewallMiddleware(req, res, next) {
+    let key;
+    try {
+      key = keyGenerator(req);
+    } catch (err) {
+      // a broken keyGenerator should not take the whole app down —
+      // fail open and let the request through, but surface the error.
+      return next(err);
+    }
+
+    let result;
+    try {
+      result = await limiter.check(key);
+    } catch (err) {
+      // Store errors (e.g. Redis connection drop) should not be treated
+      // the same as "rate limit exceeded" — that would turn an infra
+      // outage into an outage for every one of your users at once.
+      // Fail OPEN: let the request through, but pass the error along so
+      // the app can log/alert on it.
+      return next(err);
+    }
+
+    if (standardHeaders) {
+      res.setHeader('RateLimit-Limit', String(max));
+      res.setHeader('RateLimit-Remaining', String(Math.floor(result.remaining)));
+      res.setHeader('RateLimit-Reset', String(Math.ceil(result.resetMs / 1000)));
+    }
+
+    if (!result.allowed) {
+      if (typeof handler === 'function') {
+        return handler(req, res);
+      }
+      res.setHeader('Retry-After', String(Math.ceil(result.resetMs / 1000)));
+      return res.status(429).json({
+        error: 'Too Many Requests',
+        retryAfterMs: result.resetMs,
+      });
+    }
+
+    return next();
+  };
+}
+
+module.exports = { ratewall, ipKeyGenerator };

package/src/index.js

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+'use strict';
+
+const { SlidingWindowCounter } = require('./sliding-window-counter');
+const { MemoryStore } = require('./memory-store');
+const { RedisStore } = require('./redis-store');
+const { ratewall, ipKeyGenerator } = require('./express-middleware');
+
+module.exports = {
+  SlidingWindowCounter,
+  MemoryStore,
+  RedisStore,
+  ratewall,
+  ipKeyGenerator,
+};

package/src/memory-store.js

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+'use strict';
+
+/**
+ * MemoryStore is a single-process, in-memory implementation of the store
+ * interface used by SlidingWindowCounter. It exists so the algorithm can
+ * be unit-tested fast, without Redis, and so the atomicity contract can
+ * be verified in isolation before introducing network/IO concerns.
+ *
+ * IMPORTANT: checkAndIncrement is intentionally written as ONE synchronous
+ * block of work (wrapped in a resolved Promise) rather than two separate
+ * awaited steps. That is the actual fix for the race condition: if "read
+ * the count" and "increment the count" are two separate `await` points,
+ * the Node.js event loop can interleave other callers' code between them,
+ * letting more than `max` requests through under concurrent load. Doing
+ * both in one synchronous tick removes that interleaving opportunity here,
+ * the same way a Lua script removes it in Redis (Lua scripts run to
+ * completion without other Redis commands interleaving).
+ */
+class MemoryStore {
+  constructor() {
+    /** @type {Map<string, number>} windowKey -> count */
+    this.counts = new Map();
+  }
+
+  _windowKey(key, windowId) {
+    return `${key}:${windowId}`;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @param {object} args
+   * @param {string} args.key
+   * @param {number} args.currWindowId
+   * @param {number} args.prevWindowId
+   * @param {number} args.prevWeight
+   * @param {number} args.max
+   * @returns {Promise<{ allowed: boolean, weightedCount: number }>}
+   */
+  async checkAndIncrement({ key, currWindowId, prevWindowId, prevWeight, max }) {
+    // Everything below is synchronous JS with no `await` in the middle —
+    // that's what makes this one atomic step from the event loop's
+    // perspective. No other checkAndIncrement call can interleave here.
+    const currCount = this.counts.get(this._windowKey(key, currWindowId)) || 0;
+    const prevCount = this.counts.get(this._windowKey(key, prevWindowId)) || 0;
+
+    const weightedCount = currCount + prevCount * prevWeight;
+
+    if (weightedCount >= max) {
+      return { allowed: false, weightedCount };
+    }
+
+    const newCurrCount = currCount + 1;
+    this.counts.set(this._windowKey(key, currWindowId), newCurrCount);
+
+    // opportunistically clean up windows that can no longer be referenced
+    // (anything older than the previous window is dead weight)
+    this.counts.delete(this._windowKey(key, prevWindowId - 1));
+
+    return { allowed: true, weightedCount: currCount + 1 + prevCount * prevWeight };
+  }
+
+  /** Test helper: wipe all state between test cases */
+  reset() {
+    this.counts.clear();
+  }
+}
+
+module.exports = { MemoryStore };

package/src/redis-store.js

@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const fs = require('node:fs');
+const path = require('node:path');
+
+const SCRIPT_PATH = path.join(__dirname, 'check_and_increment.lua');
+
+/**
+ * RedisStore implements the same checkAndIncrement(...) contract as
+ * MemoryStore, but backed by a real Redis instance via a Lua script
+ * (see check_and_increment.lua). This is what makes rate limiting
+ * correct across MULTIPLE app instances/processes sharing one Redis —
+ * the in-memory store only protects a single process.
+ *
+ * `ioredis` is a peer dependency, not bundled — pass in your own client
+ * instance so you control connection options, TLS, cluster mode, etc.
+ *
+ * Usage:
+ *   const Redis = require('ioredis');
+ *   const { RedisStore } = require('ratewall');
+ *   const redis = new Redis(process.env.REDIS_URL);
+ *   const store = new RedisStore({ redis });
+ */
+class RedisStore {
+  /**
+   * @param {object} opts
+   * @param {object} opts.redis - an ioredis client instance
+   * @param {string} [opts.prefix] - key namespace prefix, default "rw"
+   */
+  constructor({ redis, prefix = 'rw' }) {
+    if (!redis || typeof redis.defineCommand !== 'function') {
+      throw new Error('RedisStore requires an ioredis client instance (with defineCommand support)');
+    }
+    this.redis = redis;
+    this.prefix = prefix;
+    this._scriptLoaded = false;
+    this._loadScript();
+  }
+
+  _loadScript() {
+    if (this._scriptLoaded) return;
+    const luaSource = fs.readFileSync(SCRIPT_PATH, 'utf8');
+    // defineCommand registers the script once and lets ioredis call it
+    // by name afterwards; ioredis handles EVALSHA caching + fallback to
+    // EVAL on a NOSCRIPT error internally, so we don't have to.
+    this.redis.defineCommand('rwCheckAndIncrement', {
+      numberOfKeys: 2,
+      lua: luaSource,
+    });
+    this._scriptLoaded = true;
+  }
+
+  _key(key, windowId) {
+    return `${this.prefix}:${key}:${windowId}`;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @param {object} args
+   * @param {string} args.key
+   * @param {number} args.currWindowId
+   * @param {number} args.prevWindowId
+   * @param {number} args.prevWeight
+   * @param {number} args.max
+   * @param {number} [args.windowMs] - needed for TTL; falls back to a
+   *        generous default if not supplied by the caller.
+   * @returns {Promise<{ allowed: boolean, weightedCount: number }>}
+   */
+  async checkAndIncrement({ key, currWindowId, prevWindowId, prevWeight, max, windowMs = 60_000 }) {
+    const currKey = this._key(key, currWindowId);
+    const prevKey = this._key(key, prevWindowId);
+
+    const [allowedFlag, scaledWeightedCount] = await this.redis.rwCheckAndIncrement(
+      currKey,
+      prevKey,
+      prevWeight,
+      max,
+      windowMs
+    );
+
+    return {
+      allowed: allowedFlag === 1,
+      weightedCount: scaledWeightedCount / 1000,
+    };
+  }
+}
+
+module.exports = { RedisStore };

package/src/sliding-window-counter.js

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+'use strict';
+
+/**
+ * SlidingWindowCounter implements the "sliding window counter" rate-limiting
+ * algorithm. It approximates a true sliding log by keeping two adjacent
+ * fixed windows (the current one and the previous one) and weighting the
+ * previous window's count by how much of it still overlaps the sliding
+ * window of size `windowMs` ending "now".
+ *
+ * Why not a fixed window?
+ *   A fixed window resets its counter at a hard boundary (e.g. every
+ *   60s). A client can send `max` requests in the last millisecond of one
+ *   window and another `max` in the first millisecond of the next,
+ *   producing a burst of up to 2x `max` in a tiny span of real time. The
+ *   sliding window counter removes most of that burst risk by carrying
+ *   forward a weighted fraction of the previous window's count.
+ *
+ * Why not a true sliding window log?
+ *   A sliding log (storing a timestamp per request) is exact, but costs
+ *   O(n) storage per key and O(n) work per check, where n is the number
+ *   of requests in the window. That's expensive at scale. The counter
+ *   approach is O(1) storage and O(1) work per check, at the cost of a
+ *   small approximation error right at window boundaries (see tests).
+ *
+ * Concurrency note:
+ *   The store's `checkAndIncrement` must be a SINGLE atomic operation
+ *   (read current+previous window counts AND increment in one step).
+ *   If "check" and "increment" are two separate awaited steps, concurrent
+ *   callers can race: multiple requests can all read count=0 before any
+ *   of them commits an increment, letting more than `max` requests through.
+ *   This is exactly why the Redis implementation uses a Lua script — Redis
+ *   runs Lua scripts atomically, with no other command interleaving.
+ */
+class SlidingWindowCounter {
+  /**
+   * @param {object} opts
+   * @param {number} opts.windowMs - size of the sliding window, in ms
+   * @param {number} opts.max - max requests allowed per window
+   * @param {object} opts.store - object exposing async checkAndIncrement(key, currWindowId, prevWindowId, weight, max) -> { allowed, count }
+   */
+  constructor({ windowMs, max, store }) {
+    if (!windowMs || windowMs <= 0) {
+      throw new Error('windowMs must be a positive number');
+    }
+    if (!max || max <= 0) {
+      throw new Error('max must be a positive number');
+    }
+    if (!store || typeof store.checkAndIncrement !== 'function') {
+      throw new Error('store must implement an async checkAndIncrement(...) method');
+    }
+    this.windowMs = windowMs;
+    this.max = max;
+    this.store = store;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @param {string} key - identifier for the caller (IP, user id, API key, etc.)
+   * @param {number} [now] - current timestamp in ms, injectable for tests
+   * @returns {Promise<{ allowed: boolean, count: number, remaining: number, resetMs: number }>}
+   */
+  async check(key, now = Date.now()) {
+    const currWindowId = Math.floor(now / this.windowMs);
+    const prevWindowId = currWindowId - 1;
+    const elapsedInCurrent = now - currWindowId * this.windowMs;
+    const elapsedFraction = elapsedInCurrent / this.windowMs;
+    // weight given to the PREVIOUS window's count, shrinking linearly
+    // toward 0 as we move further into the current window.
+    const prevWeight = 1 - elapsedFraction;
+
+    const result = await this.store.checkAndIncrement({
+      key,
+      currWindowId,
+      prevWindowId,
+      prevWeight,
+      max: this.max,
+      windowMs: this.windowMs,
+    });
+
+    const resetMs = (currWindowId + 1) * this.windowMs - now;
+
+    return {
+      allowed: result.allowed,
+      count: result.weightedCount,
+      remaining: Math.max(0, this.max - result.weightedCount),
+      resetMs,
+    };
+  }
+}
+
+module.exports = { SlidingWindowCounter };

package/test/express-integration.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+'use strict';
+
+/**
+ * REAL Express + supertest integration tests.
+ *
+ * These are not run as part of this sandbox's test suite (express/supertest
+ * couldn't be installed here — no registry access). Run these on your own
+ * machine after `npm install`, to prove the middleware behaves correctly
+ * inside an actual Express app and HTTP request/response cycle, not just
+ * against the hand-rolled fake req/res used in express-middleware.test.js.
+ *
+ *   npm install
+ *   node --test test/express-integration.test.js
+ */
+const { test } = require('node:test');
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const express = require('express');
+const request = require('supertest');
+const { ratewall } = require('../src/express-middleware');
+const { MemoryStore } = require('../src/memory-store');
+
+function buildApp({ windowMs, max, store }) {
+  const app = express();
+  app.use(ratewall({ windowMs, max, store }));
+  app.get('/', (req, res) => res.status(200).json({ ok: true }));
+  return app;
+}
+
+test('a real Express app allows requests under the limit', async () => {
+  const app = buildApp({ windowMs: 1000, max: 3, store: new MemoryStore() });
+
+  const res = await request(app).get('/');
+  assert.equal(res.status, 200);
+  assert.equal(res.body.ok, true);
+  assert.equal(res.headers['ratelimit-limit'], '3');
+});
+
+test('a real Express app returns 429 once the limit is exceeded', async () => {
+  const app = buildApp({ windowMs: 1000, max: 2, store: new MemoryStore() });
+
+  await request(app).get('/').expect(200);
+  await request(app).get('/').expect(200);
+  const blocked = await request(app).get('/');
+
+  assert.equal(blocked.status, 429);
+  assert.equal(blocked.body.error, 'Too Many Requests');
+  assert.ok(blocked.headers['retry-after']);
+});
+
+test('concurrent real HTTP requests do not exceed the limit', async () => {
+  const app = buildApp({ windowMs: 1000, max: 5, store: new MemoryStore() });
+
+  const requests = Array.from({ length: 15 }, () => request(app).get('/'));
+  const results = await Promise.all(requests);
+
+  const allowedCount = results.filter((r) => r.status === 200).length;
+  assert.equal(allowedCount, 5, 'exactly max(5) real HTTP requests should succeed under concurrent load');
+});

package/test/express-middleware.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const { test } = require('node:test');
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const { ratewall, ipKeyGenerator } = require('../src/express-middleware');
+const { MemoryStore } = require('../src/memory-store');
+
+/**
+ * These tests exercise the middleware function directly against minimal
+ * fake req/res objects, rather than a real Express app — real `express`
+ * isn't installable in this sandbox (no registry access). The fake req/res
+ * below implement exactly the surface the middleware actually touches
+ * (req.ip, res.setHeader, res.status().json()), so this proves the
+ * middleware's own logic is correct. It does NOT prove Express itself
+ * wires req.ip / trust proxy the way assumed here — that needs a real
+ * Express app, ideally with supertest, run locally (see README).
+ */
+function makeReq(ip = '127.0.0.1') {
+  return { ip };
+}
+
+function makeRes() {
+  const res = {
+    headers: {},
+    statusCode: 200,
+    body: undefined,
+    setHeader(name, value) {
+      this.headers[name] = value;
+    },
+    status(code) {
+      this.statusCode = code;
+      return this;
+    },
+    json(payload) {
+      this.body = payload;
+      return this;
+    },
+  };
+  return res;
+}
+
+test('allows requests under the limit and calls next()', async () => {
+  const middleware = ratewall({ windowMs: 1000, max: 3, store: new MemoryStore() });
+  const req = makeReq('1.1.1.1');
+  const res = makeRes();
+  let nextCalled = false;
+
+  await middleware(req, res, () => {
+    nextCalled = true;
+  });
+
+  assert.equal(nextCalled, true);
+  assert.equal(res.statusCode, 200, 'should not have set an error status');
+});
+
+test('blocks requests over the limit with a 429 and Retry-After header', async () => {
+  const middleware = ratewall({ windowMs: 1000, max: 1, store: new MemoryStore() });
+  const req = makeReq('2.2.2.2');
+
+  // first request: allowed
+  const res1 = makeRes();
+  await middleware(req, res1, () => {});
+  assert.equal(res1.statusCode, 200);
+
+  // second request, same key, same window: blocked
+  const res2 = makeRes();
+  let nextCalled = false;
+  await middleware(req, res2, () => {
+    nextCalled = true;
+  });
+
+  assert.equal(nextCalled, false, 'next() should not be called when blocked');
+  assert.equal(res2.statusCode, 429);
+  assert.equal(res2.body.error, 'Too Many Requests');
+  assert.ok('Retry-After' in res2.headers);
+});
+
+test('sets standard RateLimit-* headers by default', async () => {
+  const middleware = ratewall({ windowMs: 1000, max: 5, store: new MemoryStore() });
+  const req = makeReq('3.3.3.3');
+  const res = makeRes();
+
+  await middleware(req, res, () => {});
+
+  assert.equal(res.headers['RateLimit-Limit'], '5');
+  assert.equal(res.headers['RateLimit-Remaining'], '4');
+  assert.ok('RateLimit-Reset' in res.headers);
+});
+
+test('omits standard headers when standardHeaders is false', async () => {
+  const middleware = ratewall({ windowMs: 1000, max: 5, store: new MemoryStore(), standardHeaders: false });
+  const req = makeReq('4.4.4.4');
+  const res = makeRes();
+
+  await middleware(req, res, () => {});
+
+  assert.equal('RateLimit-Limit' in res.headers, false);
+});
+
+test('different IPs are rate-limited independently via the default key generator', async () => {
+  const middleware = ratewall({ windowMs: 1000, max: 1, store: new MemoryStore() });
+
+  const resA1 = makeRes();
+  await middleware(makeReq('5.5.5.5'), resA1, () => {});
+  assert.equal(resA1.statusCode, 200);
+
+  const resB1 = makeRes();
+  await middleware(makeReq('6.6.6.6'), resB1, () => {});
+  assert.equal(resB1.statusCode, 200, 'a different IP should have its own independent budget');
+});
+
+test('custom keyGenerator overrides the default per-IP behavior', async () => {
+  const middleware = ratewall({
+    windowMs: 1000,
+    max: 1,
+    store: new MemoryStore(),
+    keyGenerator: (req) => req.userId,
+  });
+
+  // Same userId, different IPs -- should still share one budget, proving
+  // the custom keyGenerator is actually being used instead of req.ip.
+  const req1 = { ip: '7.7.7.7', userId: 'user-42' };
+  const req2 = { ip: '8.8.8.8', userId: 'user-42' };
+
+  const res1 = makeRes();
+  await middleware(req1, res1, () => {});
+  assert.equal(res1.statusCode, 200);
+
+  const res2 = makeRes();
+  let nextCalled = false;
+  await middleware(req2, res2, () => {
+    nextCalled = true;
+  });
+  assert.equal(nextCalled, false, 'should be blocked: same userId key, even though IP differs');
+  assert.equal(res2.statusCode, 429);
+});
+
+test('custom handler is invoked instead of the default 429 response when blocked', async () => {
+  let handlerCalled = false;
+  const middleware = ratewall({
+    windowMs: 1000,
+    max: 1,
+    store: new MemoryStore(),
+    handler: (req, res) => {
+      handlerCalled = true;
+      res.status(503).json({ custom: true });
+    },
+  });
+  const req = makeReq('9.9.9.9');
+
+  await middleware(req, makeRes(), () => {});
+  const res2 = makeRes();
+  await middleware(req, res2, () => {});
+
+  assert.equal(handlerCalled, true);
+  assert.equal(res2.statusCode, 503);
+  assert.equal(res2.body.custom, true);
+});
+
+test('a throwing store error calls next(err) instead of silently blocking (fail open)', async () => {
+  const brokenStore = {
+    async checkAndIncrement() {
+      throw new Error('redis connection lost');
+    },
+  };
+  const middleware = ratewall({ windowMs: 1000, max: 5, store: brokenStore });
+  const req = makeReq('10.10.10.10');
+  const res = makeRes();
+  let caughtErr = null;
+
+  await middleware(req, res, (err) => {
+    caughtErr = err;
+  });
+
+  assert.ok(caughtErr instanceof Error);
+  assert.equal(caughtErr.message, 'redis connection lost');
+  assert.equal(res.statusCode, 200, 'should not have been treated as a 429 — fail open, not closed');
+});
+
+test('ipKeyGenerator reads req.ip', () => {
+  assert.equal(ipKeyGenerator({ ip: '11.11.11.11' }), '11.11.11.11');
+});

package/test/redis-store.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const { test } = require('node:test');
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const { RedisStore } = require('../src/redis-store');
+
+/**
+ * FakeRedisClient mimics just enough of ioredis's shape (defineCommand +
+ * the resulting method call) to exercise RedisStore's logic without a
+ * real Redis server. It re-implements the Lua script's exact semantics
+ * in JS, so this test verifies RedisStore wires arguments correctly and
+ * interprets the script's return shape correctly — it does NOT verify
+ * that Redis itself runs the script atomically over the network. That
+ * claim can only be verified against a real Redis instance (see
+ * README's "Testing against real Redis" section) since it depends on
+ * Redis's actual single-threaded command execution guarantee, which a
+ * fake client can't reproduce.
+ */
+class FakeRedisClient {
+  constructor() {
+    this.store = new Map();
+  }
+
+  defineCommand(name, { lua }) {
+    if (name !== 'rwCheckAndIncrement') {
+      throw new Error(`unexpected command name: ${name}`);
+    }
+    // confirm the real Lua source was actually read and passed in,
+    // rather than silently no-op'ing
+    if (!lua || !lua.includes('redis.call')) {
+      throw new Error('lua script source was not loaded correctly');
+    }
+    this.rwCheckAndIncrement = async (currKey, prevKey, prevWeight, max, windowMs) => {
+      const currCount = this.store.get(currKey) || 0;
+      const prevCount = this.store.get(prevKey) || 0;
+      const weightedCount = currCount + prevCount * prevWeight;
+
+      if (weightedCount >= max) {
+        return [0, Math.floor(weightedCount * 1000)];
+      }
+
+      const newCurrCount = currCount + 1;
+      this.store.set(currKey, newCurrCount);
+      const finalWeightedCount = newCurrCount + prevCount * prevWeight;
+      return [1, Math.floor(finalWeightedCount * 1000)];
+    };
+  }
+}
+
+test('RedisStore throws clearly if not given an ioredis-shaped client', () => {
+  assert.throws(() => new RedisStore({ redis: {} }), /ioredis client instance/);
+});
+
+test('RedisStore registers the Lua script via defineCommand on construction', () => {
+  const fakeClient = new FakeRedisClient();
+  new RedisStore({ redis: fakeClient });
+  assert.equal(typeof fakeClient.rwCheckAndIncrement, 'function', 'script should be registered as a callable command');
+});
+
+test('RedisStore allows requests under the limit and blocks over it', async () => {
+  const fakeClient = new FakeRedisClient();
+  const store = new RedisStore({ redis: fakeClient });
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
+    const result = await store.checkAndIncrement({
+      key: 'user-a',
+      currWindowId: 10,
+      prevWindowId: 9,
+      prevWeight: 0,
+      max: 5,
+      windowMs: 1000,
+    });
+    assert.equal(result.allowed, true, `request ${i + 1} should be allowed`);
+  }
+
+  const sixth = await store.checkAndIncrement({
+    key: 'user-a',
+    currWindowId: 10,
+    prevWindowId: 9,
+    prevWeight: 0,
+    max: 5,
+    windowMs: 1000,
+  });
+  assert.equal(sixth.allowed, false);
+});
+
+test('RedisStore namespaces keys with the configured prefix', async () => {
+  const fakeClient = new FakeRedisClient();
+  const store = new RedisStore({ redis: fakeClient, prefix: 'custom' });
+
+  await store.checkAndIncrement({
+    key: 'user-a',
+    currWindowId: 1,
+    prevWindowId: 0,
+    prevWeight: 0,
+    max: 5,
+    windowMs: 1000,
+  });
+
+  assert.ok(fakeClient.store.has('custom:user-a:1'), 'key should be namespaced with custom prefix');
+});

package/test/sliding-window-counter.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const { test, beforeEach } = require('node:test');
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const { SlidingWindowCounter } = require('../src/sliding-window-counter');
+const { MemoryStore } = require('../src/memory-store');
+
+let store;
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  store = new MemoryStore();
+});
+
+test('allows requests under the limit within a single window', async () => {
+  const limiter = new SlidingWindowCounter({ windowMs: 1000, max: 5, store });
+  const now = 10_000; // exactly at a window boundary, window 10
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
+    const result = await limiter.check('user-a', now + i);
+    assert.equal(result.allowed, true, `request ${i + 1} should be allowed`);
+  }
+
+  const sixth = await limiter.check('user-a', now + 5);
+  assert.equal(sixth.allowed, false, '6th request in the same window should be blocked');
+});
+
+test('different keys are tracked independently', async () => {
+  const limiter = new SlidingWindowCounter({ windowMs: 1000, max: 2, store });
+  const now = 5000;
+
+  assert.equal((await limiter.check('user-a', now)).allowed, true);
+  assert.equal((await limiter.check('user-a', now)).allowed, true);
+  assert.equal((await limiter.check('user-a', now)).allowed, false);
+
+  // user-b has its own independent budget
+  assert.equal((await limiter.check('user-b', now)).allowed, true);
+  assert.equal((await limiter.check('user-b', now)).allowed, true);
+});
+
+test('count resets once the previous window fully decays out of the sliding range', async () => {
+  const limiter = new SlidingWindowCounter({ windowMs: 1000, max: 5, store });
+
+  // fill window 10 completely (now = 10_500, mid-window)
+  for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
+    await limiter.check('user-a', 10_500);
+  }
+  assert.equal((await limiter.check('user-a', 10_500)).allowed, false);
+
+  // jump forward two full windows — window 10's count should no longer
+  // weigh on window 12 at all (prevWindowId for window 12 is window 11,
+  // which has 0 requests).
+  const farFuture = await limiter.check('user-a', 12_500);
+  assert.equal(farFuture.allowed, true, 'budget should be fully available 2 windows later');
+});
+
+test('boundary burst: requests right at a window edge are still capped near the true limit (not doubled)', async () => {
+  const limiter = new SlidingWindowCounter({ windowMs: 1000, max: 10, store });
+
+  // Fill window 10 right at its very end: now = 10_990 -> window 10,
+  // elapsedFraction = 990/1000 = 0.99
+  for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
+    const r = await limiter.check('user-a', 10_990);
+    assert.equal(r.allowed, true);
+  }
+  assert.equal((await limiter.check('user-a', 10_990)).allowed, false);
+
+  // Now check at the very start of the NEXT window: now = 11_010 ->
+  // window 11, elapsedFraction = 10/1000 = 0.01, so prevWeight = 0.99.
+  // weightedCount going in = 0 (curr) + 10 * 0.99 (prev) = 9.9, which is
+  // just under max(10) -- so exactly ONE more request is allowed before
+  // it's blocked again. A fixed window, by contrast, would allow a full
+  // fresh batch of 10 here, doubling the effective burst to 20 in ~20ms.
+  // The sliding window counter's small approximation margin (allowing
+  // this one extra request) is the documented tradeoff against a true
+  // sliding log, traded for O(1) storage/work per check.
+  const firstInNextWindow = await limiter.check('user-a', 11_010);
+  assert.equal(firstInNextWindow.allowed, true, 'just under the weighted limit, correctly allowed');
+
+  const secondInNextWindow = await limiter.check('user-a', 11_011);
+  assert.equal(secondInNextWindow.allowed, false, 'should now be blocked — burst capped near the limit, not doubled');
+});
+
+test('concurrent requests do not exceed the limit (no check-then-act race)', async () => {
+  const limiter = new SlidingWindowCounter({ windowMs: 1000, max: 5, store });
+  const now = 20_000;
+
+  // Fire 10 concurrent checks against a budget of 5. If checkAndIncrement
+  // were two separate awaited steps (read, then write), the event loop
+  // could interleave all 10 reads before any write commits, letting all
+  // 10 through. With one atomic step, exactly 5 should be allowed.
+  const results = await Promise.all(
+    Array.from({ length: 10 }, () => limiter.check('user-a', now))
+  );
+
+  const allowedCount = results.filter((r) => r.allowed).length;
+  assert.equal(allowedCount, 5, 'exactly max(5) requests should be allowed under concurrent load');
+});
+
+test('remaining and resetMs are reported sensibly', async () => {
+  const limiter = new SlidingWindowCounter({ windowMs: 1000, max: 5, store });
+  const now = 30_200; // 200ms into window 30
+
+  const result = await limiter.check('user-a', now);
+  assert.equal(result.allowed, true);
+  assert.equal(result.remaining, 4);
+  assert.equal(result.resetMs, 800); // 1000ms window, 200ms elapsed -> 800ms left
+});