Use response payload budget instead of per-field entry limits for gRPC responses
- Dominant language
- Rust
- Stars
- 104
- Forks
- 138
- Avg merge
- 1d 14h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 54
Description
## Background
In #2153, we added support for `GetAccount` to return all storage maps. During review, we noted that the current API limit model is still too rigid: some response paths cap individual fields by number of elements, even though tonic enforces an overall 4 MiB gRPC message size limit.
For example, storage map details currently cap individual maps at 1000 entries. That means a response with 10,000 entries from one map may be rejected/truncated, while a response with 1000 entries from each of 10 maps may be allowed, even though both have similar payload-size implications.
The review suggestion was to move away from individual field limits where the real constraint is response size.
## Current behavior
- `GetAccount` has special response budgeting for `AllStorageMaps`, but individual storage maps still use `AccountStorageMapDetails::MAX_RETURN_ENTRIES = 1000`.
- `AccountVaultDetails` also uses `MAX_RETURN_ENTRIES = 1000`.
- Shared RPC limits in `crates/utils/src/limiter.rs` use element-count limits for several endpoints, with comments tying those limits to the 4 MiB payload budget.
- Some endpoints already use payload-size-aware pagination, e.g. `SyncNotes` / `SyncTransactions`, so behavior is inconsistent across APIs.
## Problem
Per-field element caps are not a good proxy for the actual gRPC response size. They can reject valid responses that fit under 4 MiB and allow combinations that only happen to stay safe because each individual field is capped.
This makes the API less flexible than necessary and spreads response-size reasoning across endpoint-specific constants.
## Proposed direction
Refactor response-size enforcement so that endpoints whose main constraint is tonic's 4 MiB response limit apply an overall encoded-size budget instead of arbitrary per-field entry limits.
For `GetAccount`, this likely means:
- apply a single response payload budget across account code, vault details, storage header, and storage map details;
- allow any individual storage map to exceed 1000 entries if the final encoded response remains within the budget;
- return existing `too_many_entries` / `too_many_assets` markers only when including that data would exceed the response budget;
- keep stricter request/work limits where they protect query fan-out, proof generation, or database load rather than response size.
## Acceptance criteria
- `GetAccount` enforces the 4 MiB response payload budget at the response level, not via a hard 1000-entry cap per storage map.
- Existing request fan-out limits, such as explicit storage map key proof requests, remain in place where needed.
- Other RPC/store endpoints with element-count limits are audited and categorized as either:
- true request/work limits, or
- response-size limits that should become payload-budget based.
- `GetLimits` documentation/API output is updated if any exposed limit semantics change.
- Tests cover cases where:
- a single large field fits under the response budget and is returned;
- a combination of fields exceeds the response budget and is truncated/paginated/marked consistently;
- generated responses stay below tonic's 4 MiB limit.
Contributor guide
Research direction
The issue points to crates/utils/src/limiter.rs for shared RPC limits and mentions the GetAccount endpoint. Start by examining the current per-field entry limits (like AccountStorageMapDetails::MAX_RETURN_ENTRIES) and the 4 MiB gRPC constraint in tonic. Look at how SyncNotes/SyncTransactions implement payload-size-aware pagination. The goal is to replace per-field caps with an overall encoded-size budget, ensuring responses stay under 4 MiB. Tests should verify budget enforcement and that existing request fan-out limits remain.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- grpc, rust
- Domain
- api, backend
- Issue type
- Refactor
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100