diff --git a/cmd/cli/createMsg.go b/cmd/cli/createMsg.go
index efd8d96..a303039 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/createMsg.go
+++ b/cmd/cli/createMsg.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"os/exec"
 	"runtime"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/atotto/clipboard"
 	"github.com/dfanso/commit-msg/cmd/cli/store"
@@ -18,8 +19,13 @@ import (
 	"github.com/dfanso/commit-msg/pkg/types"
 	"github.com/google/shlex"
 	"github.com/pterm/pterm"
+	"golang.org/x/time/rate"
 )
 
+// Burst once every 5 times per second
+// Make the limiter a global variable to better control the rate when it is used.
+var apiRateLimiter = rate.NewLimiter(rate.Every(time.Second/5), 5)
+
 // CreateCommitMsg launches the interactive flow for reviewing, regenerating,
 // editing, and accepting AI-generated commit messages in the current repo.
 // If dryRun is true, it displays the prompt without making an API call.
@@ -294,6 +300,9 @@ func resolveOllamaConfig(apiKey string) (url, model string) {
 }
 
 func generateMessage(ctx context.Context, provider llm.Provider, changes string, opts *types.GenerationOptions) (string, error) {
+	if err := apiRateLimiter.Wait(ctx); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
 	return provider.Generate(ctx, changes, opts)
 }
 
diff --git a/cmd/cli/createMsg_test.go b/cmd/cli/createMsg_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..263761e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/cli/createMsg_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+package cmd
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/dfanso/commit-msg/pkg/types"
+)
+
+// FakeProvider implements the llm.Provider interface to simulate API responses
+type FakeProvider struct{}
+
+func (f FakeProvider) Name() types.LLMProvider { return "fake" }
+
+func (f FakeProvider) Generate(ctx context.Context, changes string, opts *types.GenerationOptions) (string, error) {
+	return "mock commit message", nil
+}
+
+func TestGenerateMessageRateLimiter(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	var waitGroup sync.WaitGroup
+	successCount := 0
+	var mu sync.Mutex
+
+	// Test sending a number of messages in a short period to check the rate limiter
+	numCalls := 100
+	waitGroup.Add(numCalls)
+	for i := 0; i < numCalls; i++ {
+		go func() {
+			defer waitGroup.Done()
+			_, err := generateMessage(ctx, FakeProvider{}, "", nil)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Logf("rate limiter error: %v", err)
+				return
+			}
+			mu.Lock()
+			successCount++
+			mu.Unlock()
+		}()
+	}
+	waitGroup.Wait()
+
+	t.Logf("Successful calls: %d out of %d", successCount, numCalls)
+	if successCount != numCalls {
+		t.Errorf("expected %d successful calls but got %d", numCalls, successCount)
+	}
+}