diff --git a/agent/loop.go b/agent/loop.go
index c73f594..0395962 100644
--- a/agent/loop.go
+++ b/agent/loop.go
@@ -3,12 +3,16 @@ package agent
 import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 
 	"ollie/backend"
 )
 
+const maxRateLimitRetries = 3
+
 type ToolExecutor func(name string, args json.RawMessage) (string, error)
 type OutputFn func(msg OutputMsg)
 
@@ -41,10 +45,26 @@ func Run(ctx context.Context, cfg Config, state State) error {
 			history = append([]backend.Message{{Role: "system", Content: cfg.SystemPrompt}}, history...)
 		}
 
-		// Stream the assistant's response.
-		ch, err := cfg.Backend.ChatStream(ctx, cfg.Model, history, cfg.Tools)
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("step %d: %w", step, err)
+		// Stream the assistant's response, retrying on HTTP 429.
+		var ch <-chan backend.StreamEvent
+		for attempt := range maxRateLimitRetries + 1 {
+			var err error
+			ch, err = cfg.Backend.ChatStream(ctx, cfg.Model, history, cfg.Tools)
+			if err == nil {
+				break
+			}
+			var rlErr *backend.RateLimitError
+			if !errors.As(err, &rlErr) || attempt >= maxRateLimitRetries {
+				return fmt.Errorf("step %d: %w", step, err)
+			}
+			// Exponential backoff: 5s, 10s, 20s — unless the server told us exactly.
+			wait := rlErr.RetryAfter
+			if wait == 0 {
+				wait = time.Duration(5<<attempt) * time.Second
+			}
+			if err := retryCountdown(ctx, cfg, wait); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("step %d: %w", step, err)
+			}
 		}
 
 		var content strings.Builder
@@ -128,3 +148,23 @@ func emit(cfg Config, msg OutputMsg) {
 		cfg.Output(msg)
 	}
 }
+
+// retryCountdown emits one "retry" OutputMsg per second, counting down from
+// wait, so the UI can display a live countdown. Returns ctx.Err() if the
+// context is cancelled before the wait elapses.
+func retryCountdown(ctx context.Context, cfg Config, wait time.Duration) error {
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(wait)
+	for {
+		remaining := time.Until(deadline)
+		if remaining <= 0 {
+			return nil
+		}
+		secs := int(remaining.Seconds()) + 1
+		emit(cfg, OutputMsg{Role: "retry", Content: fmt.Sprintf("%d", secs)})
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return ctx.Err()
+		case <-time.After(min(remaining, time.Second)):
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/backend/backend.go b/backend/backend.go
index ae5b7ce..69f998e 100644
--- a/backend/backend.go
+++ b/backend/backend.go
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ package backend
 import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"time"
 )
 
 // Message is a single conversation turn.
@@ -48,6 +50,20 @@ type StreamEvent struct {
 	Usage      Usage  // meaningful only when Done==true
 }
 
+// RateLimitError is returned when the backend responds with HTTP 429.
+// RetryAfter is the suggested wait duration; zero means no hint was given.
+type RateLimitError struct {
+	RetryAfter time.Duration
+	Message    string
+}
+
+func (e *RateLimitError) Error() string {
+	if e.RetryAfter > 0 {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("rate limited (retry after %v): %s", e.RetryAfter, e.Message)
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("rate limited: %s", e.Message)
+}
+
 // Backend is the interface all LLM providers must implement.
 // Streaming is the only supported mode; backends that wrap blocking APIs
 // should implement ChatStream as a single-event stream.
diff --git a/backend/openai.go b/backend/openai.go
index 7c67d6c..938387c 100644
--- a/backend/openai.go
+++ b/backend/openai.go
@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 )
 
 // OpenAIBackend speaks the OpenAI /v1/chat/completions wire format.
@@ -152,6 +154,12 @@ func (b *OpenAIBackend) ChatStream(ctx context.Context, model string, messages [
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
+	if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusTooManyRequests {
+		body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+		resp.Body.Close()
+		retryAfter := parseRetryAfter(resp.Header.Get("Retry-After"))
+		return nil, &RateLimitError{RetryAfter: retryAfter, Message: string(body)}
+	}
 	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
 		body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
 		resp.Body.Close()
@@ -249,3 +257,22 @@ func (b *OpenAIBackend) ChatStream(ctx context.Context, model string, messages [
 
 	return ch, nil
 }
+
+// parseRetryAfter parses the Retry-After header value, which may be an integer
+// number of seconds or an HTTP-date. Returns zero if the header is absent or
+// unparseable.
+func parseRetryAfter(header string) time.Duration {
+	if header == "" {
+		return 0
+	}
+	header = strings.TrimSpace(header)
+	if secs, err := strconv.Atoi(header); err == nil {
+		return time.Duration(secs) * time.Second
+	}
+	if t, err := http.ParseTime(header); err == nil {
+		if d := time.Until(t); d > 0 {
+			return d
+		}
+	}
+	return 0
+}
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 778e6a9..7c58398 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -8,8 +8,9 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
-	"time"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 	"unicode"
 	"unicode/utf8"
 
@@ -122,6 +123,7 @@ const (
 	agentIdle agentState = iota
 	agentThinking
 	agentRunningTool
+	agentRetrying
 )
 
 // resolveBackendName returns a short human-readable backend label derived
@@ -180,10 +182,11 @@ type model struct {
 	quitPending bool     // whether a second Ctrl+C should quit
 	lastCtrlC   time.Time // timestamp of last Ctrl+C press
 	// status bar state
-	state       agentState
-	currentTool string
-	lastUsage   backend.Usage
-	ctxStats    agent.ContextStats
+	state         agentState
+	currentTool   string
+	retrySecsLeft int
+	lastUsage     backend.Usage
+	ctxStats      agent.ContextStats
 }
 
 type agentMsg struct {
@@ -387,6 +390,8 @@ func (m model) renderStatusBar() string {
 		stateStr = "thinking\u2026"
 	case agentRunningTool:
 		stateStr = "tool: " + m.currentTool
+	case agentRetrying:
+		stateStr = fmt.Sprintf("retry %ds", m.retrySecsLeft)
 	}
 
 	// Token usage segment.
@@ -463,6 +468,12 @@ func (m *model) apply(am agentMsg) {
 		}
 		m.display = append(m.display, "= "+s)
 
+	case "retry":
+		m.state = agentRetrying
+		if secs, err := strconv.Atoi(am.content); err == nil {
+			m.retrySecsLeft = secs
+		}
+
 	case "error":
 		m.finalizeBuf()
 		m.display = append(m.display, "Error: "+am.content)