The original title is 10 words: "Your Hugging Face download isn't stuck — you're being rate-limited"

Short summary

Hugging Face model downloads that appear to hang are usually rate-limiting, not network failures. Anonymous users get 3,000 requests per 5-minute window shared per IP address; exceeding it triggers a 429 that the client silently waits out, freezing the progress bar at 0 B/s. Setting an HF_TOKEN raises limits, and checking the .incomplete blob in the cache confirms the download is cycling through rate-limit windows rather than dead.

• •Downloads that burst then freeze at 0 B/s are rate-limited, not hung—punctual stalls mean policy, not hardware
• •Anonymous quota is 3,000 requests per 5-min window, shared per IP (NAT/VPN users share with everyone)
• •Set HF_TOKEN for higher limits; check ~/.cache/huggingface for .incomplete blobs to confirm window cycling

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.