Handling Gemini API Errors Gracefully — 429, 503, and the Free Tier Reality

All tests run on an 8-year-old MacBook Air. The Gemini free tier is generous. It's also shared with everyone else using the free tier. At peak times, you'll hit 503s. Heavy usage will trigger 429s. If your app just shows "error" and dies, users blame your app — not Google's infrastructure. Here's ho