diff --git a/src/app/api/chat/ratelimit.test.ts b/src/app/api/chat/ratelimit.test.ts
index e13a501..d2aba2b 100644
--- a/src/app/api/chat/ratelimit.test.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/chat/ratelimit.test.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,20 @@ describe("isRateLimited", () => {
     expect(result).toBe(false);
   });
 
+  it("should prioritize x-real-ip over x-forwarded-for", async () => {
+    mockLimit.mockResolvedValue({ success: true });
+
+    const req = new Request("http://localhost/api/chat", {
+      headers: {
+        "x-forwarded-for": "1.1.1.1",
+        "x-real-ip": "2.2.2.2",
+      },
+    });
+
+    await isRateLimited(req);
+    expect(mockLimit).toHaveBeenCalledWith("2.2.2.2");
+  });
+
   it("should extract IP from x-forwarded-for header and call limit if x-real-ip is missing", async () => {
     mockLimit.mockResolvedValue({ success: true });
 
diff --git a/src/app/api/chat/ratelimit.ts b/src/app/api/chat/ratelimit.ts
index 06f553c..6391a7d 100644
--- a/src/app/api/chat/ratelimit.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/chat/ratelimit.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ export default async function isRateLimited(
 ): Promise<boolean> {
   // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
   let ip = "ip" in req ? (req as any).ip : null;
+  ip = ip ?? req.headers.get("x-real-ip");
+
   if (!ip) {
     const forwardedFor = req.headers.get("x-forwarded-for");
     if (forwardedFor) {
@@ -14,7 +16,8 @@ export default async function isRateLimited(
       ip = parts[parts.length - 1].trim();
     }
   }
-  ip = ip ?? req.headers.get("x-real-ip") ?? "anonymous";
+
+  ip = ip ?? "anonymous";
   const { success } = await ratelimit.limit(ip);
   return !success;
 }
diff --git a/src/app/api/chat/request.test.ts b/src/app/api/chat/request.test.ts
index 9710b52..53f15e5 100644
--- a/src/app/api/chat/request.test.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/chat/request.test.ts
@@ -62,7 +62,18 @@ describe("sendRequest", () => {
     });
 
     await expect(sendRequest(req)).rejects.toThrow(
-      "Invalid request: messages must be an array.",
+      "Invalid request: messages must be an array and cannot be empty.",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("should throw an error if messages array is empty", async () => {
+    const req = new Request("http://localhost/api/chat", {
+      method: "POST",
+      body: JSON.stringify({ messages: [] }),
+    });
+
+    await expect(sendRequest(req)).rejects.toThrow(
+      "Invalid request: messages must be an array and cannot be empty.",
     );
   });
 
@@ -73,7 +84,7 @@ describe("sendRequest", () => {
     });
 
     await expect(sendRequest(req)).rejects.toThrow(
-      "Invalid request: messages must be an array.",
+      "Invalid request: messages must be an array and cannot be empty.",
     );
   });
 
@@ -103,13 +114,14 @@ describe("sendRequest", () => {
   });
 
   it("should throw an error if the user query is too long", async () => {
+    const messages = [{ role: "user", content: "hello" }];
     mockConvertToModelMessages.mockResolvedValue([
       { role: "user", content: "a".repeat(10001) },
     ]);
 
     const req = new Request("http://localhost/api/chat", {
       method: "POST",
-      body: JSON.stringify({ messages: [] }),
+      body: JSON.stringify({ messages }),
     });
 
     await expect(sendRequest(req)).rejects.toThrow(
@@ -118,6 +130,7 @@ describe("sendRequest", () => {
   });
 
   it("should only send the last 6 messages", async () => {
+    const messages = [{ role: "user", content: "query" }];
     const allMessages = Array.from({ length: 10 }, (_, i) => ({
       role: "user",
       content: `msg ${i}`,
@@ -127,7 +140,7 @@ describe("sendRequest", () => {
 
     const req = new Request("http://localhost/api/chat", {
       method: "POST",
-      body: JSON.stringify({ messages: [] }),
+      body: JSON.stringify({ messages }),
     });
 
     await sendRequest(req);
diff --git a/src/app/api/chat/request.ts b/src/app/api/chat/request.ts
index e0f0f9e..9eaf415 100644
--- a/src/app/api/chat/request.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/chat/request.ts
@@ -8,8 +8,10 @@ export default async function sendRequest(request: Request) {
   const body = await request.json();
   const { messages } = body;
 
-  if (!messages || !Array.isArray(messages)) {
-    throw new Error("Invalid request: messages must be an array.");
+  if (!messages || !Array.isArray(messages) || messages.length === 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      "Invalid request: messages must be an array and cannot be empty.",
+    );
   }
 
   const modelMessages = await convertToModelMessages(messages);