diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0c8c8c2..12bc14b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ All configuration is YAML.
 - `trusted_proxy_ips`: list of reverse-proxy IPs/CIDRs permitted to supply forwarded headers.
   - Required when `trust_proxy_headers: true`
   - Examples: `127.0.0.1`, `10.0.0.0/8`
-- `rate_limit.enabled`: enable per-IP token-bucket rate limiting on write route.
+- `rate_limit.enabled`: enable per-IP token-bucket rate limiting on write and scratch-read routes (`POST /api/scratch`, `GET /api/scratch/{id}`, `GET /s/{id}`, `GET /api/raw/{id}`).
   - Default: `true`
 - `rate_limit.requests_per_minute`: steady refill rate per client IP.
   - Must be `> 0`
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 2b43ddf..8d6242f 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -73,13 +73,13 @@ type SecurityConfig struct {
 	AllowedIPs           []string        `yaml:"allowed_ips" comment:"Allowlist for POST /api/scratch as IPs or CIDRs (examples: 127.0.0.1, 192.168.1.0/24). Keep 127.0.0.1 for local access; add trusted ranges as needed. Empty means unrestricted."`
 	TrustProxyHeaders    bool            `yaml:"trust_proxy_headers" comment:"Honor X-Forwarded-For / X-Real-IP only when request source IP matches security.trusted_proxy_ips."`
 	TrustedProxyIPs      []string        `yaml:"trusted_proxy_ips" comment:"IPs/CIDRs of reverse proxies allowed to supply forwarded client IP headers. Required when trust_proxy_headers is true."`
-	RateLimit            RateLimitConfig `yaml:"rate_limit" comment:"Per-client token bucket on POST /api/scratch."`
+	RateLimit            RateLimitConfig `yaml:"rate_limit" comment:"Per-client token bucket on write and scratch read routes."`
 	AllowedPrefixes      []netip.Prefix  `yaml:"-"`
 	TrustedProxyPrefixes []netip.Prefix  `yaml:"-"`
 }
 
 type RateLimitConfig struct {
-	Enabled           bool `yaml:"enabled" comment:"Enable per-client write-route rate limiting."`
+	Enabled           bool `yaml:"enabled" comment:"Enable per-client rate limiting for write and scratch read routes."`
 	RequestsPerMinute int  `yaml:"requests_per_minute" comment:"Steady refill rate per client IP."`
 	Burst             int  `yaml:"burst" comment:"Maximum immediate burst capacity per client IP."`
 }
diff --git a/internal/http/handlers.go b/internal/http/handlers.go
index 033674b..2c679df 100644
--- a/internal/http/handlers.go
+++ b/internal/http/handlers.go
@@ -38,18 +38,21 @@ func (s *Server) Routes() http.Handler {
 	mux.Handle("GET /{$}", http.HandlerFunc(s.serveSPA))
 	mux.Handle("GET /u", http.HandlerFunc(s.serveSPA))
 	mux.Handle("GET /api/config", http.HandlerFunc(s.getUIConfig))
-	mux.Handle("GET /api/scratch/{id}", http.HandlerFunc(s.getScratch))
-	mux.Handle("GET /s/{id}", http.HandlerFunc(s.scratchPage))
-	mux.Handle("GET /api/raw/{id}", http.HandlerFunc(s.rawScratch))
 
 	writeHandler := http.HandlerFunc(s.createScratch)
 	middlewares := make([]func(http.Handler) http.Handler, 0, 2)
 	middlewares = append(middlewares, AllowlistMiddleware(s.cfg.Security.AllowedPrefixes, s.cfg.Security.TrustProxyHeaders, s.cfg.Security.TrustedProxyPrefixes, s.logger))
+	readMiddlewares := make([]func(http.Handler) http.Handler, 0, 1)
 	if s.cfg.Security.RateLimit.Enabled {
-		limiter := NewRateLimiter(s.cfg.Security.RateLimit.RequestsPerMinute, s.cfg.Security.RateLimit.Burst)
-		middlewares = append(middlewares, RateLimitMiddleware(limiter, s.cfg.Security.TrustProxyHeaders, s.cfg.Security.TrustedProxyPrefixes))
+		writeLimiter := NewRateLimiter(s.cfg.Security.RateLimit.RequestsPerMinute, s.cfg.Security.RateLimit.Burst)
+		readLimiter := NewRateLimiter(s.cfg.Security.RateLimit.RequestsPerMinute, s.cfg.Security.RateLimit.Burst)
+		middlewares = append(middlewares, RateLimitMiddleware(writeLimiter, s.cfg.Security.TrustProxyHeaders, s.cfg.Security.TrustedProxyPrefixes))
+		readMiddlewares = append(readMiddlewares, RateLimitMiddleware(readLimiter, s.cfg.Security.TrustProxyHeaders, s.cfg.Security.TrustedProxyPrefixes))
 	}
 	mux.Handle("POST /api/scratch", Chain(writeHandler, middlewares...))
+	mux.Handle("GET /api/scratch/{id}", Chain(http.HandlerFunc(s.getScratch), readMiddlewares...))
+	mux.Handle("GET /s/{id}", Chain(http.HandlerFunc(s.scratchPage), readMiddlewares...))
+	mux.Handle("GET /api/raw/{id}", Chain(http.HandlerFunc(s.rawScratch), readMiddlewares...))
 
 	mux.Handle("GET /assets/", http.FileServerFS(webassets.StaticFS()))
 	mux.Handle("GET /static/", http.StripPrefix("/static/", http.FileServerFS(webassets.StaticFS())))
diff --git a/internal/http/handlers_integration_test.go b/internal/http/handlers_integration_test.go
index 96e96c2..d0c985b 100644
--- a/internal/http/handlers_integration_test.go
+++ b/internal/http/handlers_integration_test.go
@@ -151,6 +151,50 @@ func TestUploadedScratchViewAndRawBeforeAndAfterExpiry(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestReadRoutesAreRateLimitedWhenEnabled(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	handler := newTestHandler(t, testServerOptions{
+		maxUploadBytes:  1024,
+		defaultTTL:      time.Hour,
+		rateLimitEnable: true,
+	})
+
+	createReq := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodPost, "/api/scratch", bytes.NewBufferString("hello scratch"))
+	createReq.Header.Set("Content-Type", "text/plain; charset=utf-8")
+	createReq.RemoteAddr = "127.0.0.1:9111"
+	createRec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	handler.ServeHTTP(createRec, createReq)
+	if createRec.Code != http.StatusCreated {
+		t.Fatalf("create status = %d, want %d", createRec.Code, http.StatusCreated)
+	}
+
+	var payload map[string]any
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(createRec.Body.Bytes(), &payload); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("decode create payload error = %v", err)
+	}
+	id, _ := payload["id"].(string)
+	if id == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("create payload missing id")
+	}
+
+	firstRawReq := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/raw/"+id, nil)
+	firstRawReq.RemoteAddr = "127.0.0.1:9111"
+	firstRawRec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	handler.ServeHTTP(firstRawRec, firstRawReq)
+	if firstRawRec.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("first raw status = %d, want %d", firstRawRec.Code, http.StatusOK)
+	}
+
+	secondRawReq := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/raw/"+id, nil)
+	secondRawReq.RemoteAddr = "127.0.0.1:9111"
+	secondRawRec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	handler.ServeHTTP(secondRawRec, secondRawReq)
+	if secondRawRec.Code != http.StatusTooManyRequests {
+		t.Fatalf("second raw status = %d, want %d", secondRawRec.Code, http.StatusTooManyRequests)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestCreateScratchRejectsBodyOverLimit(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()