diff --git a/scripts/ci/publish_traces.py b/scripts/ci/publish_traces.py
index e024c7bba..31e18bcf0 100644
--- a/scripts/ci/publish_traces.py
+++ b/scripts/ci/publish_traces.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import json
 import os
 import sys
 import time
+import warnings
 from urllib.error import HTTPError
 from urllib.request import Request, urlopen
 
@@ -338,6 +339,15 @@ def publish_traces(traces_dir, run_id, run_number):
                 is_retryable = True
                 error_type = f"HTTP {e.code}"
 
+            # Check for rate limit errors (non-fatal - just warn and skip)
+            if (
+                isinstance(e, HTTPError)
+                and e.code in [403, 429]
+                and "rate limit exceeded" in getattr(e, "error_body", "").lower()
+            ):
+                warnings.warn("GitHub API rate limit exceeded. Skipping trace upload.")
+                return
+
             if is_retryable and attempt < max_retries - 1:
                 print(
                     f"Attempt {attempt + 1}/{max_retries} failed ({error_type}). Retrying in {retry_delay} seconds..."