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What is your preferred API error response and why? (lemy.lol)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/programming

90 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I prefer simplicity and using the first example but I'd be happy to hear other options. Here's a few examples:

HTTP/1.1 403 POST /endpoint
{ "message": "Unauthorized access" }

HTTP/1.1 403 POST /endpoint
Unauthorized access (no json)

HTTP/1.1 403 POST /endpoint
{ "error": "Unauthorized access" }

HTTP/1.1 403 POST /endpoint
{
  "code": "UNAUTHORIZED",
  "message": "Unauthorized access",
}

HTTP/1.1 200 (🤡) POST /endpoint
{
  "error": true,
  "message": "Unauthorized access",
}

HTTP/1.1 403 POST /endpoint
{
  "status": 403,
  "code": "UNAUTHORIZED",
  "message": "Unauthorized access",
}

Or your own example.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Have a code, where you can really describe the error; try to use the correct HTTP status (your example doesn't); don't ever use status 200 for errors; and finally, have an "error" key set to something somewhere (I'd write the error code to it).

The message is optional.

So, the simplest version would be:

HTTP/1.1 401 POST /endpoint
{
     "error": "UNAUTHORIZED"
}

[–] kogasa 4 points 2 months ago

Status 200 for errors is common for non-REST HTTP APIs. An application error isn't an HTTP error, the request and response were both handled successfully.