8mo ago

What is your preferred API error response and why?

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

 http

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

 http

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

 http

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

 http

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

 http

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

 http

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

Or your own example.

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