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4. API Error Handling Best Practices
 
 Easy Best Practices      45 min       5 steps      10 min read  

# API Error Handling Best Practices

  A  admin  February 20, 2026   (Updated April 22, 2026)  

 

 

       

 

 

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   ![API Error Handling Best Practices](/sites/default/files/styles/16_9_512x288_focal_point_webp/public/guide-images/api-error-handling-best-practices.png.webp?itok=hNcq5v8y "API Error Handling Best Practices") 

 





 

 

 ##     Prerequisites 

Prerequisites



 

 

 

 

 

 ## On this page

  
  5 steps total 

 [    Back to top ](#main-content) 

 Good error handling is the difference between a flaky integration and a production-ready one. This guide covers patterns for handling every type of API error gracefully.

## Step 1: Understand Error Categories

API errors fall into three categories:

- **Client errors (4xx)** — Your request is wrong. Fix the request.
- **Rate limits (429)** — Slow down. Retry with backoff.
- **Server errors (5xx)** — Temporary. Retry automatically.

## Step 2: Implement Retry Logic

async function withRetry(fn, maxRetries = 3) {\\n for (let i = 0; i <= maxRetries; i++) {\\n try {\\n return await fn();\\n } catch (err) {\\n if (i === maxRetries || err.status < 500) throw err;\\n const delay = Math.pow(2, i) \* 1000 + Math.random() \* 1000;\\n await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, delay));\\n }\\n }\\n}

## Step 3: Add Circuit Breaker

Prevent cascading failures by stopping requests when error rate is too high.

## Step 4: Map Errors to User Messages

Never show raw API errors to users. Map error codes to friendly messages.

## Step 5: Log and Monitor

Log all API errors with request context (endpoint, params, response time). Set up alerts for elevated error rates.



 

 

 

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