> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.selektable.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Errors

> Error envelope, status codes, and what each one means

All errors share one envelope:

```json theme={null}
{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request_error",
    "code": "invalid_request",
    "message": "image must be an https URL or a data:image/* URI",
    "param": "image"
  }
}
```

| Field     | Description                                                                           |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `type`    | High-level category — one of the values in the table below.                           |
| `code`    | Machine-readable specific reason (e.g. `subscription_required`, `invalid_image_url`). |
| `message` | Human-readable explanation. Do not parse.                                             |
| `param`   | When the error is about a request field, the JSON path of the offending field.        |

## Status codes

| Status | `type`                  | Meaning                                                            |
| ------ | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| 400    | `invalid_request_error` | Malformed body or invalid field (`param` points at it).            |
| 401    | `authentication_error`  | Missing, invalid, or expired API key.                              |
| 403    | `authorization_error`   | Key disabled, missing metadata, or no active subscription.         |
| 404    | `not_found_error`       | Resource does not exist.                                           |
| 409    | `conflict_error`        | Conflicting request (e.g. duplicate webhook URL).                  |
| 429    | `rate_limit_error`      | Too many requests — see [Rate limits](/api-reference/rate-limits). |
| 500    | `api_error`             | Unexpected server error. Retry with backoff.                       |

## Handling errors

* **`400` invalid\_request\_error** — your bug. Inspect `param` and fix the request. Do not retry without changes.
* **`401` / `403`** — credential or subscription issue. Don't retry; surface to the operator.
* **`404`** — usually a stale ID. Don't retry.
* **`409`** — fix the conflict (e.g. choose a different URL) and retry.
* **`429`** — back off exponentially and retry.
* **`500`** — server-side. Retry with exponential backoff.