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.

  • pe1uca
    6·
    3 months ago

    but often lead developers to just display them in the frontend

    Oh boy I feel this one.
    My API is meant for scripting (i.e. it’s for developers and the errors are for developers), but the UI team uses it and they just straight display the error from their HTTP request for none technical people which might also not get to know all the parameters actually needed for the request.
    And even when the error is in fact in my code, and I sent all the data I need to debug and replicate the error, the users can’t tell me because the UI truncates the response, so the user only sees something like Error in pe1uca's API: {"error":"bad request","message":"Your request has an error, please check th... (truncated). So the message gets truncated and the link to the documentation is also never shown .-.