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

# Errors

> The Givebutter API uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate the success or failure of requests.

## HTTP Status Codes

### Client Error Codes (4xx)

| Code | Name                 | Description                                                                   | Common Causes                                                                    |
| ---- | -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 400  | Bad Request          | Malformed request syntax or invalid request parameters.                       | Invalid JSON, missing required parameters, malformed data                        |
| 401  | Unauthorized         | Authentication required. API key missing, invalid, or revoked.                | Missing Authorization header, invalid API key, revoked key                       |
| 403  | Forbidden            | Authentication succeeded, but insufficient permissions for this resource.     | API key lacks permissions, accessing another org's resources                     |
| 404  | Not Found            | Requested resource does not exist or was not found.                           | Invalid resource ID, resource deleted, typo in URL                               |
| 405  | Method Not Allowed   | HTTP method not supported for this endpoint (e.g., POST on a GET-only route). | Using wrong HTTP method (POST instead of GET)                                    |
| 409  | Conflict             | Request conflicts with current resource state (e.g., duplicate record).       | Duplicate resource, race condition, resource locked                              |
| 422  | Unprocessable Entity | Request syntax valid, but semantic errors in data (validation failures).      | Missing required fields, invalid data types, values out of range                 |
| 429  | Too Many Requests    | Rate limit exceeded. Wait before making additional requests.                  | Too many requests in short period, see [Rate Limits](/api-reference/rate-limits) |

### Server Error Codes (5xx)

| Code | Name                  | Description                                                        | What To Do                           |
| ---- | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------ |
| 500  | Internal Server Error | Unexpected error on the server. Contact support if issue persists. | Retry with exponential backoff       |
| 502  | Bad Gateway           | Invalid response from upstream server. Usually temporary.          | Retry after brief delay              |
| 503  | Service Unavailable   | Server temporarily unavailable (maintenance or overload).          | Retry after delay, check status page |
| 504  | Gateway Timeout       | Request timed out waiting for upstream server.                     | Retry with exponential backoff       |

## Validation Errors

When a request fails validation (422 status), the response includes an `errors` object with field-specific messages:

```json theme={null}
{
  "message": "The given data was invalid.",
  "errors": {
    "email": ["The email field is required.", "The email must be a valid email address."],
    "amount": ["The amount must be greater than 0."]
  }
}
```