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REST API Errors

The Meter API uses standard HTTP status codes and returns JSON error messages.

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HTTP status codes

CodeMeaningDescription
200OKRequest succeeded
201CreatedResource created successfully
400Bad RequestInvalid request parameters
401UnauthorizedInvalid or missing API key
403ForbiddenValid key but insufficient permissions
404Not FoundResource doesn’t exist
500Internal Server ErrorServer-side error

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Error response format

All errors return JSON with a detail field: 
{
  "detail": "Error message describing what went wrong"
}

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Common errors

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401 Unauthorized

Cause: Invalid or missing API key 
{
  "detail": "Invalid or missing API key"
}
Solutions:
  • Verify Authorization header is included
  • Check API key is correct
  • Ensure key hasn’t been deleted

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400 Bad Request

Cause: Invalid request parameters 
{
  "detail": "Invalid URL format"
}
Common causes:
  • Missing required fields
  • Invalid field types
  • Malformed JSON
  • Invalid UUIDs
Solutions:
  • Check request body matches expected format
  • Verify all required fields are present
  • Ensure JSON is valid

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404 Not Found

Cause: Resource doesn’t exist 
{
  "detail": "Strategy not found"
}
Solutions:
  • Verify the UUID is correct
  • Check the resource hasn’t been deleted
  • Ensure you have permission to access it

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500 Internal Server Error

Cause: Server-side error 
{
  "detail": "Internal server error"
}
Solutions:
  • Retry the request after a delay
  • If persistent, contact support
  • Check API status page

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Handling errors

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JavaScript

const response = await fetch('https://api.meter.sh/v1/strategies', {
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }
});

if (!response.ok) {
  const error = await response.json();
  console.error(`API error (${response.status}): ${error.detail}`);

  if (response.status === 401) {
    // Handle authentication error
  } else if (response.status === 404) {
    // Handle not found
  }
}

const data = await response.json();

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Python

import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://api.meter.sh/v1/strategies',
    headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {api_key}'}
)

if not response.ok:
    error = response.json()
    print(f"API error ({response.status_code}): {error['detail']}")

    if response.status_code == 401:
        # Handle authentication error
        pass
    elif response.status_code == 404:
        # Handle not found
        pass

data = response.json()

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curl

response=$(curl -s -w "\n%{http_code}" https://api.meter.sh/v1/strategies \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_...")

http_code=$(echo "$response" | tail -n 1)
body=$(echo "$response" | sed '$d')

if [ "$http_code" != "200" ]; then
  echo "Error ($http_code): $body"
fi

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Best practices

For 500 errors and network issues, retry with exponential backoff:
async function fetchWithRetry(url, options, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++) {
    try {
      const response = await fetch(url, options);

      if (response.status === 500 && i < maxRetries - 1) {
        await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 2 ** i * 1000));
        continue;
      }

      return response;
    } catch (error) {
      if (i === maxRetries - 1) throw error;
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 2 ** i * 1000));
    }
  }
}
Always check HTTP status codes before parsing responses:
const response = await fetch(url, options);

// Check before parsing JSON
if (!response.ok) {
  const error = await response.json();
  throw new Error(error.detail);
}

const data = await response.json();
Include request details when logging errors:
if (!response.ok) {
  const error = await response.json();
  console.error('API request failed', {
    status: response.status,
    detail: error.detail,
    url: response.url,
    method: options.method
  });
}

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Rate limiting (future)

Rate limits are not yet enforced during beta.
Future rate limiting will use these headers: 
X-RateLimit-Limit: 1000
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 999
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1640995200
429 Too Many Requests: 
{
  "detail": "Rate limit exceeded. Retry after 60 seconds."
}

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Next steps

Python SDK Errors

Error handling in the Python SDK

REST API Overview

Learn about the REST API

Authentication

Understand authentication errors

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Need help?

Email me at [email protected]