Error Codes
API error codes and troubleshooting
Overview
The Plunk API uses standardized error responses to help you quickly identify and resolve issues. All errors include:
- Machine-readable error codes for programmatic handling
- Human-readable messages explaining what went wrong
- Helpful suggestions to guide you toward a solution
- Request IDs for debugging and support requests
- Field-level validation details when applicable
HTTP Status Codes
200 OK
Request successful.
201 Created
Resource created successfully.
400 Bad Request
Invalid request format or parameters. Check the error details for specific issues.
401 Unauthorized
Authentication failed or missing. Verify your API key.
402 Payment Required
A billing limit has been reached or the operation requires a plan upgrade. Returned with BILLING_LIMIT_EXCEEDED and UPGRADE_REQUIRED.
403 Forbidden
Not authorized to access this resource. Check permissions or project status. Also returned when email verification is required (EMAIL_VERIFICATION_REQUIRED) or the project has been disabled (PROJECT_DISABLED).
404 Not Found
The requested resource does not exist. Verify the resource ID.
409 Conflict
The request conflicts with the current state of a resource — for example, creating a contact with an email that already exists, or updating to an email that's already taken. Returned with CONFLICT.
422 Unprocessable Entity
Request validation failed. Check the errors array for field-level details.
429 Too Many Requests
Rate limit exceeded. Wait before retrying or upgrade your plan.
500 Internal Server Error
An unexpected server error occurred. Contact support with the request ID.
Error Response Format
All errors follow this standardized format:
{
"success": false,
"error": {
"code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
"message": "Request validation failed",
"statusCode": 422,
"requestId": "f47ac10b-58cc-4372-a567-0e02b2c3d479",
"errors": [
{
"field": "email",
"message": "Invalid email",
"code": "invalid_string"
}
],
"suggestion": "One or more fields have incorrect types. Check that strings are quoted, numbers are unquoted, and booleans are true/false."
},
"timestamp": "2025-11-30T10:30:00.000Z"
}Response Fields
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
success | boolean | Always false for errors |
error.code | string | Machine-readable error code (see below) |
error.message | string | Human-readable error description |
error.statusCode | number | HTTP status code |
error.requestId | string | Unique request identifier for debugging |
error.errors | array | Field-level validation errors (validation errors only) |
error.details | object | Additional context about the error (optional) |
error.suggestion | string | Helpful guidance for fixing the error (optional) |
timestamp | string | ISO 8601 timestamp when the error occurred |
Error Codes Reference
All errors include a machine-readable code field for programmatic handling. Here are all possible error codes:
Authentication & Authorization
| Code | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
UNAUTHORIZED | 401 | General authentication failure |
INVALID_CREDENTIALS | 401 | Login credentials are incorrect |
MISSING_AUTH | 401 | Authorization header is missing or malformed |
INVALID_API_KEY | 401 | API key is invalid or not found |
FORBIDDEN | 403 | Not allowed to perform this action |
PROJECT_ACCESS_DENIED | 403 | No access to this project |
PROJECT_DISABLED | 403 | Project has been disabled |
EMAIL_VERIFICATION_REQUIRED | 403 | The user's email address must be verified before this action |
Validation & Input Errors
| Code | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
BAD_REQUEST | 400 | General request error |
VALIDATION_ERROR | 422 | Request validation failed (includes field errors) |
INVALID_EMAIL | 422 | Email format is invalid |
INVALID_REQUEST_BODY | 400 | Request body is malformed |
MISSING_REQUIRED_FIELD | 422 | Required field is missing |
Resource Errors
| Code | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND | 404 | Generic resource not found |
CONTACT_NOT_FOUND | 404 | Contact does not exist |
TEMPLATE_NOT_FOUND | 404 | Template does not exist |
CAMPAIGN_NOT_FOUND | 404 | Campaign does not exist |
WORKFLOW_NOT_FOUND | 404 | Workflow does not exist |
CONFLICT | 409 | Resource conflict (e.g., duplicate) |
Rate Limiting & Billing
| Code | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED | 429 | Too many requests |
BILLING_LIMIT_EXCEEDED | 402 | Billing limit reached |
UPGRADE_REQUIRED | 402 | Feature requires plan upgrade |
Server Errors
| Code | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR | 500 | Unexpected server error |
DATABASE_ERROR | 500 | Database operation failed |
EXTERNAL_SERVICE_ERROR | 500 | External service unavailable |
Common Error Examples
Authentication Errors
Invalid API Key
{
"success": false,
"error": {
"code": "INVALID_API_KEY",
"message": "Invalid secret API key. This endpoint requires a secret key (sk_*), not a public key.",
"statusCode": 401,
"requestId": "abc-123",
"suggestion": "Verify your API key is correct and starts with \"sk_\" for secret keys or \"pk_\" for public keys."
},
"timestamp": "2025-11-30T10:30:00.000Z"
}Solution: Check your API key is correct. Secret endpoints require keys starting with sk_, while tracking endpoints use pk_ keys.
Missing Authorization Header
{
"success": false,
"error": {
"code": "MISSING_AUTH",
"message": "Authorization header is required",
"statusCode": 401,
"requestId": "abc-123",
"suggestion": "Include an Authorization header with format: \"Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY\""
},
"timestamp": "2025-11-30T10:30:00.000Z"
}Solution: Add the Authorization header with your API key in Bearer token format.
Validation Errors
Invalid Email Format
{
"success": false,
"error": {
"code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
"message": "Request validation failed",
"statusCode": 422,
"requestId": "abc-123",
"errors": [
{
"field": "email",
"message": "Invalid email",
"code": "invalid_string"
}
],
"suggestion": "One or more fields have incorrect types. Check that strings are quoted, numbers are unquoted, and booleans are true/false."
},
"timestamp": "2025-11-30T10:30:00.000Z"
}Solution: Provide a valid email address. The errors array shows which fields failed validation.
Missing Required Fields
{
"success": false,
"error": {
"code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
"message": "Request validation failed",
"statusCode": 422,
"requestId": "abc-123",
"errors": [
{
"field": "event",
"message": "Required",
"code": "invalid_type"
},
{
"field": "email",
"message": "Required",
"code": "invalid_type"
}
],
"suggestion": "Required fields are missing. Ensure all required fields are included in your request."
},
"timestamp": "2025-11-30T10:30:00.000Z"
}Solution: Include all required fields in your request body.
Resource Errors
Template Not Found
{
"success": false,
"error": {
"code": "TEMPLATE_NOT_FOUND",
"message": "Template with ID \"tpl_abc123\" was not found",
"statusCode": 404,
"requestId": "abc-123",
"details": {
"resource": "Template",
"id": "tpl_abc123"
},
"suggestion": "Ensure the template ID is correct and belongs to your project. You can list available templates via the API."
},
"timestamp": "2025-11-30T10:30:00.000Z"
}Solution: Verify the template ID exists and belongs to your project.
Rate Limiting
Rate Limit Exceeded
{
"success": false,
"error": {
"code": "RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED",
"message": "Rate limit exceeded. Please try again later.",
"statusCode": 429,
"requestId": "abc-123",
"suggestion": "You have exceeded the rate limit. Wait a moment before retrying, or upgrade your plan."
},
"timestamp": "2025-11-30T10:30:00.000Z"
}Solution: Implement exponential backoff and retry logic. Consider upgrading your plan for higher limits.
Success Response Format
Successful API requests return a standardized format with success: true and a data object:
{
"success": true,
"data": {
"contact": "cnt_abc123",
"event": "evt_xyz789",
"timestamp": "2025-11-30T10:30:00.000Z"
}
}Response Fields
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
success | boolean | Always true for successful requests |
data | object | Response data specific to the endpoint |
Handling Errors in Your Code
JavaScript/TypeScript Example
try {
const response = await fetch('https://next-api.useplunk.com/v1/track', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Authorization': `Bearer ${publicKey}`,
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
},
body: JSON.stringify({
event: 'purchase',
email: 'user@example.com'
})
});
const data = await response.json();
if (!data.success) {
// Handle error
console.error(`Error [${data.error.code}]:`, data.error.message);
// Show suggestion to user
if (data.error.suggestion) {
console.log('Suggestion:', data.error.suggestion);
}
// Log request ID for support
console.log('Request ID:', data.error.requestId);
// Handle specific error types
switch (data.error.code) {
case 'VALIDATION_ERROR':
// Show field-level errors
data.error.errors?.forEach(err => {
console.log(`${err.field}: ${err.message}`);
});
break;
case 'INVALID_API_KEY':
// Prompt user to check their API key
break;
case 'RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED':
// Implement retry with backoff
break;
}
return;
}
// Handle success
console.log('Event tracked:', data.data);
} catch (error) {
console.error('Network error:', error);
}Python Example
import requests
response = requests.post(
'https://next-api.useplunk.com/v1/track',
headers={
'Authorization': f'Bearer {public_key}',
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
},
json={
'event': 'purchase',
'email': 'user@example.com'
}
)
data = response.json()
if not data.get('success'):
error = data['error']
print(f"Error [{error['code']}]: {error['message']}")
# Show suggestion
if 'suggestion' in error:
print(f"Suggestion: {error['suggestion']}")
# Log request ID
print(f"Request ID: {error['requestId']}")
# Handle validation errors
if error['code'] == 'VALIDATION_ERROR':
for err in error.get('errors', []):
print(f"{err['field']}: {err['message']}")
else:
print(f"Event tracked: {data['data']}")Troubleshooting Guide
Using Request IDs
Every error includes a unique requestId that traces the request through our entire system. Request IDs enable:
For Developers:
- Every log entry includes the request ID
- You can grep logs to find all entries for a specific request
- Trace a request from API → Database → Queue → Worker
For Support:
- Include the request ID in your message
- Describe what you were trying to do
- Share the full error response if possible
Example: If you receive request ID f47ac10b-58cc-4372-a567-0e02b2c3d479, we can search our logs for that ID and see:
- The exact request body you sent
- Which database queries were executed
- Any background jobs that were triggered
- The full error stack trace (if applicable)
This helps us quickly locate and diagnose the issue without asking you for additional information.
How to Find Request IDs
Request IDs are included in:
- Error responses:
error.requestIdfield - Response headers:
X-Request-IDheader (also included in successful responses) - Your application logs: Include the header in your logs for correlation
// Example: Logging request ID in your application
const response = await fetch('https://next-api.useplunk.com/v1/send', {
// ... your request
});
const requestId = response.headers.get('X-Request-ID');
console.log('Request ID:', requestId); // Log for correlation
const data = await response.json();
if (!data.success) {
console.error('Error:', data.error.message);
console.error('Request ID:', data.error.requestId); // Same as header
}Common Issues and Solutions
Best Practices
- Always check the
successfield before processing responses - Log request IDs for debugging and support requests
- Handle errors gracefully with user-friendly messages
- Implement retry logic with exponential backoff for transient errors
- Monitor error rates to detect issues early
- Use error codes for programmatic error handling, not just status codes
Getting Help
If you continue experiencing issues:
- Review the error
suggestionfield for guidance - Check the API Reference for correct usage
- Search our documentation for your specific error code
- Contact support with your request ID
- Join our community for help from other developers