In the expanding world of APIs, meaningful error responses can be just as important as well-structured success responses. In this post, I’ll take you through some of the different options for creating responses that I’ve encountered during my time working at Raygun. We’ll go over the pros and cons of some common options, and end with what I consider to be one of the best choices when it comes to API design, the Result Pattern. This pattern can lead to an API that will cleanly handle error states and easily allow for consistent future endpoint development. It has been particularly useful to me while developing the recently released Raygun API Project, where it has allowed for faster development of endpoints by simplifying the code needed to handle error states.
What Defines a “Useful” Error Response?
A useful error response provides all the information a developer needs to correct the error state. This can be achieved through a helpful error message and consistent use of HTTP status codes.