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Perplexica’s API uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate the success or failure of requests. This guide covers the error codes you may encounter and how to handle them effectively.

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HTTP status codes

The API uses the following HTTP status codes:
Status CodeDescription
200Success - Request completed successfully
400Bad Request - Invalid or missing required parameters
500Internal Server Error - An error occurred on the server

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Error response format

When an error occurs, the API returns a JSON object with error details: 
{
  "message": "Error description"
}
For validation errors, the response may include additional details: 
{
  "message": "Invalid request body",
  "error": [
    {
      "path": "chatModel.providerId",
      "message": "Chat model provider id must be provided"
    },
    {
      "path": "query",
      "message": "Message content is required"
    }
  ]
}

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400 Bad Request errors

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Missing required fields

Returned when required parameters are missing from the request: 
{
  "message": "Missing sources or query"
}
Common causes:
  • Missing sources array in request body
  • Missing query string in request body
  • Empty query string
Example fix: 
{
  "chatModel": { ... },
  "embeddingModel": { ... }
  // Missing sources and query
}

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Validation errors

Returned when request parameters fail validation: 
{
  "message": "Invalid request body",
  "error": [
    {
      "path": "optimizationMode",
      "message": "Optimization mode must be one of: speed, balanced, quality"
    }
  ]
}
Common validation errors:
  • chatModel.providerId - Chat model provider id must be provided
  • chatModel.key - Chat model key must be provided
  • embeddingModel.providerId - Embedding model provider id must be provided
  • embeddingModel.key - Embedding model key must be provided
  • optimizationMode - Must be one of: speed, balanced, quality
  • messageId - Message ID is required (for /api/chat endpoint)
  • chatId - Chat ID is required (for /api/chat endpoint)

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Missing provider fields

Returned when creating a provider without required fields: 
{
  "message": "Missing required fields."
}
This occurs when type, name, or config are missing from a provider creation request.

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500 Internal Server errors

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General server error

Returned when an unexpected error occurs during processing: 
{
  "message": "An error has occurred."
}
Common causes:
  • Model loading failure
  • Database connection issues
  • Search processing errors

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Endpoint-specific errors

Different endpoints may return more specific error messages: 
// Search API
{
  "message": "Search error",
  "error": { ... }
}

// Image search
{
  "message": "An error occurred while searching images"
}

// Suggestions
{
  "message": "An error occurred while generating suggestions"
}

// Chat processing
{
  "message": "An error occurred while processing chat request"
}

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Streaming errors

When using streaming mode, errors are sent as part of the stream: 
{"type":"error","data":{ ... }}
After an error message, the stream will close. Your client should handle this message type: 
switch (message.type) {
  case 'error':
    console.error('Stream error:', message.data);
    // Handle error and cleanup
    break;
  // ... other cases
}
When an error occurs in a streaming response, the connection will be closed immediately after sending the error message. Always implement proper error handling in your stream consumer.

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Best practices

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Validate before sending

Validate your request data before sending it to the API: 
function validateSearchRequest(data) {
  if (!data.sources || data.sources.length === 0) {
    throw new Error('At least one source is required');
  }
  
  if (!data.query || data.query.trim() === '') {
    throw new Error('Query cannot be empty');
  }
  
  if (!data.chatModel || !data.chatModel.providerId || !data.chatModel.key) {
    throw new Error('Valid chat model is required');
  }
  
  if (!data.embeddingModel || !data.embeddingModel.providerId || !data.embeddingModel.key) {
    throw new Error('Valid embedding model is required');
  }
  
  const validModes = ['speed', 'balanced', 'quality'];
  if (data.optimizationMode && !validModes.includes(data.optimizationMode)) {
    throw new Error('Invalid optimization mode');
  }
  
  return true;
}

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Handle errors gracefully

Implement proper error handling in your application: 
try {
  const response = await fetch('http://localhost:3000/api/search', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify(requestData)
  });
  
  if (!response.ok) {
    const error = await response.json();
    
    if (response.status === 400) {
      // Handle validation errors
      console.error('Validation error:', error.message);
      if (error.error) {
        error.error.forEach(err => {
          console.error(`  ${err.path}: ${err.message}`);
        });
      }
    } else if (response.status === 500) {
      // Handle server errors
      console.error('Server error:', error.message);
      // Implement retry logic or fallback
    }
    
    throw new Error(error.message);
  }
  
  const data = await response.json();
  return data;
  
} catch (error) {
  console.error('Request failed:', error);
  // Implement user-facing error handling
  throw error;
}

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Retry logic

Implement retry logic for transient errors: 
async function searchWithRetry(requestData, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++) {
    try {
      const response = await fetch('http://localhost:3000/api/search', {
        method: 'POST',
        headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
        body: JSON.stringify(requestData)
      });
      
      if (response.status === 500 && i < maxRetries - 1) {
        // Wait before retrying (exponential backoff)
        await new Promise(resolve => 
          setTimeout(resolve, Math.pow(2, i) * 1000)
        );
        continue;
      }
      
      if (!response.ok) {
        const error = await response.json();
        throw new Error(error.message);
      }
      
      return await response.json();
      
    } catch (error) {
      if (i === maxRetries - 1) throw error;
    }
  }
}
Always implement exponential backoff when retrying failed requests to avoid overwhelming the server.

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Get provider information

To avoid provider-related errors, always fetch available providers before making search requests: 
// Get available providers and models
const providersResponse = await fetch('http://localhost:3000/api/providers');
const { providers } = await providersResponse.json();

// Use actual provider IDs and model keys
const openai = providers.find(p => p.name === 'OpenAI');
const requestData = {
  chatModel: {
    providerId: openai.id,
    key: 'gpt-4o-mini'
  },
  embeddingModel: {
    providerId: openai.id,
    key: 'text-embedding-3-large'
  },
  sources: ['web'],
  query: 'What is Perplexica'
};
See the Search API documentation for more details on the /api/providers endpoint.

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