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Vipul Kumar
Vipul Kumar

Posted on β€’ Originally published at knowledge-bytes.com

Best Practices for REST API Error Handling

πŸ“œ Consistent Structure β€” Ensure that error responses follow a consistent structure across all API requests to make them predictable and easier to handle.

πŸ“ Descriptive Messages β€” Use clear and descriptive error messages that help the API consumer understand the issue and how to resolve it.

πŸ”’ Avoid Sensitive Data β€” Do not include sensitive information in error messages to prevent security vulnerabilities.

πŸ“š Document Errors β€” Provide comprehensive documentation of common errors, including error codes and possible solutions, to assist developers in troubleshooting.

πŸ“Š Implement Logging β€” Use logging and monitoring to trace API interactions and debug errors effectively, often including parameters like requestId and timestamp in error responses.

Server-Side Practices

πŸ”„ Idempotent Responses β€” Ensure that error responses are idempotent, meaning they can be repeated without causing different outcomes.

πŸ” Detailed Error Codes β€” Use specific HTTP status codes to indicate the type of error, such as 404 for not found or 500 for server errors.

πŸ›‘οΈ Security Considerations β€” Avoid exposing internal server details in error messages to protect against potential attacks.

πŸ“ˆ Monitoring Tools β€” Utilize tools for monitoring API performance and error rates to proactively address issues.

πŸ—‚οΈ Error Categorization β€” Categorize errors to help developers quickly identify and address the root cause.

Client-Side Practices

πŸ”„ Retry Logic β€” Implement retry mechanisms for transient errors to improve reliability.

πŸ“‘ Network Error Handling β€” Handle network-related errors gracefully, providing users with meaningful feedback.

πŸ› οΈ Debugging Tools β€” Use debugging tools to capture and analyze error responses for better troubleshooting.

πŸ”” User Notifications β€” Inform users of errors in a user-friendly manner, suggesting possible actions.

πŸ“Š Analytics Integration β€” Integrate analytics to track error occurrences and user impact.

Spring Boot Error Handling

βš™οΈ @ExceptionHandler β€” Use the @ExceptionHandler annotation to define custom error-handling logic for specific exceptions.

πŸ› οΈ Global Exception Handling β€” Implement global exception handlers to manage errors across the entire application.

πŸ“œ Custom Error Responses β€” Create custom error responses to provide more meaningful feedback to API consumers.

πŸ”„ Default Error Handling β€” Understand and customize Spring Boot's default error-handling mechanisms.

πŸ” Detailed Error Logs β€” Ensure detailed error logs are available for debugging and auditing purposes.


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