Error Codes - OpenAI API

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Error codes
This guide includes an overview on error codes you might see from both the API and our
official Python library. Each error code mentioned in the overview has a dedicated section with
further guidance.
API errors
CODE OV E RV I E W
401 - Invalid Authentication Cause: Invalid Authentication

Solution: Ensure the correct API key and requesting
organization are being used.
401 - Incorrect API key provided Cause: The requesting API key is not correct.
Solution: Ensure the API key used is correct, clear your
browser cache, or generate a new one.
401 - You must be a member of an Cause: Your account is not part of an organization.
organization to use the API Solution: Contact us to get added to a new organization
or ask your organization manager to invite you to an
organization.
403 - Country, region, or territory not Cause: You are accessing the API from an unsupported
supported country, region, or territory.
Solution: Please see this page for more information.
429 - Rate limit reached for requests Cause: You are sending requests too quickly.
Solution: Pace your requests. Read the Rate limit guide.
429 - You exceeded your current Cause: You have run out of credits or hit your maximum
quota, please check your plan and monthly spend.
billing details Solution: Buy more credits or learn how to increase
your limits.
500 - The server had an error while Cause: Issue on our servers.
processing your request Solution: Retry your request after a brief wait and
p gy q yy q
CODE OV E RV I E W
contact us if the issue persists. Check the status page.
503 - The engine is currently Cause: Our servers are experiencing high traffic.
overloaded, please try again later Solution: Please retry your requests after a brief wait.
401 - Invalid Authentication
401 - Incorrect API key provided
401 - You must be a member of an organization to use the API
429 - Rate limit reached for requests
429 - You exceeded your current quota, please check your plan and
billing details
503 - The engine is currently overloaded, please try again later
Python library error types

TYPE OV E RV I E W
APIConnectionError Cause: Issue connecting to our services.

Solution: Check your network settings, proxy configuration, SSL
certificates, or firewall rules.
APITimeoutError Cause: Request timed out.

Solution: Retry your request after a brief wait and contact us if the
issue persists.
AuthenticationError Cause: Your API key or token was invalid, expired, or revoked.
Solution: Check your API key or token and make sure it is correct
and active. You may need to generate a new one from your
t d hb d
TYPE account dashboard.
OV E RV I E W
BadRequestError Cause: Your request was malformed or missing some required

parameters, such as a token or an input.
Solution: The error message should advise you on the specific
error made. Check the documentation for the specific API method
you are calling and make sure you are sending valid and complete
parameters. You may also need to check the encoding, format, or
size of your request data.
ConflictError Cause: The resource was updated by another request.

Solution: Try to update the resource again and ensure no other
requests are trying to update it.
InternalServerError Cause: Issue on our side.

Solution: Retry your request after a brief wait and contact us if the
issue persists.
NotFoundError Cause: Requested resource does not exist.

Solution: Ensure you are the correct resource identifier.
PermissionDeniedError Cause: You don't have access to the requested resource.

Solution: Ensure you are using the correct API key, organization ID,
and resource ID.
RateLimitError Cause: You have hit your assigned rate limit.

Solution: Pace your requests. Read more in our Rate limit guide.
UnprocessableEntityError Cause: Unable to process the request despite the format being
correct.
Solution: Please try the request again.
APIConnectionError
APITimeoutError
AuthenticationError
B dR E
BadRequestError
InternalServerError
RateLimitError
Persistent errors
If the issue persists, contact our support team via chat and provide them with the following
information:
The model you were using

The error message and code you received
The request data and headers you sent
The timestamp and timezone of your request
Any other relevant details that may help us diagnose the issue
Our support team will investigate the issue and get back to you as soon as possible. Note that
our support queue times may be long due to high demand. You can also post in our
Community Forum but be sure to omit any sensitive information.
Handling errors
We advise you to programmatically handle errors returned by the API. To do so, you may want
to use a code snippet like below:
1 import openai
2 from openai import OpenAI
3 client = OpenAI()
4
5 try:
6 #Make your OpenAI API request here
7 response = client.completions.create(
8 prompt="Hello world",
9 model="gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct"
10 )
11 except openai.APIError as e:
12 #Handle API error here, e.g. retry or log
13 print(f"OpenAI API returned an API Error: {e}")
14 pass
15 except openai.APIConnectionError as e:
16 #Handle connection error here

17 print(f"Failed to connect to OpenAI API: {e}")
18 pass
19 except openai.RateLimitError as e:
20 #Handle rate limit error (we recommend using exponential backoff)
21 print(f"OpenAI API request exceeded rate limit: {e}")
22 pass

Error Codes - OpenAI API

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Error Codes - OpenAI API

Uploaded by

Introducing GPT-4o: our fastest and most affordable flagship model

Learn more‍ Dismiss‍

401 - Invalid Authentication Cause: Invalid Authentication

401 - Invalid Authentication

401 - Incorrect API key provided

401 - You must be a member of an organization to use the API

429 - Rate limit reached for requests

503 - The engine is currently overloaded, please try again later

Python library error types

APIConnectionError Cause: Issue connecting to our services.

APITimeoutError Cause: Request timed out.

BadRequestError Cause: Your request was malformed or missing some required

ConflictError Cause: The resource was updated by another request.

InternalServerError Cause: Issue on our side.

NotFoundError Cause: Requested resource does not exist.

PermissionDeniedError Cause: You don't have access to the requested resource.

RateLimitError Cause: You have hit your assigned rate limit.

The model you were using

16 #Handle connection error here

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