# Errors

> Error format, status codes and which errors to retry.


Errors use the format of the endpoint you called.

OpenAI formats:

```json
{"error": {"message": "not enough credits for this request. Add credits in the console", "type": "insufficient_quota", "code": "insufficient_credits"}}
```

Messages:

```json
{"type": "error", "error": {"type": "rate_limit_error", "message": "too many requests per minute for this key"}}
```

| Status | Code | Retry? | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 | `invalid_request`, `unsupported_parameter` | No | Fix the body |
| 401 | `invalid_api_key` | No | Check the key |
| 402 | `insufficient_credits`, `key_budget_exceeded` | No | Add credits or raise the key budget |
| 403 | `key_not_allowed`, `account_suspended` | No | Check the key's models or contact support |
| 403 | `consent_required` | No | The key's creator refused or withdrew consent to processing in the United States and China. They can accept it in the console |
| 404 | `model_not_found`, `not_found` | No | Check the ID |
| 413 | `request_too_large` | No | Send less |
| 429 | `rate_limit_exceeded`, `concurrency_limit_exceeded`, `capacity_busy` | Yes | Wait for `retry-after` seconds |
| 500 | `internal_error` | Yes, with backoff | Report the `x-request-id` if it repeats |
| 502, 504 | `upstream_error`, `upstream_timeout` | Yes, with backoff | |
| 503 | `model_unavailable` | Yes | Retry with backoff (`retry-after` is set while the service restarts) or use another model |

`retry-after` is in whole seconds, never more than 60. Failed requests are not charged.

## Safe retries

For non-streaming requests, send an `Idempotency-Key` header. A retry with the same key within 24 hours returns the first response, with `x-notholy-idempotent-replay: true`, and is not charged again.

```bash test
curl https://api.notholy.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOTHOLY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: report-42-summary" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "notholy-specter", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "One-line summary of an open redirect."}]}'
```

The official SDKs already retry 429 and 5xx with backoff.

## Next

- [Limits and concurrency](/en/guides/limits)