API Errors

Learn about the different types of errors you might encounter when using the AltTextAI API and how to handle them.

Error Response Format

All API errors follow a consistent format, making it easy to handle errors in your application:

{
    "error": "Error message description",
    "results": [  // Optional, included for batch operations
        {
            "filename": "image1.jpg",
            "error": "Error processing this image",
            "success": false
        }
    ]
}

HTTP Status Codes

The API uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate the success or failure of requests:

Status Code	Description	Common Causes
200 OK	Request successful	Request completed successfully
400 Bad Request	Invalid request	Missing required fields, invalid image format
401 Unauthorized	Authentication failed	Invalid or missing API key
403 Forbidden	Permission denied	Insufficient credits, rate limit exceeded
404 Not Found	Resource not found	Invalid endpoint, image URL not accessible
500 Internal Server Error	Server error	Unexpected server error, AI model error

Common Error Messages

Authentication Errors

{
    "error": "No Authorization header found. Please include your API key in the Authorization header as 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'"
}

{
    "error": "Invalid or inactive API key"
}

Credit-Related Errors

{
    "error": "No credits remaining"
}

{
    "error": "Insufficient credits for batch processing"
}

Image Processing Errors

{
    "error": "No images provided. Please provide either file uploads, URLs, or base64 encoded images."
}

{
    "error": "Invalid image format"
}

{
    "error": "Image URL not accessible"
}

{
    "error": "Image size exceeds maximum limit"
}

Error Handling Best Practices

try {
    const response = await fetch('https://autoalt.app/api/v1/generate', {
        method: 'POST',
        headers: {
            'Authorization': `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
            'Content-Type': 'application/json'
        },
        body: JSON.stringify(data)
    });

    if (!response.ok) {
        const errorData = await response.json();
        // Handle specific error cases
        switch (response.status) {
            case 401:
                // Handle authentication error
                break;
            case 403:
                // Handle insufficient credits
                break;
            default:
                // Handle other errors
        }
        throw new Error(errorData.error);
    }

    const result = await response.json();
    // Process successful response
} catch (error) {
    console.error('API Error:', error.message);
}

Always check the response status code
Parse the error message from the response body
Implement appropriate retry logic for transient errors
Log errors for debugging purposes
Handle batch processing errors individually
Provide meaningful error messages to your users