# General Info

This section provides descriptions of the errors a user may encounter when calling our models and solutions via the API. Below, you'll learn about the different error classes and the structure of a response that indicates a failed request.

## Error structure

The general structure of the error response body includes the following parameters:

* **message** – The error message explaining that the free-tier limit has been reached and suggesting upgrading to a paid plan.
* **path** – The API endpoint that was called when the error occurred.
* **requestId** – A unique identifier for the specific request, useful for debugging or support inquiries.
* **statusCode** – The HTTP status code indicating the error type (**429** means too many requests).
* **timestamp** – The exact time when the error occurred, in ISO 8601 format.

For example:

{% code overflow="wrap" %}

```json
{
    "message": "Free-tier limit: You've reached your free limit for the hour. Get AI/ML Subscription to use API, visit https://aimlapi.com/app/billing/ !"
    "path": "/v1/chat/completions"
    "requestId": "798b860e-98c2-4e8e-8c50-550bcfc2eccc"
    "statusCode": "429"
    "timestamp": "2025-03-11T07:13:27.813Z"
}
```

{% endcode %}

## HTTP Status Code Classes and Their Meanings

HTTP status codes are divided into several main classes, each indicating a specific type of server response. Users of our API may receive messages from the following three classes:

#### **2xx — Success**

These codes indicate that the request was successfully processed.

* **200 OK** — The request was successful, and the server is returning the requested data.
* **201 Created** — A new resource was successfully created (e.g., after a POST request).
* **204 No Content** — The request was processed, but there is no response body.

#### **4xx — Client Errors**

These errors indicate that the request is incorrect or cannot be processed by the server.

* **400 Bad Request** — The request is malformed (e.g., syntax errors or invalid parameters).
* **401 Unauthorized** — Authentication is required.
* **403 Forbidden** — Access is denied, even if authentication was successful.
* **404 Not Found** — The requested resource was not found.
* **429 Too Many Requests** — The client has exceeded the request limit.

#### **5xx — Server Errors**

These codes indicate issues on the server side.

* **500 Internal Server Error** — A generic server-side error.
* **502 Bad Gateway** — Issues with a proxy server or gateway.
* **503 Service Unavailable** — The server is temporarily unavailable (e.g., due to overload).
* **504 Gateway Timeout** — The server did not receive a timely response from another service.

These status codes help quickly identify what happened to a request and determine the appropriate steps for troubleshooting.

More details on possible error messages for the 4xx and 5xx classes can be found on the subpages:

{% content-ref url="errors-with-status-code-4xx" %}
[errors-with-status-code-4xx](https://docs.aimlapi.com/errors-and-messages/errors-with-status-code-4xx)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="errors-with-status-code-5xx" %}
[errors-with-status-code-5xx](https://docs.aimlapi.com/errors-and-messages/errors-with-status-code-5xx)
{% endcontent-ref %}


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.aimlapi.com/errors-and-messages/general-info.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.