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Best Practices for Error Handling

  • Logging: Always log the error response from Outter (and the HTTP status code). This will help in debugging issues. For instance, log the error message and any request ID from the headers for support tracking.
  • 400/404 Errors (Client Issues): These indicate a problem in your request (missing data, incorrect endpoint). Do not retry the request without fixing the input. Instead, review the error message, correct the request format or data, and try again.
  • 401/403 Errors (Auth Issues): Check that your API key or token is correct, not expired, and has the necessary permissions. For example, ensure the token is for the correct tenant if using multi-tenant setup. You might need to re-authenticate or use a valid API key. If using JWTs, make sure to refresh them before expiry.
  • 429 Errors (Rate Limits): If you receive a 429, it means you've hit a rate limit. Outter’s gateway enforces rate limiting to ensure fair use. Your client should back off and retry after the period specified (look at the Retry-After header or use an exponential backoff strategy). Continually retrying without delay may prolong the lockout. If your use case regularly hits limits, consider contacting Outter for higher quota or optimize your request frequency (batch requests when possible, see Batch Processing below).
  • 500/502/503 Errors (Server Issues): These are on Outter’s side or an upstream AI provider. They are usually transient. Implement a retry mechanism for these: e.g., retry after a short delay (few seconds) and limit to a few attempts. If the error persists, log it and alert your team or contact Outter support. Avoid infinite retry loops to not overload the system.
  • Graceful Degradation: In user-facing applications, handle errors gracefully. For example, if the Recommendations API fails, you might show a default set of popular items instead of crashing; if a content generation fails, show a friendly message or fallback text.
  • Validation: Validate your requests on the client side before calling Outter. This reduces the chances of 400 errors. Ensure required fields are present (e.g., prompt for content generation, or userMessage for assistant queries).

By following these practices, your integration will be robust and able to handle situations like network issues, provider downtime, or hitting usage limits without significantly impacting the user experience.