Good error messages are an underrated and underappreciated part of APIs. When integrating a new API it is inevitable that you'll encounter an error at some point in your journey. There are many things that make this error message unhelpful; let's go through them one by one. This is where I think great APIs distinguish themselves from simply “okay” APIs.
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Good error message, bad error messageSend the right codeBe descriptiveBe helpfulProvide more pieces of the puzzleBe empatheticPutting it all togetherDesigning APIs for humansAbout the authorSort: