Errors

Last updated: 27 Sep 2023

Canvas uses conventional HTTP response codes to indicate success or failure of an API request. In general: Codes in the 2xx range indicate success. Codes in the 4xx range indicate an error that failed given the information provided (e.g., a required parameter was omitted, a request wasn’t found, etc.). Codes in the 5xx range indicate an error with Canvas’ server.

All 4xx errors that could be handled programmatically (e.g., resource not found) include an OperationOutcome that explains the error reported

Error Code	Description
200 - OK	Everything worked as expected.
401 - Unauthorized	No valid Bearer token provided.
403 - Forbidden	Token bearer is forbidden from performing the operation.
404 - Not Found	The requested resource doesn’t exist.
422 - Unprocessable Entity	There operation cannot be completed because of an error in the request body; details are provided in the returned OperationOutcome
5XX - Server Error	Something went wrong on Canvas’s end.

401

{
  "resourceType": "OperationOutcome",
  "issue": [
    {
      "severity": "error",
      "code": "unknown",
      "details": {
        "text": "Authentication failed"
      }
    }
  ]
}

403

{
  "resourceType": "OperationOutcome",
  "issue": [
    {
      "severity": "error",
      "code": "forbidden",
      "details": {
        "text": "Authorization failed"
      }
    }
  ]
}

404

{
  "resourceType": "OperationOutcome",
  "issue": [
    {
      "severity": "error",
      "code": "not-found",
      "details": {
        "text": "Unknown Patient resource 'a47c7b0ebbb442cdbc4adf259d148ea1'"
      }
    }
  ]
}

422

{
  "resourceType": "OperationOutcome",
  "issue": [
    {
      "severity": "error",
      "code": "business-rule",
      "details": {
        "text": "This appointment time is no longer available."
      }
    }
  ]
}

5XX

{
  "resourceType": "OperationOutcome",
  "issue": [
    {
      "severity": "error",
      "code": "excepetion",
      "details": {
        "text": "Internal server error"
      }
    }
  ]
}