error_handling

Okapi Error Handling

Handlers return error. The Abort* helpers write a response through the configured ErrorHandler and return an error you propagate; the Error* helpers write a fixed JSON envelope directly, bypassing the handler. Three formats ship in the box: the default JSON envelope, a fully custom handler, and RFC 7807 Problem Details.

Aborting from a Handler

o.Post("/books", func(c *okapi.Context) error {
    book := &Book{}
    if err := c.Bind(book); err != nil {
        return c.AbortBadRequest("Invalid request body", err)
    }
    return c.Created(book)
})

Default response body (okapi.ErrorResponse):

{
  "code": 400,
  "message": "Invalid request body",
  "details": "field Name is required",
  "timestamp": "2026-08-16T21:34:17+01:00"
}

Always propagate the returned error (return c.AbortX(...)). Writing another body afterwards is a no-op — see "Write-Once Semantics" in the response/ skill.

Abort Methods

Signature: c.AbortXxx(msg string, err ...error) error. All route through the configured error handler.

4xx

5xx

Generic / special

c.Abort(err) error                                 // 500 from an error
c.AbortWithError(code int, err error) error        // any status, via the error handler
c.AbortWithStatus(code int, message string) error  // any status, default ErrorResponse shape
c.AbortWithJSON(code int, jsonObj any) error       // custom JSON payload
c.AbortWithProblemDetail(p *ProblemDetail) error   // RFC 7807 payload
c.AbortNotModified() error                         // 304, no body (per spec)
c.AbortValidationErrors(errs []ValidationError, msg ...string) error
c.AbortValidationErrorsWithProblemDetail(errs []ValidationError, msg ...string) error

Direct Error Writes (Bypass the Error Handler)

Signature: c.ErrorXxx(message any) error. These write the default JSON envelope verbatim — useful when you deliberately want a fixed shape regardless of the configured handler.

c.Error(code, message)             // basic error with status + message
c.ErrorBadRequest(err)             // 400 — accepts a string, an error, or any value
c.ErrorUnauthorized("no token")    // 401
c.ErrorForbidden(msg)              // 403
c.ErrorNotFound(msg)               // 404
c.ErrorConflict(msg)               // 409
c.ErrorUnprocessableEntity(msg)    // 422
c.ErrorTooManyRequests(msg)        // 429
c.ErrorInternalServerError(msg)    // 500
c.ErrorNotModified()               // 304, no body

The full set mirrors the Abort* table above (ErrorPaymentRequired, ErrorTeapot, ErrorLoopDetected, ErrorNetworkAuthenticationRequired, …).

Custom Error Handler

o.WithErrorHandler(func(c *okapi.Context, code int, message string, err error) error {
    details := ""
    if err != nil {
        details = err.Error()
    }
    return c.JSON(code, map[string]any{
        "success": false,
        "error": map[string]any{
            "code":    code,
            "message": message,
            "details": details,
        },
    })
})

o.WithDefaultErrorHandler() // reset to okapi.DefaultErrorHandler

Per-request override, e.g. from middleware:

func legacyErrors(c *okapi.Context) error {
    if strings.HasPrefix(c.Path(), "/v1/") {
        c.SetErrorHandler(v1ErrorHandler) // overrides the global handler for this request
    }
    return c.Next()
}

RFC 7807 Problem Details

o := okapi.Default()
o.WithSimpleProblemDetailErrorHandler() // application/problem+json, default fields

{
  "type": "about:blank",
  "title": "Bad Request",
  "status": 400,
  "detail": "field Name is required",
  "instance": "/books"
}

Full configuration:

o.WithProblemDetailErrorHandler(&okapi.ErrorHandlerConfig{
    Format:           okapi.ErrorFormatProblemJSON, // or ErrorFormatProblemXML / ErrorFormatDefault
    TypePrefix:       "https://api.example.com/errors/",
    IncludeInstance:  true,
    IncludeTimestamp: true,
    CustomFields: map[string]any{
        "api_version": "v1.0.0",
        "support_url": "https://support.example.com",
    },
})

okapi.ProblemDetailErrorHandler(cfg) returns the same handler as a plain ErrorHandler value if you want to compose it yourself.

Building a ProblemDetail Manually

detail := okapi.NewProblemDetail(400, "https://example.com/errors/bad-input", "Invalid input").
    WithInstance("/books/123").
    WithExtension("field", "name").
    WithTimestamp()

return c.AbortWithProblemDetail(detail)

ProblemDetail fields: Type, Title, Status, Detail, Instance, plus Extensions (flattened into the JSON object by a custom marshaller).

Structured Validation Errors

return c.AbortValidationErrors([]okapi.ValidationError{
    {Field: "email", Message: "must be a valid email", Value: input.Email},
    {Field: "age",   Message: "must be >= 18"},
}, "validation failed")

{
  "code": 422,
  "message": "validation failed",
  "timestamp": "2026-08-16T21:34:17+01:00",
  "errors": [
    {"field": "email", "message": "must be a valid email", "value": "not-an-email"},
    {"field": "age",   "message": "must be >= 18"}
  ]
}

AbortValidationErrors always uses this ValidationErrorResponse shape, even when a custom error handler is configured — it has a fixed contract. Use AbortValidationErrorsWithProblemDetail for the RFC 7807 equivalent.

Fallback Handlers

o.NoRoute(func(c *okapi.Context) error { return c.AbortNotFound("Custom 404 - Not found") })
o.NoMethod(func(c *okapi.Context) error { return c.AbortMethodNotAllowed("Custom 405") })

Errors from Standard Handlers

A net/http handler registered with HandleStd / HandleHTTP has no *Context and cannot return an error — Okapi cannot capture failures inside it. Write the error response yourself, or convert the route to a native handler.

Status Class Helpers

okapi.IsError(code) bool        // 4xx or 5xx
okapi.IsClientError(code) bool  // 4xx
okapi.IsServerError(code) bool  // 5xx