Errors and status codes

The Developer API (/api/dev/*) returns errors as JSON, not as browser header errors used by the main web app.

Success response

{
  "success": true,
  "id": "aB3xYz",
  "remaining": 499
}

Fields vary by endpoint (id, data, remaining, etc.). See each resource page for details.

Error response

{
  "success": false,
  "reason": "Human-readable message"
}

Always read reason for the failure explanation.

Common HTTP status codes

Status	Meaning
200	Success (body still has success: true)
400	Invalid input — check reason
401	Missing or invalid API key
403	Forbidden — tier may not allow this endpoint
404	Paste, file, or paste-lite not found
429	Monthly quota exceeded and no credits available
500	Server error — retry later

Authentication errors

Status	Typical reason
401	API key required
401	Invalid API key

See Authentication.

Rate limits

When you exceed your plan’s monthly free quota and have no credits:

• Status: 429
• reason describes the limit

Monthly counters reset on a billing-cycle schedule. Buy credits for overage, or upgrade on pricing.

Full quotas: Rate limits.

Browser API vs Developer API

Endpoints such as short links, themes, and paste creation from the website use a header-based contract (Err, Reason) for the logged-in browser client. Those are not documented here and are not callable with the same JSON shape as /api/dev/*.

Use the SDK or raw HTTP against /api/dev/ only for integrations.