HTTP Status Codes API: The Complete Guide

Need to understand HTTP status codes in your application? This guide covers everything you need to know about looking up status codes via API, including all categories, common codes, and implementation examples.

What are HTTP Status Codes?

HTTP status codes are three-digit numbers returned by web servers to indicate the result of a client's request. They tell you whether a request succeeded, failed, or requires further action, and provide specific information about what happened.

Status codes range from 100 to 599 and are grouped into five categories based on their first digit.

Status Code Categories

HTTP status codes are divided into five classes:

Using the HTTP Status API

TinyFn provides an endpoint to look up HTTP status codes:

GET https://api.tinyfn.io/v1/http-status/404
Headers: X-API-Key: your-api-key

{
  "code": 404,
  "name": "Not Found",
  "description": "The requested resource could not be found on this server.",
  "category": "Client Error",
  "is_error": true,
  "is_success": false,
  "specification": "RFC 7231",
  "common_causes": [
    "Mistyped URL",
    "Deleted or moved resource",
    "Broken internal link"
  ]
}

Parameters

List All Status Codes

GET https://api.tinyfn.io/v1/http-status
GET https://api.tinyfn.io/v1/http-status?category=4xx

Code Examples

JavaScript / Node.js

const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.tinyfn.io/v1/http-status/500',
  { headers: { 'X-API-Key': 'your-api-key' } }
);
const status = await response.json();
console.log(`${status.code}: ${status.name}`);
console.log(status.description);
// Output: 500: Internal Server Error
// The server encountered an unexpected condition...

Python

import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://api.tinyfn.io/v1/http-status/201',
    headers={'X-API-Key': 'your-api-key'}
)
status = response.json()
print(f"{status['code']}: {status['name']}")
print(f"Category: {status['category']}")

cURL

curl "https://api.tinyfn.io/v1/http-status/302" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key"

Common Status Codes

Best Practices

1. Use appropriate codes: Return the most specific status code for each situation
2. Include error details: Provide helpful error messages alongside status codes
3. Handle all categories: Implement handling for 2xx, 4xx, and 5xx responses
4. Log errors properly: Log 4xx and 5xx errors for debugging