500 Internal Server Error
The server has encountered a situation it doesn't know how to handle.
Explanation
The 500 (Internal Server Error) status code indicates that the server encountered an unexpected condition that prevented it from fulfilling the request. This is a generic error message, given when no more specific message is suitable.
A 500 error is typically a server-side problem that needs to be fixed by the website or API owner, not the client. It can result from a wide variety of issues including:
- Programming errors in the web application
- Issues with the web server or application server
- Database connection problems
- Failure in third-party services or dependencies
- Server resource limitations (CPU, memory, etc.)
A properly designed error handling system should provide more specific error messages, but in cases where the error cannot be properly determined or an unexpected error occurs, a generic 500 response is returned.
Example Response
HTTP/1.1 500 Internal Server Error
Content-Type: application/json
{"error": "Internal Server Error", "message": "An unexpected error occurred. Our technical team has been notified.", "requestId": "XTR-492-571"}
Related Status Codes
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