> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.theguarantors.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Errors

> The error response format, the machine-readable error codes and field errors returned by the invite amendment endpoints, and how unknown request fields are handled.

TheGuarantors uses standard HTTP status codes to signal the outcome of an API request. Except for rate limit errors, every error response includes:

* **Message:** A human-readable message detailing the reason for the request failure.
* **Object:** `error`

Errors from the invite amendment endpoints (`PATCH /v1/invites/:id`, `POST /v1/invites/:id/invite-recipients`, `PATCH /v1/invite-recipients/:id` and `DELETE /v1/invite-recipients/:id`) also include:

* **Error code:** A machine-readable code identifying the reason for the failure, returned as `error_code`.
* **Field errors:** For a `validation_error`, one entry per rejected field, returned as `field_errors`.

See [Error](https://docs.theguarantors.com/schemas/error.md) for the full schema.

## Error codes

An error code is a short, fixed string, such as `invite_canceled`, that identifies why a request failed. The invite amendment endpoints include one in the `error_code` field of their error responses, except for errors raised while authenticating your request, such as a `401`:

```json theme={null}
{
  "message": "cannot amend invite, invite has been canceled",
  "error_code": "invite_canceled",
  "object": "error"
}
```

When the error code is `validation_error`, the response also includes `field_errors`. Each entry names a rejected field by its path and carries its own `code` and `message`:

```json theme={null}
{
  "message": "validation error: lease: (end_date: lease end date must be after start date.).",
  "error_code": "validation_error",
  "field_errors": [
    {
      "field": "lease.end_date",
      "code": "invalid_date_range",
      "message": "lease end date must be after start date"
    }
  ],
  "object": "error"
}
```

Error codes are covered by our [Breaking Change Policy](https://docs.theguarantors.com/breaking-change-policy.md), so use `error_code` rather than `message` to handle a failure in your integration. New codes may be added over time, so treat a code you don't recognize as a general failure for its HTTP status. Each endpoint's API reference lists the error codes it can return.

## Unknown fields

Request bodies may only contain the fields documented for that endpoint. If a request includes any other field, at the top level or nested inside an object or array item, the API returns a 400 Bad Request listing each one by its path, and nothing is created or modified:

```json theme={null}
{
  "message": "validation error: unknown field provided: invite_recipients.phone",
  "object": "error"
}
```

`metadata` objects are the exception: they accept any keys, subject to the [metadata validation rules](https://docs.theguarantors.com/metadata.md#metadata-validation). On update endpoints, sending a field that exists on the resource but cannot be edited returns `<field> is not a supported field for editing` (for example, `obligee` on `PATCH /v1/invites/:id`).