Errors - Slate Documentation

The Slate API uses standard HTTP status codes. This page explains what each code means and what the error body looks like, so your integration can handle failures.

Why it matters

Different parts of the API return errors in slightly different formats. Check the status code first, then read the body for details.

Error response formats

Authentication and access errors

Token checks happen at the API gateway, before a request reaches a service. These errors return a plain-text body, not JSON:

Status	Body	Cause
`401`	`unauthorized`	The token is missing, malformed, revoked, or expired, or a workspace or organization header doesn’t match the token.
`403`	`forbidden`	The endpoint isn’t available for API token access.

See Authentication for the full list of causes.

Workflows and AEO Tracker errors

Workflows and AEO Tracker endpoints return JSON with an error field:

{
  "error": "topic name already exists"
}

Unexpected server errors from Workflows endpoints return a generic message:

{
  "error": "internal_error"
}

Content Updates errors

The Content Updates endpoint returns JSON with a detail field:

{
  "detail": "unknown content_artifact_uid"
}

Validation errors return 422, with detail listing each invalid field.

Status codes

Status	Meaning	Example
`200`	Success.	A list or get request returned data.
`201`	Created.	A content update was recorded.
`202`	Accepted.	A workflow run was queued. Poll its status to follow progress.
`400`	The request is invalid.	A path ID isn’t valid, such as `invalid prompt id`.
`401`	Authentication failed.	The token is missing, revoked, or expired.
`403`	Access denied.	The endpoint isn’t available for tokens, or the workspace doesn’t match the token (`workspace does not match authenticated context`).
`404`	The resource doesn’t exist in the token’s workspace.	`query run not found`
`409`	The request conflicts with existing data.	`topic name already exists`
`422`	A field failed validation.	A Content Updates request has an invalid `occurred_at` value.
`429`	A run limit was reached.	`Too many concurrent runs`
`500`	Unexpected server error.	`internal_error`
`503`	A backing service is temporarily unavailable.	`analytics store unavailable`

Run limits

Each API token can have up to 3 workflow runs queued or running at the same time. Creating another run returns 429 with Too many concurrent runs. Wait for a run to finish, or cancel a queued run, then try again. There’s no daily limit on the number of runs per token.

Troubleshooting

You get 401 on every request. Check that the header is Authorization: Bearer slat_… and that the token isn’t revoked or expired.
You get 403 on a valid token. The endpoint isn’t open to API tokens, or the request refers to a workspace other than the token’s workspace.
You get 429 when creating runs. Too many runs are in flight for this token. Poll Get Run Status and create new runs as earlier ones finish.
You get 503. Retry the request after a short wait.

What’s next

Authentication — create and manage API tokens.
API Overview — base URL and available APIs.
Create Workflow Run — trigger a workflow run.

​Why it matters

​Error response formats

​Authentication and access errors

​Workflows and AEO Tracker errors

​Content Updates errors

​Status codes

​Run limits

​Troubleshooting

​What’s next