Errors

Errors from the v1 API follow RFC 9457 (Problem Details for HTTP APIs). They’re returned with Content-Type: application/problem+json and a machine-readable type URL whose trailing fragment is a stable error code you can switch on in your client.

Envelope

{
  "type": "https://docs.buildworkpro.com/docs/api/concepts/errors#validation_failed",
  "title": "Validation failed",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "email must be a valid address",
  "request_id": "req_8f3c1b2a",
  "errors": [{ "field": "email", "code": "invalid_format", "message": "must be a valid address" }]
}

Field	Description
`type`	URL pointing to docs for the specific error code. Stable.
`title`	Short human-readable summary. Same for every error of this code.
`status`	HTTP status code (also returned in the response status line).
`detail`	Human-readable explanation of this specific occurrence.
`request_id`	Echo this in support tickets to let us trace the request.
`errors`	Optional. Per-field validation breakdown on `validation_failed`.

Error code catalog

Code	HTTP	When	Retry?
`bad_request`	400	Malformed request, bad query parameter, invalid JSON.	No. Fix the request.
`unauthorized`	401	Missing, malformed, or invalid bearer token.	No. Re-authenticate.
`token_expired`	401	OAuth access token has expired.	No. Refresh the token, then retry.
`forbidden`	403	Authenticated, but the role lacks permission for this action.	No. The user can’t do this.
`scope_insufficient`	403	Token is valid but doesn’t carry the required scope.	No. Request a broader scope at consent.
`subscription_inactive`	403	The tenant has no active subscription (trial expired, payment failed).	No. The customer must update billing.
`tenant_suspended`	403	The tenant is suspended by platform admin.	No. Contact support.
`not_found`	404	Resource doesn’t exist or doesn’t belong to the calling tenant.	No.
`conflict`	409	Generic state conflict (e.g., trying to delete something already deleted).	No without context change.
`idempotency_key_reused`	409	Same `Idempotency-Key` was used for a request with a different body.	No. Use a fresh key for a new operation.
`validation_failed`	422	Request body or fields failed schema validation.	No. Fix the body.
`rate_limited`	429	Tenant or per-key rate limit exceeded.	Yes. Honor `Retry-After`.
`internal_error`	500	Unexpected server error.	Once, with a short delay.
`service_unavailable`	503	Temporary outage or upstream dependency down.	Yes. Exponential backoff with jitter.
`maintenance`	503	Planned maintenance window.	Yes. Honor `Retry-After`.

Sample 422 response

{
  "type": "https://docs.buildworkpro.com/docs/api/concepts/errors#validation_failed",
  "title": "Validation failed",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "Request body failed validation",
  "request_id": "req_b91e44d0",
  "errors": [
    {
      "field": "type",
      "code": "invalid_enum",
      "message": "must be one of customer, vendor, subcontractor, supplier, employee, partner, other"
    },
    { "field": "email", "code": "invalid_format", "message": "must be a valid email" }
  ]
}

Recommended client behavior

Switch on the trailing fragment of type (e.g. #validation_failed), not status or title. The codes are stable; titles may be reworded.
Treat internal_error, service_unavailable, and maintenance as retriable (see the Retry column above). Retry once for internal_error; use exponential backoff for service_unavailable and maintenance.
On rate_limited, honor Retry-After exactly. Don’t hammer.
On unauthorized or token_expired, refresh credentials before retrying. Never retry blindly with the same expired token.