4xx Client Errors
HTTP 428 Precondition Required
The origin server requires the request to be conditional (RFC 6585).
When is 428 used?
- Preventing lost updates with If-Match
How to handle a 428 response
Inspect the request — URL, method, headers, credentials, and body. Retrying the same request unchanged will usually fail again; 429 is the exception, where you should wait for the Retry-After period.
Check the status code a URL returns from the command line:
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}\n" https://example.comHow to return 428 from your server
Node.js (Express)
res.status(428).json({ message: 'Precondition Required' });Python (Flask)
return {"message": "Precondition Required"}, 428Go (net/http)
w.WriteHeader(428)Frequently Asked Questions
What does HTTP 428 mean?
428 Precondition Required: The origin server requires the request to be conditional (RFC 6585).
Is 428 an error?
Yes. 428 is in the 4xx Client Errors class. Client errors: the request is malformed, unauthorized, or targets something that does not exist.