5xx Server Errors
HTTP 500 Internal Server Error
The server encountered an unexpected condition that prevented it from fulfilling the request.
When is 500 used?
- Unhandled exceptions
- Application crashes
- Configuration errors
How to handle a 500 response
The problem is on the server side. Check server and proxy logs, retry idempotent requests with exponential backoff, and alert on sustained 5xx rates.
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 500 from your server
Node.js (Express)
res.status(500).json({ message: 'Internal Server Error' });Python (Flask)
return {"message": "Internal Server Error"}, 500Go (net/http)
w.WriteHeader(500)Frequently Asked Questions
What does HTTP 500 mean?
500 Internal Server Error: The server encountered an unexpected condition that prevented it from fulfilling the request.
Is 500 an error?
Yes. 500 is in the 5xx Server Errors class. Server errors: the server failed to fulfil an apparently valid request.