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ParseRouter uses standard HTTP status codes. A 2xx status means success; 4xx means a problem with the request you can fix; 5xx means a problem on our side that’s usually safe to retry.

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Error format

Every error response has the same JSON shape: 
{
  "detail": "Document has 142 pages; the maximum is 100 pages per document."
}
The detail field is a human-readable description of what went wrong.

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Status codes

StatusMeaning
400The uploaded file is not a valid PDF or image.
401The API key is missing, malformed, invalid, or revoked.
402Not enough credits to parse the document.
413The document exceeds the 100-page limit.
422The request is malformed — for example, the file field is missing.
429Rate limit exceeded (10 requests per minute per organization).
503The parsing backend is temporarily overloaded or unavailable.

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Handling errors

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Don’t retry — fix the request

400, 401, 402, 413, and 422 indicate something about the request that won’t change on retry. Resolve the underlying cause instead:
  • 400 — confirm the file is a supported, uncorrupted PDF or image.
  • 401 — send a valid Authorization: Bearer sk-pr-... header.
  • 402 — top up your credits.
  • 413 — split the document into files of 100 pages or fewer.
  • 422 — check you’re sending multipart/form-data with a file field.

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Safe to retry

429 and 503 are temporary. Both include a Retry-After header (in seconds) indicating how long to wait before trying again:
  • 429 — you’re sending requests too quickly. Wait for Retry-After, then retry. Add exponential backoff for production traffic.
  • 503 — the backend is briefly saturated. Wait for Retry-After and retry. No credits are charged for a 503.
Failed requests never consume credits — you’re only charged when a parse succeeds with a 200.