Exa Common Errors

Overview

Quick reference for Exa API errors by HTTP status code and error tag. All error responses include a requestId field — include it when contacting Exa support at hello@exa.ai.

Error Reference

400 — Bad Request

Error Tag	Cause	Solution
INVALID_REQUEST_BODY	Malformed JSON or missing required fields	Validate JSON structure and required query field
INVALID_REQUEST	Conflicting parameters	Remove contradictory options (e.g., date filters with company category)
INVALID_URLS	Malformed URLs in getContents	Ensure URLs have https:// protocol
INVALID_NUM_RESULTS	numResults > 100 with highlights	Reduce to <= 100 or remove highlights
INVALID_JSON_SCHEMA	Bad schema in summary.schema	Validate JSON schema syntax
NUM_RESULTS_EXCEEDED	Exceeds plan limit	Check your plan's max results
NO_CONTENT_FOUND	No content at provided URLs	Verify URLs are accessible

401 — Unauthorized

# Verify your API key is set and valid
echo "Key set: ${EXA_API_KEY:+yes}"

# Test with curl
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
  -X POST https://api.exa.ai/search \
  -H "x-api-key: $EXA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"test","numResults":1}'

Fix: Regenerate API key at dashboard.exa.ai.

402 — Payment Required

Error Tag	Cause	Solution
NO_MORE_CREDITS	Account balance exhausted	Top up at dashboard.exa.ai
API_KEY_BUDGET_EXCEEDED	Spending limit reached	Increase budget in API key settings

403 — Forbidden

Error Tag	Cause	Solution
ACCESS_DENIED	Feature not available on plan	Upgrade plan or contact Exa
FEATURE_DISABLED	Endpoint not enabled	Check plan capabilities
ROBOTS_FILTER_FAILED	URL blocked by robots.txt	Use a different URL
PROHIBITED_CONTENT	Content blocked by moderation	Review query for policy violations

429 — Rate Limited

// Default rate limit: 10 QPS (queries per second)
// Error response format: { "error": "rate limit exceeded" }

// Fix: implement exponential backoff
async function searchWithBackoff(exa: Exa, query: string, opts: any) {
  for (let attempt = 0; attempt < 5; attempt++) {
    try {
      return await exa.search(query, opts);
    } catch (err: any) {
      if (err.status !== 429) throw err;
      const delay = 1000 * Math.pow(2, attempt) + Math.random() * 500;
      console.log(`Rate limited. Waiting ${delay.toFixed(0)}ms...`);
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, delay));
    }
  }
  throw new Error("Rate limit retries exhausted");
}

422 — Unprocessable Entity

Error Tag	Cause	Solution
FETCH_DOCUMENT_ERROR	URL could not be crawled	Verify URL is accessible and not paywalled

5xx — Server Errors

Code	Tag	Action
500	DEFAULT_ERROR / INTERNAL_ERROR	Retry after 1-2 seconds
501	UNABLE_TO_GENERATE_RESPONSE	Rephrase query (answer endpoint)
502	Bad Gateway	Retry with delay
503	Service Unavailable	Check status page, retry later

Content Fetch Errors (per-URL status in getContents)

Tag	Cause	Resolution
CRAWL_NOT_FOUND	Content unavailable at URL	Verify URL correctness
CRAWL_TIMEOUT	Fetch timed out	Retry or increase livecrawlTimeout
CRAWL_LIVECRAWL_TIMEOUT	Live crawl exceeded timeout	Set livecrawlTimeout: 15000 or use livecrawl: "fallback"
SOURCE_NOT_AVAILABLE	Paywalled or blocked	Try cached content with livecrawl: "never"
UNSUPPORTED_URL	Non-HTTP URL scheme	Use standard HTTPS URLs

Quick Diagnostic Script

set -euo pipefail

echo "=== Exa Diagnostics ==="
echo "API Key: ${EXA_API_KEY:+SET (${#EXA_API_KEY} chars)}"

# Test basic connectivity
echo -n "API connectivity: "
HTTP_CODE=$(curl -s -o /tmp/exa-test.json -w "%{http_code}" \
  -X POST https://api.exa.ai/search \
  -H "x-api-key: $EXA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"connectivity test","numResults":1}')
echo "$HTTP_CODE"

if [ "$HTTP_CODE" != "200" ]; then
  echo "Error response:"
  cat /tmp/exa-test.json | python3 -m json.tool 2>/dev/null || cat /tmp/exa-test.json
fi

Instructions

1. Check the HTTP status code from the error response
2. Match the error tag to the tables above
3. Apply the documented solution
4. Include requestId from error responses when contacting support

Resources

• Exa Error Codes
• Exa Rate Limits
• Exa Status Page

Next Steps

For comprehensive debugging, see exa-debug-bundle. For rate limit patterns, see exa-rate-limits.