What this HTTP status codes reference is
Every HTTP response carries a three-digit status code that says what happened. This is a searchable reference of the full set — search by code or by meaning, filter by category, and copy the one you need. It's the fast way to answer "what does 409 mean again?" without leaving your editor.
The five categories
- 1xx Informational — request received, continuing (rare in practice).
- 2xx Success — it worked (
200 OK,201 Created,204 No Content). - 3xx Redirection — go elsewhere (
301permanent,302/307temporary,304 Not Modified). - 4xx Client error — the request was wrong (
400,401,403,404,429). - 5xx Server error — the server failed (
500,502,503,504).
Why using the right code matters
Status codes are an API's contract with its clients — caches, retries, and error
handling all key off them. Returning 200 with an error body, or
404 where you mean 403, breaks that contract and makes
clients behave unpredictably. Picking the semantically correct code is part of a
well-designed API.