Handle an API response in two stages: first decide what its HTTP status means for the endpoint, then parse the body only if that response is expected to contain one. In Python, Requests and HTTPX both provide raise_for_status(), but status errors are different from network failures such as timeouts. Treat those cases separately, and avoid assuming that every successful response contains JSON.
What an HTTP status code tells you
An HTTP status code is a three-digit value from 100 to 599. Its first digit identifies a broad class: 1xx informational, 2xx successful, 3xx redirection, 4xx client error, or 5xx server error. The class is useful orientation, not a complete description of what your program should do. The API contract and request method determine whether a particular status is expected and what response body or follow-up action applies. See RFC 9110.
| Status | Typical meaning for a client | Practical handling |
|---|---|---|
200 OK |
The request succeeded; the response content depends on the method. | For a GET, the body commonly represents the requested resource, but follow the endpoint contract. |
201 Created |
The request succeeded and created one or more resources. | Check for a Location header if the API uses it to identify the primary created resource. |
202 Accepted |
The request was accepted for processing, but processing is not complete. | Use the API’s documented polling or completion mechanism; acceptance does not promise eventual success. |
204 No Content |
The request succeeded and has no response content. | Return an empty result or another application-appropriate value; do not decode JSON. |
3xx |
Redirection; another action may be needed. | Check the client library’s redirect behavior and the API’s expectations. |
4xx |
Client-error class, often indicating an issue with the request or its context. | Handle expected cases, such as a documented 404, explicitly. Read an error body only according to the API contract. |
429 Too Many Requests |
The server is limiting requests. | If supplied, respect Retry-After and your application’s deadline. |
5xx |
Server-error class. | Decide whether a retry is safe for this operation; a 503 may include Retry-After. |
304 Not Modified |
A conditional request indicates that the cached representation remains current. | Use the cached representation as appropriate; the response has no content. |
Clients are expected to understand the status class even when they do not recognize a particular registered code. Do not equate “below 400” with the exact success condition your endpoint requires: a redirect, for example, may call for different handling from a final 2xx response.
A reliable response-handling sequence
- Set a finite timeout suited to the application rather than letting a request wait indefinitely.
- Issue the request and distinguish failures while communicating with the server from a response that has an HTTP status.
- Handle statuses that are ordinary control flow for the endpoint, such as 404 for a missing resource or 204 for a successful empty result.
- For other error statuses, either raise an HTTP-status exception or inspect the response and its documented error fields.
- Parse the body only when the status, media type, and API contract indicate that a body is expected. JSON decoding can fail even when an HTTP response was received.
This separates three different outcomes: a response the endpoint considers successful, an HTTP error response from the server, and a request or transport failure where a response may not be available.
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Handle responses with Requests
Requests’ raise_for_status() raises HTTPError for an HTTP error status. Its ok property is true when the status is below 400, including redirects; it does not mean “exactly 200.” Its json() method can raise JSONDecodeError if the response body is not valid JSON. The Requests documentation covers these behaviors in its API reference.
import requests
try:
response = requests.get(
"https://api.example.com/items/42",
timeout=10,
)
response.raise_for_status()
except requests.exceptions.Timeout:
# The request exceeded the timeout.
raise
except requests.exceptions.HTTPError as exc:
# The server returned an HTTP error status.
status = exc.response.status_code
# Inspect documented error fields if the API defines them.
raise
except requests.exceptions.RequestException:
# Another Requests-level failure, such as a connection error.
raise
if response.status_code == 204:
result = None
else:
result = response.json()The example treats a 204 response as an empty result before attempting JSON decoding. Extend that branch for other endpoint-specific outcomes. Do not assume every error response contains JSON: an API may return no body, text, or a different format.
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Handle responses with HTTPX
HTTPX distinguishes an HTTP status error from a failure while making the request. Calling raise_for_status() raises HTTPStatusError for a non-2xx status; request and transport problems, including timeouts, belong to the RequestError family. HTTPX documents the distinction in its quickstart and exception reference.
import httpx
try:
response = httpx.get(
"https://api.example.com/items/42",
timeout=10,
)
response.raise_for_status()
except httpx.RequestError as exc:
# A network, timeout, or other request/transport failure.
raise RuntimeError(f"Request failed for {exc.request.url}") from exc
except httpx.HTTPStatusError as exc:
# The server returned a non-2xx status.
raise RuntimeError(
f"HTTP {exc.response.status_code} for {exc.request.url}"
) from exc
if response.status_code == 204:
result = None
else:
result = response.json()HTTPX does not follow redirects by default for its request calls. If an endpoint relies on redirects, configure or handle that behavior deliberately rather than assuming the final response will already be returned.
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When to inspect a status and when to raise
- Inspect explicitly when a status is an expected branch in the application, such as “not found” or “accepted for asynchronous processing.” This lets you preserve the difference between normal control flow and unexpected errors.
- Use
raise_for_status()when treating HTTP error responses as exceptions makes the surrounding control flow clearer. Catch the library’s status exception if you need the status code or documented error fields. - Catch request failures separately from HTTP status errors. A timeout or connection failure does not establish that the server rejected the operation.
- Check body expectations independently of status handling. A status can be successful while the body is empty, non-JSON, or otherwise different from what the client expected.
For a 404, decide whether “not found” is an expected result for that particular endpoint. If so, inspect and handle it before turning other HTTP errors into exceptions. If the API documents a structured error body, read its specified fields; do not presume a universal error schema.
Parse the body only when the response calls for it
A valid HTTP response does not guarantee a JSON body. RFC 9110 specifies that 204 and 304 responses have no content, and an endpoint may also return text, binary data, or an empty body for other statuses. Choose the parser from the endpoint’s response contract and, where relevant, the response media type.
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When response.json() fails, treat that as a body-decoding problem, not proof that the HTTP request itself failed. Check the status, whether that status should have a body, and what content the API documents. If a response may legitimately be empty, branch before decoding; if the endpoint promises JSON, surface the unexpected body as a separate error rather than silently treating it as a successful result.
Retry carefully, especially after a timeout
Retries can duplicate side effects. RFC 9110 defines safe methods and PUT and DELETE as idempotent: repeating them has the same intended effect as making the request once. A client should not automatically retry a non-idempotent request unless it knows the operation is safe to repeat or can determine the original request was not applied. A timeout on a write does not prove the server did nothing; it may have completed the operation before the connection failed.
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If a response includes Retry-After, its value can be a delay in seconds or an HTTP date. RFC 9110 discusses its use with 503, and RFC 6585 permits it with 429 responses. Parse the value according to its format, then bound the wait by your overall deadline and the API’s documented limits. See RFC 6585.
Do not retry every exception or every 5xx automatically. Decide based on the operation’s idempotency, whether you received a response, any server-provided delay, and the endpoint’s retry policy.
Use Python’s standard library with urllib
If you use urllib.request.urlopen(), account for its exception model rather than applying Requests or HTTPX patterns directly. It handles some responses such as redirects, and raises urllib.error.HTTPError for responses it cannot handle; the exception includes the integer status code. Handle HTTPError and URLError according to your application’s needs. See the Python urllib.error documentation.
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