OData Error Handling and Debugging

Intermediate

Interpret OData error responses, debug FileMaker OData issues, and build resilient integrations.

What you'll learn

Common OData HTTP status codes and their meanings
FileMaker-specific error codes in OData responses
Debugging OData requests with curl and Postman
Building retry logic for transient errors

OData errors return standard HTTP status codes with a JSON error body that contains a code and message. FileMaker-specific errors (FM_ERROR_XXX) appear in the code field. Understanding what each error means and how to debug FileMaker OData issues prevents long debugging sessions on seemingly mysterious failures.

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OData HTTP status codes

Key status codes you will encounter: **200 OK**: GET request success **201 Created**: POST (create) success **204 No Content**: PATCH or DELETE success **400 Bad Request**: Invalid request syntax or validation error **401 Unauthorized**: Authentication failed (wrong credentials or fmrest not enabled) **403 Forbidden**: Authenticated but insufficient privileges **404 Not Found**: Record or endpoint not found **500 Internal Server Error**: Server-side error (check FM Server logs)

JSON

// Example error body:
{
  "error": {
    "code": "FM_ERROR_401",
    "message": "Record does not exist"
  }
}

// 401 in OData = authentication failure
// FM_ERROR_401 in the body = FileMaker record not found
// (confusing naming -- the HTTP status vs. FM error code)

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