HTTP Status Code Lookup
Look up what an HTTP status code means, in plain language.
About this tool
Look up what any standard HTTP status code means in plain language, based on the official IANA registry and RFC 9110.
Key Features
- Covers all standard 1xx–5xx status codes
- Plain-language explanations
- Shows the response class (informational, success, redirect, client error, server error)
- Instant lookup
How to Use
- Enter a status code, like 404 or 503.
- Click Look up.
- Read what it means and which class it belongs to.
Benefits
- Understand an error you saw in a browser or API response
- Choose the right status code while building an API
- Learn what a code means without digging through the RFC
Frequently Asked Questions
1xx codes are informational and rarely seen directly by users. 2xx codes mean success. 3xx codes mean the client should look somewhere else (a redirect). 4xx codes mean the client made a request the server will not fulfill, often due to a mistake on the request side. 5xx codes mean the server itself failed to fulfill an otherwise valid request.
401 Unauthorized actually means "not authenticated" — the server needs you to log in or provide credentials. 403 Forbidden means the server knows who you are but you do not have permission to access that resource. The naming is a well-known historical quirk in the HTTP specification.
418 I'm a Teapot originated as an April Fools' joke in a 1998 RFC about the "Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol," but it was formally kept in later specifications as a piece of internet history and is occasionally used by developers for lighthearted Easter eggs.