Errors

Error format, common error codes, and per-endpoint error codes in the Agent Auth protocol.

All Agent Auth server endpoints use a standard error response format. Error responses carry a machine-readable code and a human-readable message.

Error format

{
  "error": "error_code",
  "message": "Human-readable description of what went wrong"
}

The error value is a snake_case string for programmatic handling. The message is for debugging — clients should not parse it. Error responses may include additional structured fields to help clients recover (for example, a violations array on constraint errors).

Common error codes

These apply to all endpoints:

Status	Error Code	Meaning	Client Action
400	`invalid_request`	Malformed JSON, missing required fields, or invalid parameter types	Fix request and retry
400	`unknown_constraint_operator`	A constraint contains an unrecognized operator	Remove or replace the unknown operator
401	`invalid_jwt`	JWT is invalid, expired, or signature failed	Re-sign and retry
403	`agent_revoked`	Agent has been revoked	Cannot recover — create new agent
403	`agent_expired`	Agent session has expired	Reactivate via `POST /agent/reactivate`
403	`absolute_lifetime_exceeded`	Agent's absolute lifetime has elapsed	Cannot recover — create new agent
403	`agent_pending`	Agent is still pending approval	Wait for approval to complete
403	`host_revoked`	Host has been revoked	Cannot recover
403	`host_pending`	Host is still pending approval	Wait for approval to complete
403	`unauthorized`	Caller is not authorized for this operation	Check authorization
429	`rate_limited`	Too many requests	Retry after delay (respect `Retry-After` header)
500	`internal_error`	Server-side failure	Retry or report

Per-endpoint error codes

Registration (`POST /agent/register`)

Status	Error Code	Meaning
400	`unsupported_mode`	Requested mode is not supported by this server
400	`unsupported_algorithm`	Agent's key algorithm is not in the server's supported set
400	`invalid_capabilities`	One or more requested capability names don't exist or are blocked
409	`agent_exists`	A non-pending agent with this public key already exists under this host

Capability request (`POST /agent/request-capability`)

Status	Error Code	Meaning
400	`invalid_capabilities`	One or more requested capability names don't exist or are blocked
409	`already_granted`	All requested capabilities are already granted

Capability execution (`POST /capability/execute`)

Status	Error Code	Meaning
400	`invalid_request`	Missing or malformed `capability`
403	`capability_not_granted`	Agent does not have an active grant
403	`constraint_violated`	Arguments violate the grant's constraints
403	`agent_revoked`	Agent has been revoked
403	`agent_expired`	Agent session has expired
404	`capability_not_found`	Capability name does not exist

Constraint violation detail

When execution arguments violate grant constraints, the error response should include a violations array:

{
  "error": "constraint_violated",
  "message": "Execution arguments violate grant constraints",
  "violations": [
    { "field": "amount", "constraint": { "max": 1000 }, "actual": 5000 },
    { "field": "currency", "constraint": { "in": ["USD"] }, "actual": "GBP" }
  ]
}

The violations array helps agents self-correct by showing exactly which arguments exceeded the grant's scope.

Reactivation (`POST /agent/reactivate`)

Status	Error Code	Meaning
404	`agent_not_found`	Agent ID doesn't exist
200	—	Agent is `active` — return current status (no-op)
403	`agent_revoked` / `agent_rejected` / `agent_claimed` / `agent_pending`	Agent is not in `expired` state
403	`absolute_lifetime_exceeded`	Agent's absolute lifetime has elapsed

Revocation

Status	Error Code	Meaning
404	`agent_not_found`	Agent ID doesn't exist
404	`host_not_found`	Host ID doesn't exist

Key rotation

Status	Error Code	Meaning
400	`unsupported_algorithm`	New key's algorithm is not supported

Capability listing and describe

Status	Error Code	Meaning
401	`authentication_required`	Server requires auth to list capabilities
404	`capability_not_found`	Capability name doesn't exist

Handling unknown error codes

Servers may return additional error codes beyond those listed. Clients should handle unknown codes gracefully by falling back to the HTTP status code semantics. For device authorization endpoints, error responses follow RFC 8628 §3.5.