All HTTP status codes

HTTP 500 Internal Server Error

Server Error

A generic 'something broke on the server' — an unhandled exception or misconfiguration with no more specific status to report.

Defined in RFC 9110

Common causes

  • Unhandled exceptions / runtime errors in application code
  • Bad deploys, missing environment variables, broken DB connections
  • Misconfigured server or framework middleware

How to fix it

  1. Check server logs / error tracking for the actual stack trace

  2. Roll back the latest deploy if errors started right after it

  3. Add health checks for downstream dependencies (DB, cache, queues)

  4. Never leak stack traces to clients in production

Related status codes

502 Bad Gateway

A gateway/reverse proxy got an invalid response from the upstream server — the proxy is fine, the thing behind it isn't answering properly.

503 Service Unavailable

The server is temporarily unable to handle the request — overloaded, in maintenance, or deliberately shedding load. Retry-After may say when to come back.

Want to explore status codes interactively? Try the free HTTP Status Code Reference — search, categories and example responses, right in your browser.