Status Codes

Using bare integer status codes in your responses isn't recommended. DRF includes a set of named constants that you can use to make your code more obvious, readable, and DRY.

Instead of memorizing 400 or 404, you can use status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST and status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND.

NOTE

418 I'm a teapot - Any attempt to brew coffee with a teapot should result in the error code "418 I'm a teapot". The resulting entity body MAY be short and stout.

— RFC 2324, Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol

Usage

Import the status module from rest_framework and use its constants when returning a Response.

from rest_framework import status
from rest_framework.response import Response
from rest_framework.views import APIView

class ExampleView(APIView):
    def get(self, request):
        content = {'please move along': 'nothing to see here'}
        return Response(content, status=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND)

Helper Functions

The module also includes a set of helper functions for testing if a status code is in a given range. This is especially useful in test cases.

from rest_framework import status
from rest_framework.test import APITestCase
from django.urls import reverse

class ExampleTestCase(APITestCase):
    def test_url_root(self):
        url = reverse('index')
        response = self.client.get(url)
        self.assertTrue(status.is_success(response.status_code))

The available helper functions are:

• is_informational(code) - Checks if code is 1xx.
• is_success(code) - Checks if code is 2xx.
• is_redirect(code) - Checks if code is 3xx.
• is_client_error(code) - Checks if code is 4xx.
• is_server_error(code) - Checks if code is 5xx.

Informational - 1xx

This class of status code indicates a provisional response. There are no 1xx status codes used in DRF by default.

HTTP_100_CONTINUE
HTTP_101_SWITCHING_PROTOCOLS
HTTP_102_PROCESSING
HTTP_103_EARLY_HINTS

Successful - 2xx

This class of status code indicates that the client's request was successfully received, understood, and accepted.

HTTP_200_OK
HTTP_201_CREATED
HTTP_202_ACCEPTED
HTTP_203_NON_AUTHORITATIVE_INFORMATION
HTTP_204_NO_CONTENT
HTTP_205_RESET_CONTENT
HTTP_206_PARTIAL_CONTENT
HTTP_207_MULTI_STATUS
HTTP_208_ALREADY_REPORTED
HTTP_226_IM_USED

Redirection - 3xx

This class of status code indicates that further action needs to be taken by the user agent in order to fulfill the request.

HTTP_300_MULTIPLE_CHOICES
HTTP_301_MOVED_PERMANENTLY
HTTP_302_FOUND
HTTP_303_SEE_OTHER
HTTP_304_NOT_MODIFIED
HTTP_305_USE_PROXY
HTTP_306_RESERVED
HTTP_307_TEMPORARY_REDIRECT
HTTP_308_PERMANENT_REDIRECT

Client Error - 4xx

The 4xx class of status code is intended for cases in which the client seems to have erred.

HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST
HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED
HTTP_402_PAYMENT_REQUIRED
HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN
HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND
HTTP_405_METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED
HTTP_406_NOT_ACCEPTABLE
HTTP_407_PROXY_AUTHENTICATION_REQUIRED
HTTP_408_REQUEST_TIMEOUT
HTTP_409_CONFLICT
HTTP_410_GONE
HTTP_411_LENGTH_REQUIRED
HTTP_412_PRECONDITION_FAILED
HTTP_413_REQUEST_ENTITY_TOO_LARGE
HTTP_414_REQUEST_URI_TOO_LONG
HTTP_415_UNSUPPORTED_MEDIA_TYPE
HTTP_416_REQUESTED_RANGE_NOT_SATISFIABLE
HTTP_417_EXPECTATION_FAILED
HTTP_418_IM_A_TEAPOT
HTTP_421_MISDIRECTED_REQUEST
HTTP_422_UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY
HTTP_423_LOCKED
HTTP_424_FAILED_DEPENDENCY
HTTP_425_TOO_EARLY
HTTP_426_UPGRADE_REQUIRED
HTTP_428_PRECONDITION_REQUIRED
HTTP_429_TOO_MANY_REQUESTS
HTTP_431_REQUEST_HEADER_FIELDS_TOO_LARGE
HTTP_451_UNAVAILABLE_FOR_LEGAL_REASONS

Server Error - 5xx

Response status codes beginning with the digit "5" indicate cases in which the server is aware that it has erred or is incapable of performing the request.

HTTP_500_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR
HTTP_501_NOT_IMPLEMENTED
HTTP_502_BAD_GATEWAY
HTTP_503_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE
HTTP_504_GATEWAY_TIMEOUT
HTTP_505_HTTP_VERSION_NOT_SUPPORTED
HTTP_506_VARIANT_ALSO_NEGOTIATES
HTTP_507_INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE
HTTP_508_LOOP_DETECTED
HTTP_509_BANDWIDTH_LIMIT_EXCEEDED
HTTP_510_NOT_EXTENDED
HTTP_511_NETWORK_AUTHENTICATION_REQUIRED