Attio Common Errors

Attio Common Errors

Overview

Every Attio API error returns a consistent JSON body. This skill covers the real error codes, response format, and proven solutions for each.

Attio Error Response Format

All errors from https://api.attio.com/v2 return this structure:

{
  "status_code": 429,
  "type": "rate_limit_error",
  "code": "rate_limit_exceeded",
  "message": "Rate limit exceeded, please try again later"
}

Fields: status_code (HTTP status), type (error category), code (specific code), message (human-readable).

Error Reference

400 Bad Request -- invalid_request

{ "status_code": 400, "type": "invalid_request_error", "code": "invalid_request", "message": "..." }

Common causes and fixes:

Diagnostic:

# List attributes to verify types
curl -s https://api.attio.com/v2/objects/people/attributes \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ATTIO_API_KEY}" \
  | jq '.data[] | {slug: .api_slug, type: .type, required: .is_required}'

401 Unauthorized -- authentication_error

{ "status_code": 401, "type": "authentication_error", "code": "invalid_api_key", "message": "..." }

Diagnostic:

# Verify token works
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
  https://api.attio.com/v2/objects \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ATTIO_API_KEY}"
# Should return 200

403 Forbidden -- insufficient_scopes

{ "status_code": 403, "type": "authorization_error", "code": "insufficient_scopes",
  "message": "Token requires 'record_permission:read-write' scope" }

Fix: Edit token in Settings > Developers > Access tokens, add missing scope, save. No need to regenerate.

404 Not Found -- not_found

{ "status_code": 404, "type": "not_found_error", "code": "not_found", "message": "..." }

409 Conflict -- conflict

Occurs when creating a record with a value that conflicts with an existing unique attribute (e.g., duplicate email or domain).

Fix: Use PUT (assert) instead of POST to upsert:

// Assert: create or update matching record
await client.put("/objects/people/records", {
  data: {
    values: {
      email_addresses: ["existing@example.com"],
      name: [{ first_name: "Updated", last_name: "Name" }],
    },
  },
});

422 Unprocessable Entity -- validation_error

429 Too Many Requests -- rate_limit_exceeded

{
  "status_code": 429,
  "type": "rate_limit_error",
  "code": "rate_limit_exceeded",
  "message": "Rate limit exceeded, please try again later"
}

Attio uses a sliding window algorithm with a 10-second window. The Retry-After response header contains a date (usually the next second).

Immediate fix:

if (res.status === 429) {
  const retryAfter = res.headers.get("Retry-After");
  const waitMs = retryAfter
    ? new Date(retryAfter).getTime() - Date.now()
    : 1000;
  await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, Math.max(waitMs, 100)));
  // Retry the request
}

See attio-rate-limits for full backoff and queue patterns.

500+ Server Error

Rare, but Attio may reduce rate limits during incidents. Always implement retry for 5xx.

Check: status.attio.com

Quick Diagnostic Script

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Attio Diagnostic ==="
echo -n "Auth: "
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
  https://api.attio.com/v2/objects \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ATTIO_API_KEY}"
echo ""

echo -n "Status page: "
curl -s https://status.attio.com/api/v2/status.json | jq -r '.status.description'

echo "Objects:"
curl -s https://api.attio.com/v2/objects \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ATTIO_API_KEY}" \
  | jq -r '.data[].api_slug' 2>/dev/null || echo "FAILED"

Prerequisites

Confirm that you have an Attio workspace appropriate to the task, a dedicated non-production record or workspace for testing, and only the API token scopes or administrative access required by the procedure.

Instructions

Use the ordered procedures and code samples in this guide as a sequence: begin with the prerequisites, apply the configuration or operational step for the target environment, then perform the documented validation or cleanup before proceeding. Keep credentials in the documented secret store; never hard-code them in source.

Output

Following this guide produces the Attio integration outcome for its topic—configuration, validation evidence, operational recovery, or a documented migration result. Record command output and relevant identifiers so a failed step is traceable.

Examples

Start with the smallest applicable command or code example in the relevant section, using a dedicated test record or workspace and non-production credentials. Confirm the expected response or validation result before applying the pattern to production.

Error Handling

import { AttioApiError } from "./client";

async function handleAttioError(err: AttioApiError): Promise<void> {
  switch (err.statusCode) {
    case 401: throw new Error("Attio auth failed -- check ATTIO_API_KEY");
    case 403: throw new Error(`Missing scope: ${err.message}`);
    case 404: console.warn("Resource not found, may have been deleted");  break;
    case 409: console.warn("Conflict -- use PUT to upsert instead");     break;
    case 429: /* handled by retry wrapper */ break;
    default:  throw err;
  }
}

Resources

• Attio REST API Overview
• Attio Rate Limiting Guide
• Attio Status Page

Next Steps

For evidence collection, see attio-debug-bundle. For retry patterns, see attio-rate-limits.