Axum Errors Extractor Rejections

axum-errors-extractor-rejections

Overview

Every Axum extractor that can fail carries an associated Rejection type. When extraction fails, Axum does not bubble a Service error: it turns the rejection straight into an HTTP response. Both extractor traits bound the rejection with type Rejection: IntoResponse, which is the mechanism behind Axum's infallible-handler model.

Built-in extractors ship predefined rejections in the axum::extract::rejection module. The default rejection response is plain text with a sensible status code. This skill covers the four ways to replace that default with your own shape, and the Axum 0.8 change to Option<T> extractor behavior.

The rejection module and customization APIs are identical across Axum 0.7 and 0.8. The single version divergence is Option<T> extractor behavior (see the decision tree below).

Quick Reference

Every rejection enum exposes the same two inherent methods:

Customization techniques, lightest to heaviest:

Core rules:

• ALWAYS include a _ => catch-all arm when matching a rejection enum. Every rejection enum is #[non_exhaustive].
• ALWAYS reuse rejection.status() and rejection.body_text() to preserve Axum's correct status and message. NEVER invent your own status code.
• NEVER assume Option<Extractor> swallows all errors on Axum 0.8. It rejects on malformed input.
• A custom extractor's Rejection type MUST implement IntoResponse.
• NEVER implement both FromRequest and FromRequestParts for the same concrete type, except for a generic wrapper around another extractor.

Decision Trees

Which customization technique

Does extraction itself need to read other request parts
(MatchedPath, headers) to build the error?
  YES: hand-write a custom extractor. Set its Rejection type
       and build the response in from_request / from_request_parts.
  NO: does more than one or two handlers need the same custom error?
    NO:  type the handler argument as Result<Extractor, Rejection>
         and match on the rejection inside the handler body.
    YES: do you also want the wrapper usable as a named type
         and zero manual trait impls?
      YES: #[derive(FromRequest)] with #[from_request(via(...), rejection(R))].
      NO:  WithRejection<Extractor, R> from axum-extra.

Option extractor behavior: 0.7 vs 0.8

On which Axum version does the Option<Extractor> handler argument run?
  0.7: Option<T> swallows ALL failure conditions and yields None.
  0.8: Option<T> is backed by OptionalFromRequest(Parts).
       Genuinely absent value  -> None.
       Present but malformed value -> rejection (4xx).

After a 0.7 to 0.8 upgrade, ALWAYS audit every Option<Extractor> handler argument. Code that relied on swallow-everything now returns 4xx where it previously returned None. To restore the old behavior, use Result<T, T::Rejection> and map Err(_) to your own default.

Patterns

Pattern: match a rejection enum with the mandatory catch-all

Every rejection enum is #[non_exhaustive], so Axum can add failure variants in a minor release. A match without a _ => arm does not compile.

// axum 0.7 / 0.8 - identical
use axum::extract::rejection::JsonRejection;
use axum::http::StatusCode;
use axum::response::{IntoResponse, Response};

fn render(rejection: JsonRejection) -> Response {
    match rejection {
        JsonRejection::MissingJsonContentType(_) =>
            (StatusCode::UNSUPPORTED_MEDIA_TYPE, "expected application/json")
                .into_response(),
        JsonRejection::JsonSyntaxError(_) =>
            (StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, "invalid JSON syntax").into_response(),
        JsonRejection::JsonDataError(_) =>
            (StatusCode::UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY, "JSON does not match schema")
                .into_response(),
        // #[non_exhaustive] makes this arm mandatory
        rejection => (rejection.status(), rejection.body_text()).into_response(),
    }
}

Pattern: Result<T, T::Rejection> handler argument

The lightest customization. No custom extractor, no extra crate. Type the handler argument as Result<Extractor, Rejection>; Axum hands you the Result so you match inside the handler.

// axum 0.7 / 0.8 - identical
use axum::{extract::rejection::JsonRejection, Json, response::Response};
use serde_json::Value;

async fn create(payload: Result<Json<Value>, JsonRejection>) -> Response {
    match payload {
        Ok(Json(value)) => Json(value).into_response(),
        Err(rejection)  => render(rejection), // see catch-all pattern above
    }
}

ALWAYS use this when only one or two handlers need bespoke handling. NEVER scatter it across every handler in a large API; use WithRejection or a derived rejection instead.

Pattern: WithRejection<E, R> for codebase-wide remapping

axum-extra's WithRejection<E, R> runs extractor E and, on failure, converts its rejection into your type R. R MUST implement IntoResponse and From<E::Rejection>. Requires the with-rejection feature on axum-extra.

// axum 0.7 / 0.8 - identical, requires axum-extra "with-rejection" feature
use axum::{extract::rejection::JsonRejection, Json, response::{IntoResponse, Response}};
use axum_extra::extract::WithRejection;
use serde_json::{json, Value};
use thiserror::Error;

#[derive(Debug, Error)]
pub enum ApiError {
    #[error(transparent)]
    JsonRejection(#[from] JsonRejection), // #[from] generates From<JsonRejection>
}

impl IntoResponse for ApiError {
    fn into_response(self) -> Response {
        let (status, message) = match self {
            ApiError::JsonRejection(r) => (r.status(), r.body_text()),
        };
        (status, Json(json!({ "message": message }))).into_response()
    }
}

async fn handler(WithRejection(Json(value), _): WithRejection<Json<Value>, ApiError>) {
    let _ = value; // the successfully extracted value
}

The second tuple field is a PhantomData<R> placeholder; discard it with _.

Pattern: derive(FromRequest) with rejection(...)

#[derive(FromRequest)] builds an extractor that delegates to another via via(...) and routes its rejection through rejection(...), with no manual trait impl. Requires the macros feature on axum.

// axum 0.7 / 0.8 - identical, requires axum "macros" feature
use axum::extract::FromRequest;
use axum::extract::rejection::JsonRejection;
use axum::http::StatusCode;
use axum::response::{IntoResponse, Response};
use serde_json::json;

#[derive(FromRequest)]
#[from_request(via(axum::Json), rejection(ApiError))]
pub struct Json<T>(pub T);

pub struct ApiError { status: StatusCode, message: String }

impl From<JsonRejection> for ApiError {
    fn from(r: JsonRejection) -> Self {
        ApiError { status: r.status(), message: r.body_text() }
    }
}

impl IntoResponse for ApiError {
    fn into_response(self) -> Response {
        (self.status, axum::Json(json!({ "message": self.message }))).into_response()
    }
}

via(...) names the inner extractor; rejection(...) names the type the inner rejection is converted into via From. A body-consuming extractor derives FromRequest; a parts-only one derives FromRequestParts.

Pattern: hand-written custom extractor

Use this only when extraction must read other request parts. The wrapper declares its own Rejection type, which MUST implement IntoResponse.

// axum 0.7 / 0.8 - identical
use axum::extract::{FromRequest, MatchedPath, Request, rejection::JsonRejection};
use axum::http::StatusCode;
use serde::de::DeserializeOwned;
use serde_json::{json, Value};

pub struct Json<T>(pub T);

impl<S, T> FromRequest<S> for Json<T>
where
    axum::Json<T>: FromRequest<S, Rejection = JsonRejection>,
    T: DeserializeOwned,
    S: Send + Sync,
{
    type Rejection = (StatusCode, axum::Json<Value>);

    async fn from_request(req: Request, state: &S) -> Result<Self, Self::Rejection> {
        let path = req.extensions().get::<MatchedPath>()
            .map(|p| p.as_str().to_owned());
        match axum::Json::<T>::from_request(req, state).await {
            Ok(axum::Json(value)) => Ok(Self(value)),
            Err(rejection) => {
                let payload = json!({ "message": rejection.body_text(), "path": path });
                Err((rejection.status(), axum::Json(payload)))
            }
        }
    }
}

See references/examples.md for the full verified version of every pattern.

Reference Links

• references/methods.md: verified FromRequest / FromRequestParts trait definitions, the full axum::extract::rejection module inventory (11 enums, 14 structs), JsonRejection detail, WithRejection<E, R> signature, the #[from_request] attribute keys, and the OptionalFromRequest(Parts) traits.
• references/examples.md: complete version-annotated working code for all six patterns, including the Option<Path<T>> 0.7-vs-0.8 contrast.
• references/anti-patterns.md: real mistakes with root-cause analysis: the missing catch-all arm, inventing a wrong status, the 0.8 Option trap, scattering Result arguments, the double-trait-impl error, and missing feature flags.

Related skills: axum-syntax-extractors (the full extractor set), axum-syntax-custom-extractors (writing FromRequest by hand), axum-errors-handling (application-level error types and IntoResponse), axum-errors-handler-trait (diagnosing Handler is not satisfied).