Proposal: Actionable API Error Messages to Reduce Support Ticket Volume

Proposal: Actionable API Error Messages to Reduce Support Ticket Volume

I've encountered a long-standing frustration with how Zoho Creator's API communicates errors to developers, and I'm hoping the Zoho team can address this in a future update. This issue has persisted for over 9 years based on community discussions, and despite multiple forum posts, developers are still left guessing what went wrong.

The Issue
When API calls fail, Zoho Creator returns error responses that are often cryptic and lack actionable context. Consider this actual error response: 
{
    "code": 2945,
    "description": "LESS_THAN_MIN_OCCURANCE"
}
This tells the developer almost nothing:
  • Which parameter is missing or invalid?
  • What is the "minimum occurrence" that wasn't met?
  • What value was expected vs. what was received?
  • Is this an authentication issue, a payload issue, or something else entirely?
The Problem: Error Code 2945 Means Everything (and Nothing)
A review of the official Status Codes documentation reveals that error code 2945 is a catch-all that can mean completely different things:
HTTP Status Code Description Actual Meaning
404 NOT FOUND 2945 ERROR Invalid OAuth scope
403 FORBIDDEN 2945 <method> is not valid Wrong HTTP method for endpoint
401 AUTH ERROR 2945 Invalid input for '%s' key Parameter value not allowed
400 BAD REQUEST 2945 LESS_THAN_MIN_OCCURANCE Required parameter missing?
400 BAD REQUEST 2945 EXTRA_KEY_FOUND_IN_JSON Unexpected key in payload
400 BAD REQUEST 2945 INVALID_TICKET Authentication token issue
400 BAD REQUEST 2945 PATTERN_NOT_MATCHED Value format validation failed
The same error code (2945) can indicate: authentication failures, missing parameters, extra parameters, wrong HTTP methods, invalid OAuth scopes, or format validation errors. This makes debugging incredibly difficult.
Cross-Product Asymmetry: Zoho Analytics Does This Better
Here's where it gets frustrating: Zoho Analytics already provides better error context for the exact same error type. Compare the responses:
Zoho Creator Response Zoho Analytics Response 
{
  "code": 2945,
  "description": "LESS_THAN_MIN_OCCURANCE"
}
❌ Missing:
  • Which parameter?
  • What was expected?
  • How to fix it?
 
{
  "status": "failure",
  "summary": "LESS_THAN_MIN_OCCURANCE",
  "data": {
    "errorCode": 8504,
    "errorMessage": "The parameter CONFIG 
    is not proper (Has not been sent or 
    is less than required count)"
  }
}
✓ Includes:
  • Parameter name (CONFIG)
  • Specific error code (8504)
  • Actionable message
This isn't a feature request—it's a request for product parity. The infrastructure to provide meaningful error context clearly exists within Zoho's ecosystem. Zoho Creator should match what Zoho Analytics already delivers.
The "Email Support" Pattern Defeats Forum Purpose
Adding to this frustration is the recurring pattern in community forums where the standard response to API errors is "Please email support@zohocreator.com with your request details."
As another community member aptly noted:
"Why have community forums if people are directed to email support? The purpose of a public forum is to resolve the issue once, then share for all future people who encounter that issue."
While I appreciate the recent response acknowledging that "sharing API request details publicly carries security risks"—this is valid for account-specific debugging—the underlying problem is that error messages are cryptic in the first place.
If the API returned actionable error messages, developers wouldn't need to contact support for basic troubleshooting. The forum would then serve its true purpose: documenting solutions for common issues.
What Developers Need
Every API error response should answer three questions:
# Question Current Response What's Needed
1 What went wrong? LESS_THAN_MIN_OCCURANCE "Required parameter missing"
2 Where is the problem? (not provided) "Parameter: CONFIG"
3 How do I fix it? (not provided) "Include CONFIG in request body"
What Should Happen Instead
Proposed Solution 1: Enhanced Error Response Structure
Adopt the richer error format already used by Zoho Analytics:
{
    "status": "failure",
    "summary": "LESS_THAN_MIN_OCCURANCE",
    "data": {
        "errorCode": 2945,
        "errorMessage": "The parameter 'fieldName' is required but was not provided",
        "field": "fieldName",
        "expectedType": "string",
        "documentation": "https://www.zoho.com/creator/help/api/v2.1/add-records.html"
    }
}
Proposed Solution 2: Unique Error Codes
Stop reusing error code 2945 for unrelated issues. Each distinct error condition should have its own code:
2945 → Invalid OAuth scope
2946 → Required parameter missing
2947 → Unexpected key in JSON payload
2948 → Invalid HTTP method
2949 → Pattern validation failed
Proposed Solution 3: Fix the Typo
While we're at it: LESS_THAN_MIN_OCCURANCE should be LESS_THAN_MIN_OCCURRENCE. This typo has persisted for nearly a decade and appears across multiple Zoho products. Small details matter in professional APIs.
Real-World Impact
This limitation affects any developer:
  • Building integrations — Debugging API failures becomes a guessing game
  • Using Deluge's invokeUrl — External API calls return cryptic errors to handle
  • Working with webhooks — Silent failures are impossible to diagnose
  • Training new team members — Onboarding takes longer when errors don't explain themselves
  • Supporting production systems — Incident response is delayed while developers hunt for root causes

Developer Impact: What should be 5 minutes of debugging (read error, fix parameter) becomes hours of trial-and-error or waiting for support responses. This directly impacts delivery timelines and client satisfaction.

Request to Zoho Team

Can this be addressed in a future update?

The current implementation forces developers to choose between:

1. Trial and Error
Guess what the cryptic error means and iterate until something works 		2. Contact Support
Wait for email responses for issues that actionable error messages would resolve instantly

We shouldn't have to make this choice—especially when Zoho Analytics already demonstrates the solution.

Community Input Requested: Has anyone else struggled with debugging these cryptic error codes? What workarounds have you developed? I'd be interested to hear if others have found ways to get more meaningful error context.





        • Recent Topics

        • ZOHO TEAM INBOX Calendar Integration

          The Problem: Clients send meeting invitations to our TeamInbox address. TeamInbox receives these invites, but we cannot accept them. We do not use individual inboxes for transparency purposes. Ideal Solution: A way to accept calendar invites sent to our

        • Why Can't I add unicode emoji's to my signature?

          Why would Zoho Mail prevent me from adding unicode emojis to my email signature? Every time I try to save the signature, Zoho Mail erases the emoji and any nearby content. Every time I setup something with Zoho, I know I'm going to run into some incredibly

        • Unearned / Deferred Revenue Automatic Calculation for Subscriptions

          As a SaaS business, we have multiple active subscriptions with varying dates and amounts. Is there a way to have a monthly automatic calculation for all of them that debits or credits the unearned revenue and revenue accounts accordingly? Alternatively,

        • Zoho Desk Limit for Comma Separated Queries

          Hi, I have just discovered a limit that I believed is not mentioned in any of Zoho's documentations. My search query looks like so: "query: {"accountId":"786050000091629966,786050000163589273,786050000163589427,786050000162753705,786050000162112971,786050000161987643,786050000160752868,786050000167089504,786050000167089378,786050000167089024,786050000167070005,786050000166295256,786050000128153693,786050000110560021,786050000046594575,786050000039106461,786050000002225356,786050000076889093,786050000047895103,786050000043365354,786050000044765191,786050000041790249,786050000040359116,786050000037945198,786050000024605077,786050000000525015,786050000155333895,786050000157741437,786050000000718125,786050000011574353,","departmentId":"786050000042648070","status":"Finished","sortBy":"createdTime","customField2":"cf_completion_date:2025-01-28T03:00:00.000Z,2025-10-28T03:00:00.000Z","customField3":"cf_billed:false"}"

        • Module Name doesn't exist

          I am trying to create a module named Activity, with plural Activities, but I have an error that module name already exists. This module is doesn't exist, and I don't have a single field called Activity or Activities.

        • Zoho Desk iOS and Android app update: AI powered: Reply Assistance and Refine Messages on IM module.

          Hello everyone! We are excited to introduce new AI powered features on the IM module of the Zoho Desk app. Reply Assistance: Reply Assistance generates suggested responses for incoming chat messages, which you can directly insert into the conversation

        • Is it possible to embed Youtube shorts?

          Hi Zoho desk support, This is Ryan from Accuver America. While I'm trying to create a knowledge base article with embed video, I ran into this issue. "www.youtube.com refuse to connect" A little bit background is that because this video is recorded on

        • Split functionality - Admins need ability to do this

          Admins should be able to split an expense at any point of the process prior to approval. The split is very helpful for our account coding, but to have to go back to a user and ask them to split an invoice that they simply want paid is a bit of an in

        • Delegates - Access to approved reports

          We realized that delegates do not have access to reports after they are approved. Many users ask questions of their delegates about past expense reports and the delegates can't see this information. Please allow delegates see all expense report activity,

        • How to include total km for multiple trips in expense report.

          Whenever I create a mileage report it only shows the total dollar amount to be reimbursed. The mileage for each individual trip is included but I also need to see the total distance for all trips in a report? How do I do this?

        • I didn't receive my domain verification mail

          I didn't receive my domain verification mail 

        • Get logged in user ID in Deluge script

          Hello all, How do I get the id of the logged-in user in a deluge script? the "zoho.loginuserid" function actually returns the users email address or whatever the user id they use to login to zoho with and not the id of the user record, and given that

        • Item Details Field - New Barcode / Document option?

          Is this a new feature??? its in both books and inventory.

        • Shared Mailbox - Mark as read for all users

          Hi all, Maybe someone can help me out. At the moment we have a shared mailbox without streams. When a users reads an mail or marks it as read other users will not see this. How can we resolve this? We now archive the mails when read and followed up. However

        • Can I export to PDF in Zoho Learn

          I have seen help pages where export to pdf options are available but I do not see that option available from the application. I see that exprt is available in my free trial version but that is only to html pages. I need to be able to export my manuals

        • Staff rules

          Hi! Do you people know what are the default staff rules when a new booking is created? We have two staff members in my team (me as the admin, and my employee). As we share the same services, I'm wondering how Zoho will pick the staff for new apointments.

        • Add Image Upload Field to Zoho Bookings Registration Form

          Hi, We would like to request the addition of an image upload field to the Zoho Bookings registration form. Currently, Zoho Bookings only supports text-based fields (e.g., Single Line, Multi-Line, Email, Checkbox, Dropdown, Radio Button, and Date), but

        • Merge Tags Output Incorrect Placeholder Text After CRM Sync

          Hi everyone, I’m experiencing an issue with merge tags in Zoho Campaigns after last sync of contacts and leads from Zoho CRM (days before everything worked perfectly). Here’s the situation (seems like a default configuration in Campaigns) : My leads have

        • Windows agent 2025_M02 release notes

          Agent Version: 111.0.3.300 Release date: 24 February, 2025 Various Major enhancements to improve overall performance and optimize the user experience. Squashed a few bugs to improve overall product quality.

        • Windows agent 2025_M01 release notes

          Agent Version: 111.0.3.299 Release date: 05 February, 2025 Major Enhancement: Live Monitor feature compatibility released. Major Enhancement: Updated Scaling for multi technician cases with Android and Web based viewers. Various other bug fixes and performance

        • how to record deferred revenue?

          Dear Zoho Team, We issue invoices relating to 12-month web hosting service. When we issue the invoice, we should record the entire amount of the invoice as DEFERRED REVENUE (ie. $10 x 12 mths = $120, balance sheet item). After the particular month of the hosting service, $10 of revenue has been earned and deferred revenue amount will be $110. We must keep adjusting the balance sheet and income statement over the course of the service until the company has fulfilled its obligation of services and

        • Narrative 13: Importing your data

          Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system: BTS Series Narrative 13: Importing your data When importing data into an application, it is crucial to prevent data loss or duplication. These types of errors can hinder the development of a clean and

        • Blueprint Not Triggering When Lead Status Is Updated by Workflow (IndiaMART Integration)

          I have set up a blueprint that triggers when a lead’s status is “New Lead.” Our CRM is integrated with IndiaMART, and when leads are created from IndiaMART, their Lead Status is initially set to None. To handle this, I created a workflow that automatically

        • Update Subform in specific field(Status) without affecting other fields in Zoho CRM using Deluge?

          Scenario: PRODUCT Module(change name Plot) in any product status change From Available to Booked then on PROJECT Custom Module have Subform So, Subform name is Property Details now in that Subform 1 field is STATUS that update according to  product status

        • YouTube Live #2: Agreement Intelligence with Zoho Sign's eSign AI assistant

          Hi there, We're back again with our YouTube live series and this time, we'll take you through our holistic agreement intelligence powered signature workflows. Struggling to draft an agreement? Need help double-checking clauses and going through complicated

        • Can I Build a POS using ZOHO creator and integrate it with ZOHO Books?

          Hello,  I have a Zoho Books account and I was wondering if I can have a POS system that integrates with it. Primarily with Inventory, Customers and Payment and ofcourse Create invoices and credit notes.   So, would Zoho creator provide me with this solution?  Thank you, 

        • An important update for Zoho Cliq desktop users

          The latest version of the Zoho Cliq desktop app (v1.8.0) will no longer be supported on macOS 10.15 Catalina and earlier versions. This is because the framework we use (Electron) no longer supports some older macOS versions. If you’re using macOS 10.15

        • New Toolbar in Zoho Sheet

          We have revamped our toolbar design in this new version of Zoho Sheet. Below are some screenshots to help you get accustomed to this new interface. Click on the picture below to view the animated image in its original size. Scroll down this post to learn about the changes. Highlight of Changes: The previous format tab is now split into 2 tabs - Home and Format. The Home tab contains the commonly used functions and the Format tab holds formatting related options. Under the Home tab towards the far

        • Zoho inbuilt Telephony made a lot of issues!

          Hi there, I am a user that I am working with zoho inbuilt telephony around 1 month. Non of my colleagues are happy with this app! most of the time customer cannot hear my customer service team, customers say our voice is breaking. whenever Telephony support

        • Sending workflow notifications using popular chat services

          Hello everyone, We have introduced instant and scheduled notifications on some of the most popular chat platforms to facilitate easy collaboration, quick action, and wider reach. Workflow notifications can be sent to the following chat platforms: Zoho

        • Adding Images to a Quote in Zoho CRM

          We are currently preparing to use Quotes in Zoho CRM and we are building out our Quote templates.  We came across an issue of not being to add Images of the products to the Quote - specifically in the body of the Quote templates.   This is a problem,

        • Applications built with Zoho Creator

          Hi, I’m really interested in seeing how others have built their application using Zoho Creator, especially those designed for external users (clients, vendors, or the public). If you’ve developed something along those lines and don’t mind sharing, I’d

        • Is it posssible to add Asap Widget on Wordpress?

          I have tried to add the ASAP widget so users could iniciate chats and see the KB information but nothings seems to work. I have tried to add the script using a php snippet that adds the to the footers and also tried one for the header in the functio

        • Require ticket resolution

          Hi Zoho team, Is there a way to require resolution even if an agent did not use a blueprint? for example, our blueprint has a "resolve" transition but what if agent revoked blueprint and manually set the status of ticket to closed? Is there a way where

        • Tables from ZohoSheets remove images when updated from source

          I have a few tables from a ZohoSheet in a ZohoWriter document that will remove the images in the cells when I refresh from the source. The source still has the images in the table when I go to refresh. After updating from the source, as you can see the

        • API Pagination Error: 'from' Parameter Limit

          Hello, I am encountering an error while paging through the Zoho Desk API results: Status code: 422 - {"errorCode":"UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY","message":"The value passed for field 'from' exceeds the range of '0-4999'."} Is 5000 the maximum number of records

        • How to go to the next open ticket in the queue when agents closes ticket

          Zoho Desk When agent closes a ticket - eg when they choose 'Send and Close" - where is the setting that automatically redirects them to the next open ticket in the queue?

        • Custom templates for calendar report

          What about being able to design custom templates for the calendar report, as well as for other types of reports? I think more users are waiting for this.

        • Disable payment thank-you emails

          Hello, can someone please tell me how to disable sending of the "Payment Thank-You" emails? 

        • Maximum tags possible in Contacts Records

          I read in some documentation that Zoho allows a total of 200 tags across all records. Is this correct? So is it not possible to have one tag per record for 500 records?

        • Next Page