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.


    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


      • Recent Topics

      • Add Account column to Invoice screen

        Please show the account column on Invoice creation screen. It is an unnecessary step to have to click add additional info and then select the account for line item. Example : on the bill creation screen when entering description we can easily code it against an account. On the invoice screen it requires additional click. Adding the column on the Invoice screen will make it faster to enter transactions. We currently have 5-6 different accounts that we code line items against, You can imagine the extra
      • Custom Footer – Zoho Writer Document

        Hello everyone, I’m having an issue adding a custom footer in a Zoho Writer document. I would like to insert my company information (including a logo + address) in the footer. The problem is that when I add these elements, the main content of my pages
      • Report grouping

        I have added a grouping in a report but it is not working how i had expected. I wanted to group a summary on a field named Size but when i add the grouping the report is still showing me each record and making a summary at the bottom of the report. What
      • Social Media Simplified with Zoho Social: Preview your Instagram grid before posting

        For a platform like Instagram that relies on visual appeal, it's important that you plan your image and video content in a way that holds your audience's attention. Planning your grid ahead of time gives you the benefit of understanding how your posts
      • Error code 1000

        Can you please tell me why the following, occasionally causes this error via the api, not every time ?... zoho.books.updateRecord("salesorders",organizationID,salesorderID,{"template_id":"#################069","custom_fields":[{"label":"DelDate","value":"Tuesday,
      • VAT rates - exempt and out of scope

        Good Evening, UK based company here. I am a bit confused in respect of setting up VAT rates for exempt goods and services; at present I am simply leaving the VAT rate blank in the transactions in order to prevent any VAT appearing in the VAT return. When
      • How to loop through Multiple Upload and Display Actual File Name

        I have been reading the help on the File Upload Control and reviewed the Deluge help on files and I can not figure out how to loop through the uploaded files and do anything but get the automatically created file names. The code below will run but each
      • abou arattai

        I want to use the Arattai app for business purposes, so please convert my account to a business account.I have my own invoice app, and I want to link it with the Arattai app for direct messaging.
      • vendors / customers with 2 different address and gst no

        Why can't we have option for more than one address and depending on the state option for more than 1 GST no. ? We have customers / vendors PAN india with different addresses and GST no. for different states.
      • Configurable Zoho Cliq Notifications for Zoho People Alerts

        Hello Zoho People Product Team, Greetings and hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho People notifications, enabling a native delivery via Zoho Cliq with admin-level control, similar to the notification settings available
      • Looking back at Zoho Calendar in 2025

        Hello Zoho Calendar Community, As we step into a brand-new year, we’d like to take a moment to thank you for being an active and valued part of the Zoho Calendar community. Your trust, feedback, and continued engagement motivate us to keep evolving and
      • There was an error while connecting to GSTN

        I am trying to file GSTR1. Everything flows smoothly until I reach the final step of filing the return. After I enter the PAN and OTP for filing it raises the error "There was an error while connecting to GSTN"
      • Zoho Books Extension: What Happens If Custom Fields Already Exist?

        When developing Zoho Books extensions, what happens if the target Zoho Books organization already has a custom field with the same API name as one defined in the extension? I’m asking because we originally created an on-Books version of this functionality,
      • Internal Server Error (500) When Attempting to View Banking Transactions

        I am experiencing an Internal Server Error (500) when attempting to view transactions across all of my banking accounts. Despite multiple attempts to resolve this, I have received little more than runaround from support, and the issue remains unresolved.
      • How do I add a blank line to the Organisation Address Format?

        I'd like to have my VAT number, for example, shown prominently by having a clear gap between it and the address block above, but any blank lines in the address format get ignored in PDF outputs.
      • Automatic Invoice Number generation for createRecord

        Hello, while testing some custom Buttons in my Zoho Books application, I noticed that I get an error that previously did not occur. After some further digging I found that the automatic transaction numbering of invoices no longer work in my organization.
      • Adding number of days to an estimate.

        I need both QTY of item and "number of days hire" in my estimates at the line item level. Any clues as to how this is done would be greatly appreciated. It needs to calculate. Thanks J
      • Books Api: listing expenses created after certain dates

        Is there any parameter I can add to the List Expenses endpoint that will let me look up expenses by when they were created?
      • Why can't we change the Account type from an Expense to an Asset?

        Like the question. Why in QuickBooks for example if I mistakenly created an account as an expenses and I already captured information in those accounts, I can just change the account type from expense to asset
      • Is it possible to do validation for the Actions added to Reports?

        We have an all-around On Validate function that checks all the possibilities before the Created/Edited form submissions. We want to have a button in the report view, so we can change records without entering. We are able to add this button, and it does
      • Ability to Edit Ticket Subject when Splitting a Ticket

        Often someone will make an additional or new request within an existing ticket that requires we split the ticket. The annoying part is that the new ticket maintains the subject of the original ticket after the split so when the new ticket email notification
      • Function #11: Apply unused credits automatically to invoices

        Today, we bring you a custom function that automatically applies unused credits from excess payments, credit notes, and retainer payments to an invoice when it is created. Prerequisites: Create a Connection named "zbooks" to successfully execute the function.
      • [Free Webinar] Environments in Zoho Creator - Creator Tech Connect

        Hello Everyone, We’re delighted to kick off the 2026 edition of the Zoho Creator Tech Connect Series and are excited to continue this learning journey with you. The Creator Tech Connect series is a free monthly webinar featuring deep-dive technical sessions
      • Zoho Voice API SMS

        I made a post request in Zapier to try to send an SMS. Authentication appears to be configured correctly. I followed the documentation and I'm getting a 400 Error "Internal Server Error". Not helpful at all. Anyways, I could not find any information on
      • How do I change (error) display messages

        Hi! I would like to edit display messages like "invalid entries" and "enter a value for Nome" and so on into Italian language messages. How can I do that? Already tried on Validate on form submit. Where I am failing? Thanks in advance.
      • Record Overseas Transactions Along with CC charges

        Hi All, We receive payments via stripe in multiple currencies and stripe takes around 2.5% fees. The amount is settled in INR into our local bank. What should be the currency of the income account used for Stripe payments? Here is a sample flow that we
      • Easier onboarding for new users with stage descriptions

        Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a recent enhancement we've made to Bigin. You can now add descriptions to the stages in your pipeline. Previously, when creating a pipeline, you could only add stages. With this update,
      • Pieds de page personnalisé - Document Zoho Writer

        Bonjour à tous, Je rencontre un souci avec l’ajout d’un pied de page personnalisé dans un document Zoho Writer. Je souhaite insérer les informations de mon entreprise (notamment un logo + adresse) dans le pied de page. Le problème, c’est que lorsque j’ajoute
      • Credit card transactions are backwards after importing statements

        I am new to Zoho Books so I'm importing my firm's bank and credit card statements in. My credit card statements have a single column with negative numbers so that is the option I chose. But when I went to categorize the credit card transactions, I can
      • Permissions on Views

        Having the option of any agent creating custom views is firing back and got a situation where there are a hundred different views across the team and tickets are not being dealt in the most efficient of ways. Tickets seems to be missed by some agents,
      • Function #8: Add additional charges to invoices

        Here goes one of the highly sought-after custom functions in Zoho Books. If you find yourself needing to apply additional charges to customers on their invoices (say credit card surcharges, or fuel charges applicable to customers from a certain region,
      • Knowledgebase SEO

        We have a custom-domain mapped help center that is not restricted via login. I have some questions: a) will a robots.txt file still allow us to control indexing? b) do we have the ability to edit the sitemap? c) do category URLs get indexed by search
      • Need help getting my mail on iPhone and Tablet

        I need to access my Zoho mail via the iPhone Mail app. I have entered the login name, password and the incoming and outgoing servers, which my Mail Settings page says are imappro.zoho.com and smtppro.zoho.com. The iPhone keeps saying it cannot authenticate.
      • Domain renewals

        Need to know how hoe to renew the domain
      • VIsual maindmaps in Zoho notebook Ai

        Can I create and export VIsual maindmaps in Zoho notebook Ai
      • 1stDibs Integration to Zoho Inventory

        Hello is it possible to integrate my Zoho inventory and 1stDibs?
      • Community Question: Renewal vs Invoicing

        This is a question for the community. Does anyone else consider there to be a difference between a subscription renewal event and sending out a recurring invoice for a subscription? For example, let's say customer XYZ purchases a 1-year subscription to
      • cloud console support for music websites

        Hi Friends, I am not from a very technical background.. So need support from the Zoho family. I want to build a e-commerce website which is in Musical Niche. It will help people learn music & play instruments of all types. There are a few players in the market like Chordify , Guitaa, Guitar Dashboard, ChordU & few others. But I all these websites allow only a few instruments  to play. So I want to build a better  website than the one I mentioned. So wnated to know what UI & AI should I use so that
      • Scheduled Reports - Do not send empty report

        Hello, We are intensively using reports in the CRM, especially for sales managers. When data is empty, they still receive an email. Can you add an option to avoid sending the report when data is empty?
      • Is Zoho One Desktop more secure than Zoho One Web SaaS?

        Is Zoho One Desktop more secure than using Zoho One in browser? Inherently, it seems desktop would be unless you don't do things like share your pw or leave pc on. I am concerned about data being on the cloud or someone else's server and database.
      • Next Page