Error Messages Quality

This cluster focuses on discussions about the quality of error messages in software, with complaints about vague or uninformative errors and calls for more detailed, actionable, and user-friendly messaging.

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#5499
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Keywords

SEE e.g IN BELIEVE UX WHAT ID WON LINE URL error error messages messages went wrong error message errors message went ls wrong

Sample Comments

on_and_off Oct 18, 2017 View on HN

hahayeah an error message (or at least a code) might be useful here

nikofeyn Feb 17, 2018 View on HN

i would just like to get error messages that actually said something more than something went wrong. yea, no shit something went wrong, i already know that, but what and why and how do i fix it are questions i want answered. i know the code knows what went wrong, so just tell me.

Retra Aug 6, 2016 View on HN

Are your error messages readable and obviously relevant?

nickitolas Oct 25, 2024 View on HN

Not to mention the error messages when you get something slightly wrong

snazz Apr 22, 2019 View on HN

About the magic of good error messages (parent comment is good too): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17859210

zanie Nov 20, 2024 View on HN

I work on our error messages, feel free to open an issue and we'll do our best to make it clearer

mping Jul 24, 2020 View on HN

I can tell you what I miss: really good error messages :)

throwaway2048 Feb 9, 2018 View on HN

Errors that were more informative than "Oh u made a boo boo :((" would be useful.

trebligdivad May 24, 2023 View on HN

I hope they don't rely on ask it what the error messages mean!

driverdan Apr 20, 2017 View on HN

If the error is clear then sure, look at the code. Many people seem to be bad at writing user friendly error messages though, requiring a search for what the message even means.