Troubleshoot error messages
What each Dropstone error means and what to do about it, across chat, the CLI, the SDK, and the API. Usage limits, rate limits, timeouts, bad requests, sign-in problems, and image limits.
Dropstone reports errors the same way on every surface, so an error in chat, the CLI, and the API means the same thing. Find yours below.
Before anything else, check Service status. If there is an incident, that is your error.
Usage limit reached
Weekly limit reached
You have used this week's allowance. The message shows when the window resets. You can wait, upgrade, or, on Pro and above, top up. Nothing is lost. See How usage and limits work.
API Rate Limited (429)
Too many requests in a short time, separate from the weekly allowance. Wait a moment and try again. From the API, respect the retry-after value in the response rather than retrying immediately. Dropstone retries this for you automatically in most cases before showing it.
API Timeout (408 or 504)
The request took too long to complete. Usually transient. Try again. For very long tasks, use Dropstone Heavy, which is built to carry work over time; see Choose a model.
API Unavailable (502 or 503)
The model behind your request was temporarily unreachable. Dropstone retries automatically. If it persists, check Service status.
Something went wrong (500)
Something went wrong (500). Please try again. Check status.dropstone.io for updates
An error on Dropstone's side. In the CLI, this is retried automatically three times over about a minute and a half before being shown. If you see it, check the status page; if nothing is posted, try again and report it if it continues.
API Bad Request (400)
The request itself was refused. The most common cause is a conversation carrying more images than can be sent in one request. Dropstone now sets aside the oldest images automatically so the conversation can continue; if you see this on an older version, start a new conversation or remove some images. Other causes are rare and usually mean a malformed file attachment; try re-attaching it.
API Auth Error
Your session or key is not valid. In chat or the dashboard, sign out and back in. In the CLI, run dropstone login. For the API, check the key is correct and has not been revoked from your dashboard.
Not signed in
Memory and some features require being signed in. See Create an account and sign in.
Phone verification required
Email-and-password accounts must verify a phone number before use. See Verify your phone number.
Cannot read this file
The attached file could not be converted to text. Check it is one of the supported formats and is not corrupted. A scanned PDF beyond the page limit is read up to that limit.
Model not available on your plan
Dropstone Heavy is on Pro and above. See Compare plans.
Still stuck
Contact support with the exact error text, the surface, and when it happened.