Exceptions and errors

In addition to the 40x and 50x headers, error responses come with the name of the exception generated internally by the API server. You can define corresponding exceptions in your language or library, and raise them by doing a switch on the returned exception name.

Example

HTTP/1.1 500 Server error
Content-Type: application/json

{
    "status": "error",
    "message": "Error message",
    "error_type": "GeneralException"
}

exception
TokenException	Preceded by a 403 header, this indicates the expiry or invalidation of an authenticated session. This can be caused by the user logging out, a natural expiry, or the user logging into another Kite instance. When you encounter this error, you should clear the user's session and re-initiate a login.
UserException	Represents user account related errors
OrderException	Represents order related errors such placement failures, a corrupt fetch etc
InputException	Represents missing required fields, bad values for parameters etc.
MarginException	Represents insufficient funds, required for the order placement
HoldingException	Represents insufficient holdings, available to place sell order for specified instrument
NetworkException	Represents a network error where the API was unable to communicate with the OMS (Order Management System)
DataException	Represents an internal system error where the API was unable to understand the response from the OMS to inturn respond to a request
GeneralException	Represents an unclassified error. This should only happen rarely

Common HTTP error codes

code
400	Missing or bad request parameters or values
403	Session expired or invalidate. Must relogin
404	Request resource was not found
405	Request method (GET, POST etc.) is not allowed on the requested endpoint
410	The requested resource is gone permanently
429	Too many requests to the API (rate limiting)
500	Something unexpected went wrong
502	The backend OMS is down and the API is unable to communicate with it
503	Service unavailable; the API is down
504	Gateway timeout; the API is unreachable

API rate limit

end-point	rate-limit
Quote	1req/second
Historical candle	3req/second
Order placement	10req/second
All other endpoints	10req/second

Note

There are limitations at 200 orders per minute and 10 orders per second.
As a risk management measure, at Zerodha, a single user/API key will not be able to place more than 3000 orders per day. This restriction is across all segments and varieties.
Rate limitations also apply for order modification where a maximum of 25 modifications are allowed per order. Post that user has to cancel the order and place it again.