Dogs Explain What Different HTTP Status Codes Mean
Every time you visit a website, your browser asks for a page and the server answers with a quick code — like 200 OK when all’s well, or 404 Not Found when the page isn’t there. These are called HTTP status codes: short, three‑digit messages that say what happened.
To make this easier to understand, San Francisco‑based software programmer Mike Lee created HTTP Status Dogs, a playful project that matches each code with a dog photo to explain what what different HTTP status codes mean.
For example, 404 Not Found becomes a pup digging for something that isn’t there. 204 No Content? A dog waiting by an empty bowl. Even if you’re not technical, you’ll get it in seconds.
It’s honestly the most paws‑itively delightful way to learn what these web codes mean. Check out the full set below.
1.
204 No Content: The server successfully processed the request, but is not returning any content.
2.
301 Moved Permanently: This and all future requests should be directed to the given URI.
3.
307 Temporary Redirect: In this case, the request should be repeated with another URI; however, future requests should still use the original URI. In contrast to how 302 was historically implemented, the request method is not allowed to be changed when reissuing the original request. For instance, a POST request repeated using another POST request.
4.
308 Permanent Redirect: The request, and all future requests should be repeated using another URI. 307 and 308 (as proposed) parallel the behaviours of 302 and 301, but do not allow the HTTP method to change. So, for example, submitting a form to a permanently redirected resource may continue smoothly.
5.
400 Bad Request: The request cannot be fulfilled due to bad syntax.
6.
401 Unauthorized: Similar to 403 Forbidden, but specifically for use when authentication is possible but has failed or not yet been provided. The response must include a WWW-Authenticate header field containing a challenge applicable to the requested resource. See Basic access authentication and Digest access authentication.
7.
402 Payment Required: Reserved for future use. The original intention was that this code might be used as part of some form of digital cash or micropayment scheme, but that has not happened, and this code is not usually used. As an example of its use, however, Apple’s MobileMe service generates a 402 error (“httpStatusCode:402” in the Mac OS X Console log) if the MobileMe account is delinquent.
8.
403 Forbidden: The request was a legal request, but the server is refusing to respond to it. Unlike a 401 Unauthorized response, authenticating will make no difference.
9.
404 Not Found: The requested resource could not be found but may be available again in the future. Subsequent requests by the client are permissible.
10.
408 Request Timeout: The server timed out waiting for the request. According to W3 HTTP specifications: “The client did not produce a request within the time that the server was prepared to wait. The client MAY repeat the request without modifications at any later time.”
11.
429 Too Many Requests: The user has sent too many requests in a given amount of time. Intended for use with rate limiting schemes. Proposed in an Internet-Draft.
12.
500 Internal Server Error: A generic error message, given when no more specific message is suitable.
13.
502 Bad Gateway: The server was acting as a gateway or proxy and received an invalid response from the upstream server.
14.
503 Service Unavailable: The server is currently unavailable (because it is overloaded or down for maintenance). Generally, this is a temporary state.
15.
504 Gateway Timeout: The server was acting as a gateway or proxy and did not receive a timely response from the upstream server.
