> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.digitalseaservice.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# internal_error

> HTTP 500 — something broke on our side. Quote the request ID and we'll find it.

```http theme={null}
HTTP/1.1 500 Internal Server Error
Content-Type: application/problem+json
X-Request-Id: req_01HV9XK...

{
  "type": "https://docs.digitalseaservice.com/errors/internal_error",
  "title": "Internal error",
  "status": 500,
  "detail": "An unexpected error occurred. Reference this request_id to support.",
  "instance": "req_01HV9XK..."
}
```

## What it means

Something on our side failed in a way we didn't anticipate. We never leak
internal details in `detail` — but every `500` is logged with full context,
and the `instance` field matches the `X-Request-Id` header so we can find
the exact request in our logs.

## What to do

1. **Retry with exponential backoff.** `500`-class responses are typically
   transient. Start at 1 second, double up to a cap of 30 seconds, give up
   after \~5 attempts.
2. **Keep the `X-Request-Id`.** If the error persists, send it to
   [admin@digitalseaservice.com](mailto:admin@digitalseaservice.com).
   We can pull the exact request in seconds.
3. **Check [status.digitalseaservice.com](https://status.digitalseaservice.com)**
   before raising — if we're in an incident, you're not alone and we're
   already on it.
4. **Don't surface the raw error to end users.** The `instance` is for your
   engineers. Show users a generic "Couldn't reach Digital Sea Service —
   please retry in a moment" message.

## Idempotency

All V1 endpoints are read-only (`GET`), so retrying a `500` is always safe.
When we add write endpoints in V2 they'll require explicit idempotency
keys — until then, just retry.

## Related

* [Errors overview](/errors)
* [Status page](https://status.digitalseaservice.com)


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