MCPInstall

error-handling

Python error handling patterns for FastAPI, Pydantic, and asyncio. Follows "Let it crash" philosophy - raise exceptions, catch at boundaries. Covers HTTPException, global exception handlers, validation errors, background task failures. Use when: (1) Designing API error responses, (2) Handling RequestValidationError, (3) Managing async exceptions, (4) Preventing stack trace leakage, (5) Designing custom exception hierarchies.

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Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/jiatastic/open-python-skills --skill error-handling
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads error-handling automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

Error Handling

Production-ready error handling for Python APIs using the Let it crash philosophy.

Design Philosophy

Let it crash - Don't be defensive. Let exceptions propagate naturally and handle them at boundaries.

# BAD - Too defensive, obscures errors
@app.get("/users/{user_id}")
async def get_user(user_id: int):
    try:
        user = await user_service.get(user_id)
        if not user:
            raise HTTPException(404, "Not found")
        return user
    except DatabaseError as e:
        raise HTTPException(500, "Database error")
    except Exception as e:
        logger.exception("Unexpected error")
        raise HTTPException(500, "Internal error")

# GOOD - Let exceptions propagate, handle at boundary
@app.get("/users/{user_id}")
async def get_user(user_id: int):
    user = await user_service.get(user_id)
    if not user:
        raise UserNotFoundError(user_id)
    return user

Core Principles

  1. Raise low, catch high - Throw exceptions where errors occur, handle at API boundaries
  2. Domain exceptions - Create semantic exceptions, not generic ones
  3. Global handlers - Use @app.exception_handler() for centralized error formatting
  4. No bare except - Always catch specific exceptions
  5. Preserve context - Use raise ... from error to keep original traceback

Quick Start

1. Define Domain Exceptions

from enum import StrEnum

class ErrorCode(StrEnum):
    USER_NOT_FOUND = "user_not_found"
    INVALID_CREDENTIALS = "invalid_credentials"
    RATE_LIMITED = "rate_limited"

class DomainError(Exception):
    """Base exception for all domain errors."""
    def __init__(self, code: ErrorCode, message: str, status_code: int = 400):
        self.code = code
        self.message = message
        self.status_code = status_code
        super().__init__(message)

class UserNotFoundError(DomainError):
    def __init__(self, user_id: int):
        super().__init__(
            code=ErrorCode.USER_NOT_FOUND,
            message=f"User {user_id} not found",
            status_code=404
        )

2. Define Error Response Schema

from pydantic import BaseModel

class ErrorDetail(BaseModel):
    code: str
    message: str
    request_id: str | None = None

class ErrorResponse(BaseModel):
    error: ErrorDetail

3. Register Global Handlers

from fastapi import FastAPI, Request
from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse
from fastapi.exceptions import RequestValidationError
from starlette.exceptions import HTTPException as StarletteHTTPException

app = FastAPI()

@app.exception_handler(DomainError)
async def domain_error_handler(request: Request, exc: DomainError):
    return JSONResponse(
        status_code=exc.status_code,
        content={"error": {"code": exc.code, "message": exc.message}}
    )

@app.exception_handler(StarletteHTTPException)
async def http_exception_handler(request: Request, exc: StarletteHTTPException):
    return JSONResponse(
        status_code=exc.status_code,
        content={"error": {"code": "http_error", "message": str(exc.detail)}}
    )

@app.exception_handler(RequestValidationError)
async def validation_error_handler(request: Request, exc: RequestValidationError):
    return JSONResponse(
        status_code=422,
        content={"error": {"code": "validation_error", "message": "Invalid request"}}
    )

@app.exception_handler(Exception)
async def generic_error_handler(request: Request, exc: Exception):
    # Log full error internally
    logger.exception("Unhandled error")
    # Return safe message to client
    return JSONResponse(
        status_code=500,
        content={"error": {"code": "internal_error", "message": "Internal server error"}}
    )

4. Use in Routes

@app.get("/users/{user_id}")
async def get_user(user_id: int):
    user = await user_service.get(user_id)
    if not user:
        raise UserNotFoundError(user_id)
    return user

When to Catch Exceptions

Only catch exceptions in these cases:

SituationExample
Need to retrytenacity.retry() for transient failures
Need to transformWrap third-party SDK errors as domain errors
Need to clean upUse finally or context managers
Need to add contextraise DomainError(...) from original

Python + FastAPI Integration

LayerResponsibility
Service/DomainRaise domain exceptions (UserNotFoundError)
RoutesLet exceptions propagate (no try/except)
Exception HandlersTransform to HTTP responses
MiddlewareAdd request context (request_id, timing)

Common Patterns

Third-Party SDK Wrapping

import httpx
from tenacity import retry, stop_after_attempt, wait_exponential

class ExternalServiceError(DomainError):
    def __init__(self, service: str, original: Exception):
        super().__init__(
            code=ErrorCode.EXTERNAL_SERVICE_ERROR,
            message=f"{service} unavailable",
            status_code=503
        )
        self.__cause__ = original

@retry(stop=stop_after_attempt(3), wait=wait_exponential())
async def call_payment_api(data: dict):
    try:
        async with httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=10.0) as client:
            response = await client.post("https://api.payment.com/charge", json=data)
            response.raise_for_status()
            return response.json()
    except httpx.HTTPError as e:
        raise ExternalServiceError("Payment API", e) from e

Background Task Error Handling

from fastapi import BackgroundTasks

async def safe_background_task(task_func, *args, **kwargs):
    try:
        await task_func(*args, **kwargs)
    except Exception as e:
        logger.exception(f"Background task failed: {e}")
        # Optional: send to dead letter queue or alerting

@app.post("/orders")
async def create_order(order: Order, background_tasks: BackgroundTasks):
    result = await order_service.create(order)
    background_tasks.add_task(safe_background_task, send_confirmation_email, result.id)
    return result

Troubleshooting

IssueCauseFix
Stack trace in responseNo generic handlerAdd @app.exception_handler(Exception)
Lost original errorMissing fromUse raise NewError() from original
Validation errors leakDefault handlerOverride RequestValidationError handler
Silent failuresSwallowed exceptionsLet exceptions propagate, handle at boundary

References

  • Python Patterns - Exception design, when to catch, SDK wrapping
  • FastAPI Patterns - HTTPException, global handlers, middleware
  • Pydantic Patterns - ValidationError, raise in validators
  • Asyncio Patterns - TaskGroup, timeout, background tasks
  • FastAPI Docs: Handling Errors
  • Pydantic Docs: Error Handling

FAQ

What does the error-handling skill do?

Python error handling patterns for FastAPI, Pydantic, and asyncio. Follows "Let it crash" philosophy - raise exceptions, catch at boundaries. Covers HTTPException, global exception handlers, validation errors, background task failures. Use when: (1) Designing API error responses, (2) Handling RequestValidationError, (3) Managing async exceptions, (4) Preventing stack trace leakage, (5) Designing custom exception hierarchies.

How do I install error-handling?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/jiatastic/open-python-skills --skill error-handling in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/error-handling/ (personal) or .claude/skills/error-handling/ (project).

Which AI agents can use error-handling?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is error-handling safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains error-handling?

It is published by jiatastic in jiatastic/open-python-skills. It has 86 recorded installs.

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