Errors worth branching on

curl -X POST "https://api.orbit.devotel.io/api/v1/files/upload" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "purpose": "import_contacts",
  "filename": "vip-september.csv",
  "content_type": "text/csv"
}'

{
  "data": {
    "file_id": "file_91c4e2a8b6d3f5e7",
    "filename": "vip-september.csv",
    "upload_url": "https://uploads.acme.example/orbit/files/file_91c4e2a8b6d3f5e7"
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_files",
    "timestamp": "2026-09-08T12:00:00Z"
  }
}

curl -X POST "https://api.orbit.devotel.io/api/v1/files/upload" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "purpose": "import_contacts",
  "filename": "vip-september.csv",
  "content_type": "text/csv"
}'

{
  "data": {
    "file_id": "file_91c4e2a8b6d3f5e7",
    "filename": "vip-september.csv",
    "upload_url": "https://uploads.acme.example/orbit/files/file_91c4e2a8b6d3f5e7"
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_files",
    "timestamp": "2026-09-08T12:00:00Z"
  }
}

These five failures cover the upload create + download (POST /api/v1/files, GET /api/v1/files//download), hammered by attachment pickers across the dashboard. Each block below is a full { error, meta } envelope as the API returns it, and the matrix at the bottom answers retry vs surface for the same five classes. For the platform-wide decision table these branches plug into, see the error handling guide.

401 — Unauthorized

  {
    "error": {
      "code": "UNAUTHORIZED",
      "message": "The API key is invalid, expired, or lacks the required scope.",
      "status": 401
    },
    "meta": {
      "request_id": "req_filesa1",
      "timestamp": "2026-09-03T12:00:00Z"
    }
  }

A 401 on this page is the bearer key failing before the route ran — it never means the resource is wrong. Rotate the key or re-mint the scoped token; retrying the same request changes nothing.

403 — Forbidden

  {
    "error": {
      "code": "FORBIDDEN",
      "message": "The key is valid but does not have the scope this operation requires.",
      "status": 403
    },
    "meta": {
      "request_id": "req_filesa1f",
      "timestamp": "2026-09-03T12:00:00Z"
    }
  }

A 403 means the key authenticated but the operation is gated by scope — check the key’s scopes on the developer page; a 403 is never a data-not-found shape.

422 — Schema

  {
    "error": {
      "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
      "message": "The request failed input validation.",
      "status": 422,
      "details": { "field": "content_type", "value": "application/x-msdownload", "expected": "one of the allow-listed MIME types (image/*, application/pdf, text/csv)" }
    },
    "meta": {
      "request_id": "req_filesb2",
      "timestamp": "2026-09-03T12:00:00Z"
    }
  }

A 422 means the payload did not match the request schema — branch on error.details.field and resend with an allow-listed MIME type on the upload instead of blind-retrying the same body.

429 — Rate

  {
    "error": {
      "code": "RATE_LIMITED",
      "message": "Too many requests in the current window.",
      "status": 429,
      "details": { "retry_after": 12 }
    },
    "meta": {
      "request_id": "req_filesc3",
      "timestamp": "2026-09-03T12:00:00Z",
      "docs_url": "https://docs.orbit.devotel.io/errors/RATE_LIMITED"
    }
  }

The Retry-After header and error.details.retry_after are both set on every 429 — resend the SAME request after the lower of the two.

402 — Feature gate

  {
    "error": {
      "code": "FILE_SCAN_QUARANTINED",
      "message": "This upload is temporarily quarantined by the content scanner.",
      "status": 402,
      "details": { "scan_id": "scan_0192", "scan_eta_seconds": 7 }
    },
    "meta": {
      "request_id": "req_filesd4",
      "timestamp": "2026-09-03T12:00:00Z"
    }
  }

Poll the scan status and retry the download once scan_status flips to clean. The full recovery walk — the scan state machine, polling bounds, and how to escalate a wrong verdict — is on FILE_SCAN_QUARANTINED recovery.

60-second retry matrix

Class	Meaning	Branch response
401 `UNAUTHORIZED`	the bearer key itself fails	Surface. Rotate the key or re-mint the scoped token; do not retry the same request.
403 `FORBIDDEN`	the key lacks this operation’s scope	Surface. Fix the key’s scope set; a retry with the same key never heals it.
422 `VALIDATION_ERROR`	the payload does not match the schema	Fix, then resend intentionally. Branch on `error.details.field`; a blind retry repeats the same 422.
429 `RATE_LIMITED`	the window quota is exhausted	Retry after `error.details.retry_after` (or the `Retry-After` header) with the same request body.
`FILE_SCAN_QUARANTINED` (402 feature gate)	page-specific gating	Branch on `error.code`. Poll the scan status and retry the download once scan_status flips to clean.

Worked request and response samples

Copy the request as written, substitute your own ids, and compare the response envelope — a success in the same shape the numbered error sections spell out.

Upload a file

POST /api/v1/files/upload

Binary uploads land here first — the returned file_id is the handle every downstream surface (imports, fax, knowledge, email) accepts. Request

curl -X POST "https://api.orbit.devotel.io/api/v1/files/upload" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "purpose": "import_contacts",
  "filename": "vip-september.csv",
  "content_type": "text/csv"
}'

{
  "data": {
    "file_id": "file_91c4e2a8b6d3f5e7",
    "filename": "vip-september.csv",
    "upload_url": "https://uploads.acme.example/orbit/files/file_91c4e2a8b6d3f5e7"
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_files",
    "timestamp": "2026-09-08T12:00:00Z"
  }
}

API Reference

All Endpoints

Errors worth branching on