More consistent handling of error responses

To make the API behave more consistently, an empty error response from a website is now handled like an error page with content.

Before, the result depended on whether the site sent a page with its error. With ignore_host_errors=true, an error page with content returned a screenshot, but an error status with an empty response, for example, a 429 from a rate limiter, failed with the internal_application_error error.

What changed

• With ignore_host_errors=true, an empty error response now returns a screenshot too: the browser’s own error page, for example, “This page isn’t working” with “HTTP ERROR 429”. Like any other screenshot of an error page, it counts toward your quota.
• Without ignore_host_errors, an empty error response returns the host_returned_error error with the site’s status in returned_status_code, like any other error status. This now also applies when the page navigates to an empty error response by itself after it loads, which failed with an internal error before.
• Request logs now show the site’s status for screenshots of error pages and for asynchronous requests that fail with host_returned_error.
• Improved: metadata_http_response_status_code now returns the site’s status code even when you don’t also request metadata_http_response_headers. Both options now describe the page in the result, including when the page navigated to another page after it loaded.

If you don’t need screenshots of error pages, keep ignore_host_errors off. The API then returns the error, and failed requests don’t count toward your quota.

If you have any questions, please contact support@screenshotone.com.