Error handling

API Errors

Since the Tinfoil SDK wraps the OpenAI client, standard API errors (AuthenticationError, RateLimitError, etc.) pass through unchanged. The SDK re-exports them so you can import and catch them directly. See the OpenAI error documentation for details.

Example: handling an AuthenticationError

import { TinfoilAI, AuthenticationError } from "tinfoil";

const client = new TinfoilAI({
  apiKey: "tk_invalid_key",
});

try {
  await client.chat.completions.create({
    model: "<MODEL_NAME>",
    messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello!" }],
  });
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof AuthenticationError) {
    console.error("Invalid API key:", err.status, err.message);
  }
}

use tinfoil::async_openai::error::OpenAIError;
use tinfoil::error::Error;
use tinfoil::Client;

let client = Client::new_default_with_api_key("tk_invalid_key").await?;

match client.chat().create(request).await {
    Err(OpenAIError::ApiError(api)) if api.code.as_deref() == Some("invalid_api_key") => {
        eprintln!("Invalid API key: {}", api.message);
    }
    Err(other) => return Err(Error::from(other).into()),
    Ok(_) => {}
}

Quota errors

Requests that exceed a spending or usage limit return type and code set to insufficient_quota. The HTTP status tells you which limit was hit:

Status	Message	Cause
`429`	`Spend limit reached for this API key.`	The key’s `max_cost` cap
`429`	`Input token limit reached for this API key.`	The key’s `max_input_tokens` cap
`429`	`Output token limit reached for this API key.`	The key’s `max_output_tokens` cap
`402`	`API access is paused because this billing period's usage reached the account's usage limit. Raise the limit in the Tinfoil dashboard under Billing > Credits and limits.`	The account or organization reached its usage limit for the billing period
`402`	`API access is paused because the account is out of credits. Add credits in the Tinfoil dashboard under Billing > Credits and limits.`	The account or organization has no remaining credits
`402`	`API access is not active for this account. Check the account's billing in the Tinfoil dashboard.`	The account or organization has no active API billing
`402`	`Access for this account is restricted.`	The account is restricted

Per-key caps are lifetime totals set by an admin; see Create API Key. A 429 from a per-key cap is not transient, so retrying will not help. Raise or clear the cap with Update API Key, or use a different key. Both kinds of limit are evaluated against usage that has already been recorded. Requests still in flight when a limit is reached complete and are billed, and new requests start failing a few seconds later. See How usage is recorded.

{
  "error": {
    "message": "Spend limit reached for this API key.",
    "type": "insufficient_quota",
    "code": "insufficient_quota"
  }
}

Client Errors

The SDK verifies attestations, pins certificates, and encrypts payloads before any data leaves your machine. It retries transient failures automatically, but errors that persist will surface to your code as one of three typed errors.

TinfoilError (base)
├── ConfigurationError  — Client misconfigured
├── FetchError          — Attestation materials could not be fetched
└── AttestationError    — Attestation verification failed

All errors extend TinfoilError, which extends the native Error class. Each error includes a message string and an optional cause property containing the underlying error.

Error	Cause	What to do
`ConfigurationError`	Bad or missing client options	Fix your code. Retrying will not help.
`FetchError`	Network or HTTP failure while fetching attestation materials	Retry network failures. For a persistent HTTP error, such as `501` for an unsupported enclave, inspect `cause`.
`AttestationError`	Attestation verification failed	Retry. If it persists, it may indicate a genuine security issue.

The tinfoil package does not export FetchError. Catch it as TinfoilError, or check err.name === "FetchError". In practice, you typically only need to distinguish ConfigurationError (a bug in your code) from transient errors:

import { TinfoilAI, ConfigurationError, TinfoilError } from "tinfoil";

try {
  const completion = await client.chat.completions.create({
    model: "<MODEL_NAME>",
    messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello!" }],
  });
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof ConfigurationError) {
    // Fix your config and create a new client
  } else if (err instanceof TinfoilError) {
    // Transient or security error — you can retry or surface to the user
    console.error(err.message, err.cause); // cause has the underlying error
  }
}

use tinfoil::error::Error;
use tinfoil::Client;

match client.chat().create(request).await.map_err(Error::from) {
    Ok(completion) => { /* use completion */ }
    Err(err) if err.is_configuration() => {
        // Fix your config and create a new client
    }
    Err(err) if err.is_attestation() => {
        // Security-relevant: do not retry blindly
        eprintln!("attestation failure: {}", err);
    }
    Err(err) if err.is_retryable() => {
        // Transient — fetch error or 5xx/429 from the upstream API
        eprintln!("transient error, retrying: {}", err);
    }
    Err(err) => return Err(err.into()),
}

Getting Started

Model catalog

Tinfoil SDKs

Tinfoil Chat

Local Proxy

Tinfoil Containers

Tinfoil Bunkers

Guides

Verification & Attestation

Tutorials

Admin API

Resources

API Errors

Quota errors

Client Errors