This topic covers solutions to common errors you might encounter with using StepZen.
Connection Errors
Unauthorized
{"errors":[{"message":"401 Unauthorized: missing or not allowed","code":401}]}
The StepZen production endpoint can only be called together with your StepZen API key. You need to set the API Key in the header, when you send a request to this endpoint:
Authorization: apikey {APIKEY}
See Connecting to StepZen for more information.
Cannot POST to GraphQL endpoint
When you create a development environment on your local machine using stepzen start
, it returns an endpoint for your GraphQL API that looks like this: https://biggs.stepzen.net/api/hello-world/__graphql
.
This endpoint can only be called when you pass your StepZen API key to it, see Connecting to StepZen for more information.
StepZen CLI Errors
EACCES Errors with node Global Install
If you're running into EACCES errors with installing StepZen's cli globally, we recommend consulting npm's official documentation.
GraphQL Errors
If StepZen's CLI displays GraphQL errors, it is helpful to check for a typo in your GraphQL schema. For example:
Starting...... ! Your local schema has the following GraphQL errors: Error: Unknown type "continentFilterInput". Did you mean "ContinentFilterInput" or "LanguageFilterInput"?
GraphQL is case-sensitive, and here you can see that the error indicates a type should be spelled with a capital 'C' to be referenced properly.
Another GraphQL error you might run into looks like:
Your local schema has the following GraphQL errors: Error: Cannot find file graphql/ap_spacex_land.graphql
This means StepZen cannot find the file in the path specified in index.graphql
. Correcting the typo (a missing i
in graphql/ap_spacex_land.graphql
) in the file resolves the problem:
schema @sdl(files: ["graphql/api_spacex_land.graphql"]) { query: Query }
GraphiQL Errors
HTTP Error
If you see the error below, this usually means there's an issue with your URL when you make the request:
"errors": [ { "message": "Connector: HTTP Error: Bad Request", "locations": [ { "line": 2, "column": 3 } ],
Check if the URL is formatted correctly.
Failed to Fetch
If you press play and receive the response below, this often means that your endpoint is not currently working:
{ "message": "Failed to fetch", "stack": "TypeError: Failed to fetch" }
Double check that stepzen start
is running.
Cannot Query Field on Type
Sometimes querying a field can fail, resulting in an error stating Cannot query field ... on type
. For example, you might get the error when using the following query on the SpaceX API:
query MyQuery { capsules { id limit landings original_launch reuse_count } }
Response:
{ "data": null, "errors": [ { "message": "Cannot query field \"limit\" on type \"Capsule\".", "locations": [ { "line": 4, "column": 5 } ] } ] }
This error occurs because limit
is not defined on the capsules
type inside the schema file:
capsules( find: CapsulesFind <!-- limit should be here --> offset: Int order: String sort: String ): [Capsule] @graphql( endpoint: "https://api.spacex.land/graphql/" )
Adding the field to the capsules
type resolves the problem.
In general, an error indicating that you can't query a field on a type, means you're referring to a field that's unavailable for one reason or another. For example, a typo, or perhaps an unrefreshed page.
Schema Errors
Errors with Duplicate Types and Fields Caused by File Folder Choices
When creating StepZen projects in your local directory structure, it's best practice to make each project (that connects to a StepZen-hosted endpoint) exist in its own subdirectory.
StepZen looks for configuration files by traversing the directory hierarchy to the root folder, so files must exist in the directory from where you run the StepZen CLI. stepzen.config.json
is one example of a StepZen-created file that must not be in your root directory. Placing it there can result in errors similar to the following:
"Error: There can be only one type named "Entities". "Error: There can be only one type named "Public_metrics". ...
Database Errors
Connecting to PostgreSQL
When you're connecting to a PostgreSQL database and get a database error
when querying your StepZen GraphQL API, this might be related to your connection string in the config.yaml
file in your project. Make sure the value for uri
has quotes around it and any special characters (like symbols) are URL encoded. See How to connect to a PostgreSQL database for more information.
Debugging
A Helpful Query to Add to your Schema When Things Go Wrong
This schema uses httpbin.org to return information about your request:
type debug { args: JSON data: JSON files: JSON form: JSON headers: JSON json: JSON method: String url: String } type Query { debugger(id: String!): debug @rest(endpoint: "https://httpbin.org/anything/$id") }
The endpoint https://httpbin.org/anything/$id returns back what it receives, and the web page shows the results visually. For example, the response could help you verify that the URL is being formatted as expected.
id
is optional. If you've got an ID you want to check on, passing it via id
provides a nice way to see what gets sent to the backend from StepZen.
Debugging Header
To see helpful debugging information from StepZen, add these headers to your request:
{"Stepzen-Debug-Level": 1, "Authorization" :"apikey PLACE_YOUR_ADMIN_KEY_HERE "}
You'll see the response that StepZen is returning, including information like diagnostics, with fields like duration and path, as well as the response, with fields like headers, data, and status code.