http-errors-plus

The next-generation HTTP error system for JavaScript & TypeScript — designed for modern DX, structured observability, and future-proof error handling.

⚡ Why http-errors-plus?

http-errors served us well — but it’s stuck in a CommonJS world with stringly-typed messages and zero structure and inspired me to do this.

http-errors-plus gives you:

✅ Fully ESM-ready and works in both JS and TS
✅ Named constants like NOT_FOUND, BAD_REQUEST, etc.
✅ Overrideable metadata: detail, path, traceId, requestId, etc.
✅ Drop-in generateError() utility
✅ Strong IntelliSense via JSDoc
✅ HttpError class with .toJSON() and APM-ready structure

🚀 Installation

yarn add http-errors-plus

🧑‍💻 Usage

Import and Use Named Constants

import { BASE_HTTP_ERRORS, generateError } from 'http-errors-plus';

const { NOT_FOUND } = BASE_HTTP_ERRORS;

throw generateError(NOT_FOUND, {
  detail: 'User with ID 42 not found',
  path: '/api/users/42',
  requestId: 'req-xyz-123',
});

Output

{
  "status": 404,
  "code": "NOT_FOUND",
  "message": "Not Found",
  "detail": "User with ID 42 not found",
  "path": "/api/users/42",
  "timestamp": "2025-05-17T12:00:00Z",
  "requestId": "req-xyz-123"
}

📦 Exported API

✅ Constants

BASE_HTTP_ERRORS.NOT_FOUND      // { status: 404, code: 'NOT_FOUND', message: 'Not Found' }
BASE_HTTP_ERRORS.BAD_REQUEST    // { status: 400, code: 'BAD_REQUEST', message: 'Bad Request' }
// ... all standard HTTP codes covered

✅ generateError(base, overrides?)

Creates a new error object based on a constant.

const error = generateError(BASE_HTTP_ERRORS.CONFLICT, {
  detail: 'Email already exists',
  requestId: 'abc123',
});

✅ HttpError Class

new HttpError(403, {
  code: 'FORBIDDEN',
  message: 'Access denied',
  detail: 'Only admins can access this resource.',
})

🔍 Coming Soon

• isHttpError() type guard
• RFC 7807 .toProblemJSON() support
• Built-in middleware for Express/Fastify
• Auto-i18n key support

💡 Philosophy

HTTP errors should be:

• Human-readable
• Machine-parseable
• Developer-first
• Easy to maintain and override

🧠 Inspiration

Built as a modern successor to http-errors and statuses, with a fresh take on API dev ergonomics.

🪪 License

MIT — Use it, ship it, improve it.

✨ Author

Made by Mohamed Johnson. 🧠 Powered by clarity, DX obsession, and no chill mode.