Unauthorized

What does HTTP 401 Unauthorized mean?

The request lacks valid authentication credentials for the target resource. Despite the name, it is about authentication (who you are), not authorization (what you can do).

4xx responses indicate the request was faulty: bad syntax, missing authentication, or a resource that does not exist. The fix usually lives on the client/request side.

Common causes

• Missing, expired, or invalid authentication token
• Wrong username/password
• Incorrect Authorization header format

How to fix a 401 error

• Provide valid credentials or a fresh token
• Refresh expired tokens before retrying
• Verify the Authorization header (e.g. Bearer <token>) is correct

Related 4xx status codes