Errors & Troubleshooting

HTTP Status Codes

Common Errors

"Missing API key"

Cause: The Authorization header was not provided.

Solution: Add the header to your request:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ps_xxxxx" https://api.paperstack.qzz.io/neet/2024/s1/physics.json

"Malformed Authorization header"

Cause: The header format is incorrect.

Solution: Ensure your header uses the exact format:

Authorization: Bearer ps_your_key_here

"Invalid or expired API key"

Cause: The key does not exist, has been revoked, or has expired.

Solutions:

• Check that you copied the full key (starts with ps_)
• Generate a new key from your Dashboard
• Ensure you haven't accidentally revoked the key

"Rate limit exceeded"

Cause: You've exceeded your plan's rate limit.

Free tier limits: 2 requests/second, 1,000 requests/month.

Solutions:

• Add retry logic with exponential backoff
• Reduce request frequency
• Upgrade to a higher tier (coming soon)

"Shift not found"

Cause: The shift identifier does not match any available shift.

Solution: List available shifts first:

curl https://api.paperstack.qzz.io/neet/2024

Then use one of the listed shift names.

"File not found"

Cause: The requested file does not exist for the given shift.

Valid files:

• physics.json
• chemistry.json
• biology.json (NEET only)
• mathematics.json (JEE Main only)

Response Format

All error responses follow this structure:

{
  "error": "Human-readable error message"
}

Debugging Tips

1. Verify your key starts with ps_
2. Check the URL for typos in exam names (neet, not neet2024)
3. List available years before querying specific data
4. Use the API Reference at /docs/reference to test endpoints interactively
5. Monitor your usage on the Dashboard