Comparison · both free
API Error Explainer vs Error Message Poet
The short answer
The API Error Explainer helps you, the developer, understand a failed call and fix it. The Error Message Poet rewrites the message your users see. Debug with the explainer first, then use the poet on whatever error still reaches users.
API Error Explainer
Paste a status code and the response body. Get what broke, what to change in the request, and whether a retry will help.
- You paste
- Paste the status, the body, and what you sent. Include the path, the headers that matter, and whether a retry already failed the same way. Redact secrets; say if you used a placeholder.
- You get
- Retry. Do not retry the same bytes. Retry once after the header changes. Forging a signature for someone else's API is out of scope.
- When to use it
- Use it when a call failed, the body is a blob, and you cannot tell whether to fix the request, fix the clock, or stop retrying.
- When to skip it
- It explains errors from APIs you are allowed to call. It will not help forge signatures or get around someone else's limits.
- Runs in
- ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Shelf
- Dev Tools
Error Message Poet
Paste a harsh error. Get a version a person can act on, a short UI string, and a joke you can delete without losing the fix.
- You paste
- Paste the current error and the facts. Include who sees the string and what they can actually do. Paste the log line separately if it must stay out of the interface.
- You get
- The joke, optional. A line about the cart and the typed number disagreeing. The order id stays in the log, not in the joke.
- When to use it
- Use it when an error tells the developer the stack is unhappy and tells the user nothing about what to do next.
- When to skip it
- It rewrites the message for people. It does not debug the error. For that, use the API Error Explainer.
- Runs in
- ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Shelf
- Fun & Weird
Questions
What is the difference between API Error Explainer and Error Message Poet?
The API Error Explainer helps you, the developer, understand a failed call and fix it. The Error Message Poet rewrites the message your users see. Debug with the explainer first, then use the poet on whatever error still reaches users.
Are API Error Explainer and Error Message Poet free?
Yes. Both are free prompts from One Agent a Day under CC BY 4.0. API Error Explainer runs in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini. Error Message Poet runs in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini.
All comparisons · Find an agent by task
Tomorrow's drop
Get tomorrow's agent in your inbox
One email when the drop goes up. No digest, no course. Unsubscribe from the beehiiv email whenever you want.
Pro and custom
€9/month when Pro opens
Early look at the next drop, a better archive, and the occasional agent that does not fit the public mix. The daily agent stays free. A custom build is €49–199. Nothing is charged from this form.
Join the Pro waitlist