Last Updated: 3/11/2026

Exception Handling

Hono provides HTTPException for throwing HTTP errors with status codes.

HTTPException

Throw HTTP exceptions:


import { HTTPException } from 'hono/http-exception'
 
app.post('/auth', async (c) => {
  const token = c.req.header('Authorization')
  
  if (!token) {
    throw new HTTPException(401, {
      message: 'Unauthorized',
    })
  }
  
  // Continue processing
})

Custom Response


throw new HTTPException(401, {
  message: 'Custom error message',
  res: c.json({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, 401),
})

Cause

Include the original error:


try {
  await someAsyncOperation()
} catch (err) {
  throw new HTTPException(500, {
    message: 'Operation failed',
    cause: err,
  })
}

Global Error Handler

Handle all exceptions:


import { HTTPException } from 'hono/http-exception'
 
app.onError((err, c) => {
  if (err instanceof HTTPException) {
    return err.getResponse()
  }
  
  console.error(err)
  return c.json({ error: 'Internal Server Error' }, 500)
})

Common Status Codes


// 400 Bad Request
throw new HTTPException(400, { message: 'Invalid input' })
 
// 401 Unauthorized
throw new HTTPException(401, { message: 'Authentication required' })
 
// 403 Forbidden
throw new HTTPException(403, { message: 'Access denied' })
 
// 404 Not Found
throw new HTTPException(404, { message: 'Resource not found' })
 
// 500 Internal Server Error
throw new HTTPException(500, { message: 'Server error' })