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HTTP 506 — Variant Also Negotiates

Content negotiation for the request results in a circular reference.

Status CodeHTTP 506
CategoryServer Error (5xx)
API Error Subtypes0 error schemas
HTTP Headers0 headers

What does HTTP status code 506 mean?

The 506 Variant Also Negotiates status code indicates that the server has a configuration error where content negotiation results in a circular loop.

When to use it in APIs

Rarely used; indicates server configuration issues where resources attempt to negotiate formats with themselves.

How it compares to other codes

  • 500 Internal Server Error: A generic application code failure, whereas 506 is configuration-negotiation specific.

Specific API Error Types for 506

No specific Problem+JSON schemas have been defined for HTTP 506 on apiguide.dev yet.

Associated HTTP Headers

No specific HTTP headers are explicitly linked to HTTP 506 in our directory yet.

Related HTTP Status Codes