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DB_ERROR — Database query failure

Summary

A database query the request depended on failed. Usually transient — connection blip, replica lag, occasional timeout. Retrying once with an idempotency key is almost always the right move.

HTTP status

500 Internal Server Error. Standard envelope.

Example response

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "DB_ERROR",
    "message": "Database query failed. Please retry.",
    "request_id": "req_01HXJZK4ABCDEF",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.surveycoder.io/errors/db-error"
  }
}

Why this happens

Connection pool exhaustion under a burst.
A read replica lagging behind primary.
A transient query timeout.
(Rare) a real schema-level issue we haven’t deployed a fix for yet.

How to fix it

Retry with backoff — 2s, 4s, 8s. Most retries succeed on the second attempt.
Use an idempotency key on writes so the retry is safe.
If you see DB_ERROR from the same endpoint for more than a minute, check the status page.
Persistent DB_ERROR → email support@surveycoder.io with the request_id.