BerriAI/litellm · error · HTTPException

Akto guardrail service unreachable

Error message

Akto guardrail service unreachable

What it means

Akto's API could not be reached during a guardrail evaluation; behavior follows unreachable_fallback — fail_open lets the request through with a critical log, fail_closed blocks it. This message accompanies the fail_closed branch.

Source

Thrown at litellm/proxy/guardrails/guardrail_hooks/akto/akto.py:350

            str(guardrails_result.get("Reason", "")),
        )

    def handle_unreachable(
        self,
        inputs: GenericGuardrailAPIInputs,
        error: Exception,
    ) -> GenericGuardrailAPIInputs:
        """Handle Akto being unreachable based on fail_open/fail_closed config."""
        if self.unreachable_fallback == "fail_open":
            verbose_proxy_logger.critical(
                "Akto unreachable (fail-open): %s",
                str(error),
                exc_info=error,
            )
            return inputs

        verbose_proxy_logger.error("Akto unreachable (fail-closed): %s", str(error))
        raise HTTPException(
            status_code=503,
            detail="Akto guardrail service unreachable",
        )

    async def fire_and_forget_request(
        self,
        *,
        guardrails: bool,
        ingest_data: bool,
        payload: dict,
    ) -> None:
        """Send a request without awaiting it in the caller. Errors are logged, not raised."""
        try:
            response: Final = await self.send_request(
                guardrails=guardrails,
                ingest_data=ingest_data,
                payload=payload,
            )

View on GitHub (pinned to 77b7c6c40c)

Solutions

1. Verify the Akto service URL is correct and reachable from the proxy.
2. Check network/firewall rules between the proxy and the Akto service.

Example fix

curl -v $AKTO_GUARDRAIL_API_BASE to test connectivity.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at litellm/proxy/guardrails/guardrail_hooks/akto/akto.py:350 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: Network failure when calling the Akto guardrail service.

AI-assisted analysis of BerriAI/litellm@77b7c6c40c (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/170a09dd377c8680. Report an issue: GitHub.