Flow-Launcher/Flow.Launcher · error · HttpRequestException

Error code <{response.StatusCode}> returned from <{url}>

Error message

Error code <{response.StatusCode}> returned from <{url}>

What it means

Thrown as HttpRequestException inside DownloadAsync when the HTTP response status code is not a success (response.IsSuccessStatusCode is false) while attempting to download a file to disk. It is caught by the local catch which logs 'Http Request Error' and rethrows, so callers see the exception. Unlike GetAsync, the response body is NOT captured — only the status code and URL are in the message.

Source

Thrown at Flow.Launcher.Infrastructure/Http/Http.cs:131

                            if (token.IsCancellationRequested)
                                return;
                            else
                                reportProgress(progressValue);
                        }

                        if (progressValue < 100)
                            reportProgress(100);
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        await using var fileStream = new FileStream(filePath, FileMode.CreateNew);
                        await response.Content.CopyToAsync(fileStream, token);
                    }
                }
                else
                {
                    throw new HttpRequestException($"Error code <{response.StatusCode}> returned from <{url}>");
                }
            }
            catch (HttpRequestException e)
            {
                Log.Exception(ClassName, "Http Request Error", e, "DownloadAsync");
                throw;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Asynchrously get the result as string from url.
        /// When supposing the result larger than 83kb, try using GetStreamAsync to avoid reading as string
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="url"></param>
        /// <returns>The Http result as string. Null if cancellation requested</returns>
        public static Task<string> GetAsync([NotNull] string url, CancellationToken token = default)
        {
            Log.Debug(ClassName, $"Url <{url}>");

View on GitHub (pinned to 7fc63b07bb)

Solutions

1. Open the URL in a browser to see the actual status/body — the message gives you the code and endpoint.
2. Check whether the download host is up and the path still exists (common for GitHub release assets that were re-published).
3. Retry with backoff for transient 5xx/429 codes.
4. If behind a proxy, ensure HttpClient.DefaultProxy / system proxy is configured correctly.
5. For 403/401, verify the URL doesn't require authentication or an accept header.

Example fix

// before
if (!response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
    throw new HttpRequestException($"Error code <{response.StatusCode}> returned from <{url}>");

// after — include body and retry on transient codes
if (!response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
    var body = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync(token);
    throw new HttpRequestException(
        $"{(int)response.StatusCode} {response.StatusCode} from <{url}>: {body}");
}

null

null

int attempt = 0;
retry:
try { await Http.DownloadAsync(url, filePath, token); }
catch (HttpRequestException ex) when ((int)ex.StatusCode >= 500 && ++attempt < 3)
{ await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1 << attempt), token); goto retry; }

When it happens

Trigger: Plugin/metadata download URL returns 404 (file removed), 403 (hotlinking blocked), 500/503 (server error), 401 (auth required); the update server is behind a CDN that rate-limits with a 429; a redirect chain ends in an error code because HttpClient doesn't follow cross-scheme or certain redirect types.

Common situations: Plugin author moved or deleted the release asset but didn't update the manifest URL; corporate proxy returns 407/502; GitHub rate limiting on raw.githubusercontent or release downloads; the host is offline and a captive portal returns 200/302 to a login page (note: 200 wouldn't throw, but a portal returning 4xx would).

Related errors

• Error code <{response.StatusCode}> with content <{content}>
• Plugin {newPlugin.ID} zip file not found at {filePath}

AI-assisted analysis of Flow-Launcher/Flow.Launcher@7fc63b07bb (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3677e53941c7bd52. Report an issue: GitHub.