{"record":{"id":"8761e5b0f1fc7efe","repo":"BerriAI/litellm","slug":"authentication-error-str-e","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"\"Authentication Error, \" + str(e)","messagePattern":"\"Authentication Error, \" \\+ str\\(e\\)","errorType":"http","errorClass":"ProxyException","httpStatus":400,"severity":"error","filePath":"litellm/proxy/management_endpoints/internal_user_endpoints.py","lineNumber":1598,"sourceCode":"\n        response: Final = await _update_single_user_helper(\n            user_request=data,\n            user_api_key_dict=user_api_key_dict,\n        )\n        return response\n    except Exception as e:\n        verbose_proxy_logger.exception(\"litellm.proxy.proxy_server.user_update(): Exception occured - %s\", e)\n        verbose_proxy_logger.debug(traceback.format_exc())\n        if isinstance(e, HTTPException):\n            raise ProxyException(\n                message=getattr(e, \"detail\", f\"Authentication Error({e})\"),\n                type=ProxyErrorTypes.auth_error,\n                param=getattr(e, \"param\", \"None\"),\n                code=getattr(e, \"status_code\", status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST),\n            )\n        elif isinstance(e, ProxyException):\n            raise e\n        raise ProxyException(\n            message=\"Authentication Error, \" + str(e),\n            type=ProxyErrorTypes.auth_error,\n            param=getattr(e, \"param\", \"None\"),\n            code=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST,\n        )\n\n\nasync def bulk_update_processed_users(\n    users_to_update: list[UpdateUserRequest],\n    user_api_key_dict: UserAPIKeyAuth,\n    litellm_changed_by: str | None = None,\n) -> BulkUpdateUserResponse:\n    results: Final[list[UserUpdateResult]] = []\n    successful_updates = 0\n    failed_updates = 0\n\n    # Process each user update independently\n    try:","sourceCodeStart":1580,"sourceCodeEnd":1616,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm/blob/77b7c6c40c0c5aa5fbcb1d6a1825ac39ca8829b8/litellm/proxy/management_endpoints/internal_user_endpoints.py#L1580-L1616","documentation":"The non-HTTPException branch of /user/update's error wrapper: every plain exception becomes ProxyException 'Authentication Error, <original message>' with type auth_error and code 400. Common underlying causes are ValueError 'Either user_id or user_email must be provided', Exception 'Not connected to DB!', and Prisma/database errors. The 'Authentication Error' prefix is cosmetic - the real cause follows the comma.","triggerScenarios":"POST /user/update that hits a non-HTTP failure: body missing both user_id and user_email (ValueError), no database configured ('Not connected to DB!'), or a Prisma error during the update write.","commonSituations":"Developers chasing a phantom authentication problem that is actually a payload or DB config issue; CI environments without Postgres where every update fails this way.","solutions":["Read the message after 'Authentication Error, ' - it names the real error (e.g. 'Not connected to DB!' or the ValueError text)","Fix that root cause: add user_id/user_email, configure general_settings.database_url, or repair the database","Check exception-level proxy logs for the full stack trace of the original exception"],"exampleFix":"# before: 400 'Authentication Error, Either user_id or user_email must be provided'\nPOST /user/update {\"user_alias\": \"x\"}\n\n# after\nPOST /user/update {\"user_id\": \"u1\", \"user_alias\": \"x\"}  # 200","handlingStrategy":"try-catch","validationCode":"def update_payload_ok(payload: dict) -> bool:\n    return bool(payload.get(\"user_id\") or payload.get(\"user_email\"))  # avoids the ValueError wrap","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"except requests.HTTPError as e:\n    body = e.response.text if e.response is not None else \"\"\n    m = \"Authentication Error, \"\n    if e.response is not None and e.response.status_code == 400 and m in body:\n        real_cause = body.split(m, 1)[1]  # e.g. 'Not connected to DB!' or the ValueError text\n        # handle the real cause, not an auth problem\n        ...","preventionTips":["Strip the 'Authentication Error, ' prefix before routing errors in your handlers","Pre-validate identifiers and DB connectivity to avoid the wrapper entirely","Capture proxy logs alongside client errors - the wrapper hides the stack trace"],"tags":["litellm","error-handling","proxy-exception","user-management"],"backgroundTag":"authentication-failed","analyzedSha":"77b7c6c40c0c5aa5fbcb1d6a1825ac39ca8829b8","analyzedAt":"2026-08-18T11:44:31.656Z","contentChangedAt":null,"schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-14T05:17:10.506Z"}