badges/shields · info · InvalidResponse

private

Error message

private

What it means

The freeCodeCamp points service reads response.entities.user[username].points from the API response. When the user's points are null — freeCodeCamp marks profiles private — the transform throws InvalidResponse with prettyMessage 'private', indicating the data exists but is intentionally hidden.

Source

Thrown at services/freecodecamp/freecodecamp-points.service.js:70

    return this._requestJson({
      schema,
      url: 'https://api.freecodecamp.org/users/get-public-profile',
      options: {
        searchParams: {
          username,
        },
      },
      httpErrors: { 404: 'profile not found' },
    })
  }

  static transform(response, username) {
    const { entities } = response

    const { points } = entities.user[username]

    if (points === null) {
      throw new InvalidResponse({ prettyMessage: 'private' })
    }

    return points
  }

  async handle({ username }) {
    const response = await this.fetch({ username })
    const points = this.constructor.transform(response, username)
    return this.constructor.render({ points })
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 766fd8bc89)

Solutions

1. Respect the user's privacy choice — remove the points badge or replace it with a non-stat badge
2. Ask the profile owner to make their points public in freeCodeCamp privacy settings
3. Verify the username is correct and points to the intended public account

Example fix

// before
/badge/freecodecamp/points/privateuser  // points hidden
// after (choose public user or drop badge)
/badge/freecodecamp/points/publicuser

async function pointsArePublic(username) {
  const res = await fetch(`https://api.freecodecamp.org/api/users/get-public-profile?username=${username}`)
  const json = await res.json()
  const entity = json.entities && json.entities.user && json.entities.user[username]
  return Boolean(entity) && entity.points !== null
}
// only render the badge when points are public

function hasPublicPoints(response, username) {
  const user = response?.entities?.user?.[username]
  return user != null && typeof user.points === 'number'
}

try {
  const points = await getFreeCodeCampPoints(username)
} catch (e) {
  if (e.prettyMessage === 'private') {
    renderPlaceholderBadge('points private')
  } else throw e
}

When it happens

Trigger: Requesting a freeCodeCamp points badge for a username whose profile privacy settings hide their points (points === null in the API response).

Common situations: Badge on the profile of a user who has opted out of public stats; user later enabled privacy mode so a previously working badge starts failing; case-sensitivity issues resolved to a private account.

Related errors

• no public giving stats
• no public receiving stats
• invalid response data from auth endpoint
• unparseable svg response
• unparseable toml response

AI-assisted analysis of badges/shields@766fd8bc89 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e69d5090141d1168. Report an issue: GitHub.