sindresorhus/got · error · Error

Failed to parse Link header: ${link}

Error message

Failed to parse Link header: ${link}

What it means

parse-link-header.ts:89: each `;`-separated link parameter must be a `name=value` pair. If a parameter has no `=` (e.g. `</p>; relnext` or `</p>; rel`), `indexOf('=')` returns -1 and Got throws with the full original `link` header in the message for context.

Source

Thrown at source/core/parse-link-header.ts:89

		}

		const reference = trimmedUriReference.slice(1, -1);
		const parameters: Record<string, string> = {};

		if (reference.includes('<') || reference.includes('>')) {
			throw new Error(`Invalid format of the Link header reference: ${trimmedUriReference}`);
		}

		if (rawLinkParameters.length === 0) {
			throw new Error(`Unexpected end of Link header parameters: ${rawLinkParameters.join(';')}`);
		}

		for (const rawParameter of rawLinkParameters) {
			const trimmedRawParameter = rawParameter.trim();
			const center = trimmedRawParameter.indexOf('=');

			if (center === -1) {
				throw new Error(`Failed to parse Link header: ${link}`);
			}

			const name = trimmedRawParameter.slice(0, center).trim();
			const value = trimmedRawParameter.slice(center + 1).trim();

			parameters[name] = value;
		}

		parsed.push({
			reference,
			parameters,
		});
	}

	return parsed;
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e3924aa1e5)

Solutions

1. Ensure every parameter after the reference is `name=value` (quoted value if it contains special chars).
2. Inspect the raw header and fix the malformed parameter on the server.
3. If the upstream cannot be fixed, disable link-based pagination for that endpoint.
4. Add a server-side unit test that round-trips the Link header through an RFC 8288 parser.

Example fix

// before: upstream sends  Link: </p2>; rel="next"; bogus

// after: upstream sends   Link: </p2>; rel="next"; title="bogus"

function paramsHaveEquals(item) {
  return item.split(';').slice(1).every(p => p.includes('='));
}
const ok = (response.headers.link ?? '').split(',').every(paramsHaveEquals);

const linkParamsWellFormed = (s: string): boolean =>
  s.split(';').slice(1).every(p => p.trim().includes('='));

When it happens

Trigger: A `Link` header like `</page2>; rel="next"; bogus` (last parameter has no `=`), or `</page2>; next` (bare token). Distinct from 47–49 (which validate structure of the reference); this validates parameter syntax.

Common situations: A server concatenating parameters with malformed separators; an extension parameter written as a bare token instead of `name=value`; hand-built test fixtures with typos; an upstream that appends a flag-like parameter.

Related errors

• Invalid format of the Link header reference: ${trimmedUriRef
• Unexpected end of Link header parameters: ${rawLinkParameter
• Failed to parse Link header: ${value}
• `url` protocol must be followed by `//`

AI-assisted analysis of sindresorhus/got@e3924aa1e5 (2026-08-03). Data as JSON: /data/errors/2f7c7f6f99a2e233.json. Report an issue: GitHub.