> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pinakelai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Service unavailable

> HTTP 503, unavailable. The API cannot answer right now. The condition is temporary.

| | |
| - | - |
| Type | `https://docs.pinakelai.com/errors/unavailable` |
| Status | 503 |
| Retry | Yes, after Retry-After. |

## When it happens

* The service is busy: every database connection is in use, or the request waited too long for one.
* A database statement outside search timed out, or the database is under memory pressure.
* The database could not be reached.
* On retrieve: the record exists but cannot be assembled at the moment, for example while its source document is being replaced.

`Retry-After` is usually a few seconds, and longer under memory pressure.

## What to do

Retry after `Retry-After` seconds, with exponential backoff if it repeats. [`GET /v1/health`](https://docs.pinakelai.com/api-reference/account/health) shows whether the API can reach its data stores.

## Example

```http Headers theme={null}
HTTP/1.1 503 Service Unavailable
Content-Type: application/problem+json
Retry-After: 5
```

```json Body theme={null}
{
  "type": "https://docs.pinakelai.com/errors/unavailable",
  "title": "Service unavailable",
  "status": 503,
  "detail": "The service is busy. Retry shortly.",
  "request_id": "req_01M7Q40VWXYZ0123456789ABCD"
}
```

See the [errors catalogue](https://docs.pinakelai.com/api-reference/errors.md) for every error type, and [Handling errors](https://docs.pinakelai.com/guides/errors.md) for retry strategy.


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