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Diagnosing Errors - Provider vs Gateway

Having trouble diagnosing if an error is from the LLM Provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) or from the LiteLLM AI Gateway itself? Here's how to tell.

Quick Rule​

If the error contains <Provider>Exception, it's from the provider.

Error ContainsError Source
AnthropicExceptionAnthropic
OpenAIExceptionOpenAI
AzureExceptionAzure
BedrockExceptionAWS Bedrock
VertexAIExceptionGoogle Vertex AI
No provider nameLiteLLM AI Gateway

Examples​

Provider Error (from AWS Bedrock)​

{
  "error": {
    "message": "litellm.BadRequestError: BedrockException - {\"message\":\"The model returned the following errors: messages.1.content.0.type: Expected `thinking` or `redacted_thinking`, but found `text`.\"}",
    "type": "invalid_request_error",
    "param": null,
    "code": "400"
  }
}

This error is from AWS Bedrock (notice BedrockException). The Bedrock API is rejecting the request due to invalid message format - this is not a LiteLLM issue.

Provider Error (from OpenAI)​

{
  "error": {
    "message": "litellm.AuthenticationError: OpenAIException - Incorrect API key provided: <my-key>. You can find your API key at https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys.",
    "type": "invalid_request_error",
    "param": null,
    "code": "invalid_api_key"
  }
}

This error is from OpenAI (notice OpenAIException). The OpenAI API key configured in LiteLLM is invalid.

Provider Error (from Anthropic)​

{
  "error": {
    "message": "litellm.InternalServerError: AnthropicException - Overloaded. Handle with `litellm.InternalServerError`.",
    "type": "internal_server_error",
    "param": null,
    "code": "500"
  }
}

This error is from Anthropic (notice AnthropicException). The Anthropic API is overloaded - this is not a LiteLLM issue.

Gateway Error (from LiteLLM)​

{
  "error": {
    "message": "Invalid API Key. Please check your LiteLLM API key.",
    "type": "auth_error",
    "param": null,
    "code": "401"
  }
}

This error is from the LiteLLM AI Gateway (no provider name). Your LiteLLM virtual key is invalid.

What to do?​

Error SourceAction
Provider ErrorCheck the provider's status page, adjust rate limits, or retry later
Gateway ErrorCheck your LiteLLM configuration, API keys, or open an issue

See Also​