Master error handling patterns across languages including exceptions, Result types, error propagation, and graceful degradation to build resilient applications. Use when adding try/catch blocks, handling async errors, fixing silent failures, or designing fallback strategies. Triggers on: unhandled exception, error boundary, async error, retry logic, fallback, graceful degradation, API error response, catch block, error state.
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---
name: error-handling-patterns
description: Master error handling patterns across languages including exceptions, Result types, error propagation, and graceful degradation to build resilient applications. Use when adding try/catch blocks, handling async errors, fixing silent failures, or designing fallback strategies. Triggers on: unhandled exception, error boundary, async error, retry logic, fallback, graceful degradation, API error response, catch block, error state.
---
# Error Handling Patterns
Build resilient applications with robust error handling strategies that gracefully handle failures and provide excellent debugging experiences.
## When to use this skill
- Implementing error handling in new features.
- Designing error-resilient APIs.
- Debugging production issues.
- Improving application reliability.
- Creating better error messages for users and developers.
- Implementing retry and circuit breaker patterns.
## Workflow
1. **Identify Error Category**: Determine if the error is recoverable (timeouts, invalid input) or unrecoverable (OOM, bugs).
2. **Select Philosophy**: Choose between Exceptions, Result Types, or Error Codes based on the language and context.
3. **Apply Patterns**: Implement the appropriate pattern (Circuit Breaker, Aggregation, Graceful Degradation).
4. **Validate Implementation**: Ensure resources are cleaned up (try-finally) and context is preserved.
## Instructions
### Language-Specific Patterns
#### Python
- Use custom exception hierarchies for domain errors.
- Implement retries with exponential backoff for network operations.
- Use context managers (`@contextmanager`) for resource cleanup.
#### TypeScript/JavaScript
- Use custom classes extending `Error` for typed errors.
- Use the **Result Type Pattern** (`{ ok: true, value: T } | { ok: false, error: E }`) for explicit handling.
- Always handle async errors (try-catch in async/await).
#### Go/Rust
- Follow idiomatic patterns (explicit error returns in Go, `Result`/`Option` in Rust).
### Universal Patterns
- **Circuit Breaker**: Prevent cascading failures.
- **Error Aggregation**: Collect multiple errors before failing.
- **Graceful Degradation**: Provide fallbacks for non-critical failures.
## Resources
- `references/exception-hierarchy-design.md`
- `references/error-recovery-strategies.md`
- `references/async-error-handling.md`
