---

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 implementing error handling, designing APIs, or improving application reliability.

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
• Handling async/concurrent errors
• Building fault-tolerant distributed systems

Core Concepts

1. Error Handling Philosophies

Exceptions vs Result Types:

• Exceptions: Traditional try-catch, disrupts control flow
• Result Types: Explicit success/failure, functional approach
• Error Codes: C-style, requires discipline
• Option/Maybe Types: For nullable values

When to Use Each:

• Exceptions: Unexpected errors, exceptional conditions
• Result Types: Expected errors, validation failures
• Panics/Crashes: Unrecoverable errors, programming bugs

2. Error Categories

Recoverable Errors:

• Network timeouts, Missing files, Invalid user input, API rate limits

Unrecoverable Errors:

• Out of memory, Stack overflow, Programming bugs (null pointer, etc.)

Specialized Resources

This skill is divided into three key areas. Consult the relevant resource:

1. Language-Specific Patterns

Detailed implementation patterns for Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, Rust, and Go. 👉 resources/language-patterns.md

2. Universal Resilience Patterns

Architectural patterns like Circuit Breaker, Error Aggregation, and Graceful Degradation. 👉 resources/universal-patterns.md

3. Best Practices & Pitfalls

General guidelines, things to avoid, and checklist items. 👉 resources/best-practices.md