maintainx-common-errors

What this skill does

# MaintainX Common Errors

## Overview

Quick reference for diagnosing and resolving common MaintainX API errors with concrete solutions and diagnostic commands.

## Prerequisites

- `MAINTAINX_API_KEY` environment variable configured
- `curl` and `jq` available
- Access to application logs

## Instructions

### Step 1: Diagnostic Quick Check

Run this first to validate connectivity and auth:

```bash
# Test 1: Verify API key is valid
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
  https://api.getmaintainx.com/v1/users?limit=1 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAINTAINX_API_KEY"
# Expected: 200

# Test 2: Check API key is set
echo "Key length: ${#MAINTAINX_API_KEY}"
# Should be > 0

# Test 3: Verify DNS resolution
nslookup api.getmaintainx.com
# Should resolve to an IP
```

### Step 2: Identify the Error

## Error Handling

### 400 Bad Request

**Cause**: Invalid request body, missing required fields, or malformed JSON.

```bash
# Diagnose: Send a minimal valid request
curl -X POST https://api.getmaintainx.com/v1/workorders \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAINTAINX_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "Diagnostic test order"}' -v 2>&1 | tail -5
```

**Common fixes**:

- Work orders require at minimum a `title` field
- Priority must be one of: `NONE`, `LOW`, `MEDIUM`, `HIGH`
- Status must be one of: `OPEN`, `IN_PROGRESS`, `ON_HOLD`, `COMPLETED`, `CLOSED`
- Dates must be ISO 8601 format: `2026-03-19T12:00:00Z`

### 401 Unauthorized

**Cause**: Missing, invalid, or expired API key.

```typescript
// Diagnostic wrapper
async function diagAuth() {
  try {
    const res = await fetch('https://api.getmaintainx.com/v1/users?limit=1', {
      headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.MAINTAINX_API_KEY}` },
    });
    if (res.status === 401) {
      console.error('API key is invalid or expired.');
      console.error('Generate a new key: MaintainX > Settings > Integrations > New Key');
    } else {
      console.log('Auth OK - status:', res.status);
    }
  } catch (e) {
    console.error('Network error:', e);
  }
}
```

**Fixes**:

- Regenerate key in MaintainX: Settings > Integrations > Generate Key
- Check for whitespace: `echo "'$MAINTAINX_API_KEY'" | cat -A`
- Ensure `Bearer` prefix (not `Basic` or `Token`)

### 403 Forbidden

**Cause**: Valid key but insufficient permissions or wrong plan tier.

**Fixes**:

- Verify your plan supports API access (Professional or Enterprise)
- Check user role has permission for the requested operation
- For org-specific endpoints, include `X-Organization-Id` header

### 404 Not Found

**Cause**: Resource ID does not exist or wrong endpoint path.

```bash
# Verify a resource exists before referencing it
curl -s "https://api.getmaintainx.com/v1/workorders/99999" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAINTAINX_API_KEY" | jq '.message // .title'
```

**Fixes**:

- Confirm the ID exists (GET the resource first)
- Use `api.getmaintainx.com/v1` (not `/v2` or missing version)
- Check for typos in endpoint path (`/workorders` not `/work-orders`)

### 422 Unprocessable Entity

**Cause**: Request is syntactically valid but semantically incorrect.

**Common triggers**:

- Invalid status transition (e.g., `CLOSED` to `IN_PROGRESS`)
- Referencing a non-existent `assetId` or `locationId`
- Invalid enum values for priority or category fields

### 429 Too Many Requests

**Cause**: Rate limit exceeded.

```typescript
// Auto-retry on 429
async function safeRequest(fn: () => Promise<any>, retries = 3) {
  for (let i = 0; i <= retries; i++) {
    try {
      return await fn();
    } catch (err: any) {
      if (err?.response?.status === 429 && i < retries) {
        const wait = parseInt(err.response.headers['retry-after'] || '5') * 1000;
        console.warn(`Rate limited. Waiting ${wait}ms...`);
        await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, wait));
      } else {
        throw err;
      }
    }
  }
}
```

**Fixes**:

- Honor the `Retry-After` response header
- Implement exponential backoff (see `maintainx-rate-limits`)
- Reduce polling frequency; use webhooks instead

### 500 Internal Server Error

**Cause**: MaintainX server-side issue.

**Fixes**:

- Check [MaintainX Status Page](https://status.getmaintainx.com)
- Retry with exponential backoff (transient errors resolve themselves)
- If persistent, contact MaintainX support with request details

## Output

- Identified error root cause from HTTP status code and response body
- Applied the appropriate fix from the reference above
- Verified resolution with the diagnostic quick check commands

## Resources

- MaintainX API Reference
- [MaintainX Status Page](https://status.getmaintainx.com)
- [MaintainX Help Center](https://help.getmaintainx.com)

## Next Steps

For comprehensive debugging, see `maintainx-debug-bundle`.

## Examples

**Full diagnostic script**:

```bash
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== MaintainX API Diagnostics ==="
echo "Key set: $([ -n "$MAINTAINX_API_KEY" ] && echo 'YES' || echo 'NO')"
echo "Key length: ${#MAINTAINX_API_KEY}"

STATUS=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
  https://api.getmaintainx.com/v1/users?limit=1 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAINTAINX_API_KEY")
echo "Auth status: $STATUS"

if [ "$STATUS" = "200" ]; then
  WO_COUNT=$(curl -s "https://api.getmaintainx.com/v1/workorders?limit=1" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAINTAINX_API_KEY" | jq '.workOrders | length')
  echo "Work orders accessible: $WO_COUNT"
fi
```