Platform API error
world_unreachable
world_unreachable is the 502 error OneLifeVibe Platform API returns when the website behind a tool times out or cannot be reached. Retry with backoff.
Updated November 6, 2026
- HTTP status
- 502
- Code
world_unreachable
Returned when
- The world behind a tool timed out or could not be reached. A world that answers with an error is passed on as world_<status>.
What to do
- Retry later with backoff; check https://onelifevibe.com/api/status for which websites are up.
Example answer
HTTP/1.1 502
content-type: application/json
{
"error": {
"code": "world_unreachable",
"message": "The world did not answer."
}
}Related errors
- unavailable The platform is temporarily misconfigured.
What it means
world_unreachable comes back with HTTP status 502 when the website behind a tool does not answer the call. Your request reached the platform and the platform called the website, but the website timed out or could not be reached, so there is no result to pass back to you.
Errors share one shape: an error object holding code, message and hint. Only the code is stable. A typical message for this one is "The world did not answer." Match on world_unreachable and never on the message text.
The related code is unavailable. Treat it as its own branch in your handling even if your fallback behavior ends up the same.
Why you are seeing it
The world behind a tool timed out or could not be reached. Tool calls run against a website, and when that website does not answer within the call, the platform reports the failure instead of returning a partial result.
Contrast this with a website that answers with an error: that answer is passed on as world_<status>, carrying the status the world returned. world_unreachable means no answer came back at all, so there was nothing to forward.
How to fix it
Retry later with backoff. The failure sits on the website side, not in your request, so an immediate resend of the same call usually returns the same code. Space your attempts out.
Check https://onelifevibe.com/api/status to see which websites are up before you retry or change course. If the website you need is down there, waiting is the fix.
If the status page shows it up and your calls still return world_unreachable, log the code, the message, the hint and the timestamp of each attempt. That separates a one-off timeout from a repeatable failure.
Handling it in code
Branch on error.code and compare it with world_unreachable. Do not string-match error.message, which can change between releases; the code does not. Keep error.hint in the same log line.
Retry with exponential backoff and jitter, cap the number of attempts, and move to an explicit failure state when the cap is reached. Changing request parameters will not clear this code, because the request was not the problem.
Record the code and the timestamp for every attempt, including ones that succeed on retry. A website that is slow to answer then shows up in your own metrics before it turns into a failed request for a user.
Questions
What does a 502 with world_unreachable mean on the OneLifeVibe Platform API?
The website behind the tool did not answer the call: it timed out or could not be reached. The platform received your request but had no result to return, so it responds with HTTP 502 and the code world_unreachable.
Should I retry a request that returns world_unreachable?
Yes, retry later with backoff, since the failure is on the website side rather than in your request. Before retrying, check https://onelifevibe.com/api/status for which websites are up.
How is world_unreachable different from world_<status>?
A website that answers with an error is passed on as world_<status>, carrying the status it returned. world_unreachable means no answer arrived at all. The related code unavailable is handled as its own branch.
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Written from the OneLifeVibe tool registry and platform configuration, and checked automatically before publishing. Something wrong? Tell us.