<!--
title: Never swallow errors silently
domain: ai-agents
topic: Error Handling
language: TypeScript
source: n8n-io/n8n
updated: 2025-07-18
url: https://awesomereviewers.com/reviewers/n8n-never-swallow-errors-silently/
-->

Always handle errors explicitly and preserve their context. Never silently catch and discard errors as this hides bugs and makes debugging difficult. When re-throwing errors, include the original error as the cause to maintain the stack trace. In UI components, convert errors to user-friendly messages while logging technical details at appropriate levels.

Example of proper error handling:

```typescript
// ❌ Bad - Silently swallowing error
try {
  await apiRequest();
} catch {
  // Error silently ignored
}

// ❌ Bad - Losing error context
try {
  await apiRequest(); 
} catch (error) {
  throw new Error('API request failed');
}

// ✅ Good - Preserving context and handling appropriately
try {
  await apiRequest();
} catch (error) {
  // Log technical details
  logger.error('API request failed', error);
  
  // In UI: Show user-friendly message
  toast.showError(
    new Error('Unable to complete request', { cause: error }),
    'Action failed'
  );
  
  // In services: Re-throw with context
  throw new OperationalError(
    'API request failed',
    { cause: error }
  );
}
```