classify errors appropriately

Different types of errors require different handling strategies. Classify errors into categories and apply appropriate response patterns: fail fast for user-actionable problems, retry with backoff for transient issues, and graceful degradation for non-critical failures.

Error Classification Guidelines:

• Client errors (4xx except 429): Fail fast - these indicate user or configuration problems that won’t resolve with retries
• Network/timeout errors: Retry with exponential backoff - these are often transient
• Server errors (5xx) and rate limits (429): Retry with backoff - server may recover
• User-facing functionality: Fail fast so users know when features aren’t working
• Background/telemetry operations: Graceful degradation to avoid disrupting core functionality

Example Implementation:

const shouldRetry = (err) => {
  // Network errors - retry
  if (!err.statusCode) return true;
  
  // Rate limits and server errors - retry  
  if (err.statusCode === 429 || err.statusCode >= 500) return true;
  
  // Client errors - fail fast
  return false;
};

// For user-facing features - fail fast
if (userWantsTelemetry && !telemetryWorking) {
  throw new Error('Telemetry failed - user should know');
}

// For background operations - graceful degradation
try {
  await backgroundTelemetry();
} catch (error) {
  console.debug('Background telemetry failed:', error);
  // Continue execution
}

This approach prevents infinite retry loops on permanent failures while ensuring transient issues are handled gracefully and users are informed when they need to take action.