What HTTP 418 means
Defined in RFC 2324, the Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol (1998). It is not a real HTTP status, but it has been preserved as “unused” so nobody assigns 418 to something else. Some services use it jokingly, or to answer requests they want to refuse without explanation.
Retrying
No. Fix the request first; sending it again unchanged will get the same response.
Example response
HTTP/1.1 418 I'm a Teapot
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2026 10:30:00 GMT
Content-Type: application/jsonHow to return 418
res.status(418).json({ error: 'I\'m a Teapot' });from fastapi import HTTPException
raise HTTPException(status_code=418, detail="I'm a Teapot")http.Error(w, http.StatusText(http.StatusTeapot), http.StatusTeapot)location /private/ {
return 418;
}Related status codes
- 400 Bad Request : The server can’t process the request because it is malformed.
- 403 Forbidden : The server understood the request but refuses to authorize it.
Other 4xx status codes
400 Bad Request · 401 Unauthorized · 402 Payment Required · 403 Forbidden · 404 Not Found · 405 Method Not Allowed · 406 Not Acceptable · 407 Proxy Authentication Required · 408 Request Timeout · 409 Conflict · 410 Gone · 411 Length Required · 412 Precondition Failed · 413 Content Too Large · 414 URI Too Long · 415 Unsupported Media Type · 416 Range Not Satisfiable · 417 Expectation Failed · 421 Misdirected Request · 422 Unprocessable Content · 423 Locked · 424 Failed Dependency · 425 Too Early · 426 Upgrade Required · 428 Precondition Required · 429 Too Many Requests · 431 Request Header Fields Too Large · 444 No Response · 451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons · 499 Client Closed Request
See the full list of HTTP status codes.
Sources
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Frequently asked questions
What does HTTP 418 I’m a Teapot mean?
HTTP 418 I’m a Teapot is an April Fools’ joke: the server refuses to brew coffee because it is a teapot. Defined in RFC 2324, the Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol (1998). It is not a real HTTP status, but it has been preserved as “unused” so nobody assigns 418 to something else. Some services use it jokingly, or to answer requests they want to refuse without explanation.