Troubleshoot Job Sync API errors

Common Job Sync API errors and how to fix them.

 

How to detect errors

The Job Sync API returns errors in these ways:

• HTTP status codes: Only for rate limiting (HTTP 429) and network failures.
• GraphQL errors array: Most errors return HTTP 200, with error details in the response body.

Always check the errors array in the response body, even when the status is HTTP 200:

{
  "data": null,
  "errors": [{
    "message": "Error description",
    "extensions": {
      "code": "BAD_USER_INPUT",
      "classification": "ValidationError"
    }
  }]
}

The extensions.code field gives the error type, such as FORBIDDEN, BAD_USER_INPUT, GRAPHQL_PARSE_FAILED, or SUBREQUEST_HTTP_ERROR.

FORBIDDEN error

FORBIDDEN error

message	Client is not authorized
code	FORBIDDEN
Summary	The access token is missing, invalid, expired, or lacks the required permissions.

A FORBIDDEN error with the Client is not authorized message means your OAuth client isn't authorized to use the Job Sync API:

{
  "data": null,
  "errors": [{
    "extensions": {
      "code": "FORBIDDEN"
    },
    "message": "Client is not authorized."
  }]
}

To fix this error:

1. 1.
   Check the Authorization header format: Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN>.
2. 2.
   Confirm that the token hasn't expired. Tokens are valid for 1 hour.
3. 3.
   Confirm that your OAuth application has Job Sync API permissions.
4. 4.
   Confirm that sourceName matches your registered feed.
5. 5.
   If the error continues, ask your Indeed representative to check your API access.

BAD_USER_INPUT error

BAD_USER_INPUT error

message	Exception while fetching data
code	BAD_USER_INPUT
Summary	The request contains invalid data.

This BAD_USER_INPUT example has an invalid phone number:

{
  "errors": [{
    "extensions": {
      "code": "BAD_USER_INPUT",
      "classification": "ValidationError"
    },
    "message": "Validation error (WrongType@[jobsIngest/createSourcedJobPostings]) : argument 'input.jobPostings[0].metadata.contacts[0].contactInfo.contactPhone' with value 'StringValue{value='5551234567'}' is not a valid 'PhoneNumber' - String value `5551234567` is not a valid E.164 phone number"
  }]
}

Common causes of BAD_USER_INPUT errors:

Missing required fields

The error message names the missing field. Required fields include:

Missing required fields error

Section	Required fields
body	title, description, benefits (can be empty array), location.country
metadata	jobPostingId, jobSource.sourceName, datePublished, contacts (at least one)

Invalid datetime

DateTime values must use RFC 3339 (opens in a new window) format and include a time zone:

Invalid datetime

Format	Valid?
2024-01-15T10:30:00-05:00	Yes
2024-01-15T15:30:00Z	Yes
2024-01-15	No (missing time)
01/15/2024 10:30	No (wrong format)

Invalid country code

Country codes must use ISO-3166-1 alpha-2 (opens in a new window) format (2 uppercase letters):

Invalid country code

Format	Valid?
US	Yes
USA	No (use 2-letter code)
us	No (must be uppercase)

Invalid currency code

Currency codes must use ISO-4217 format (3 uppercase letters):

Invalid currency code

Format	Valid?
USD	Yes
$	No (use ISO code)
usd	No (must be uppercase)

Invalid phone number

Phone numbers must use E.164 (opens in a new window) format:

Invalid phone number

Format	Valid?
+15125551234	Yes
512-555-1234	No (missing country code; remove dashes)
(512) 555-1234	No (remove formatting characters)

String length exceeded

String length exceeded

Field	Maximum length
title	255 characters
description	65,000 bytes
seatPostingId	250 characters
sourceName	250 characters

GRAPHQL_PARSE_FAILED error

GRAPHQL_PARSE_FAILED error

message	Syntax Error: Invalid number, expected digit but got: "a".
code	GRAPHQL_PARSE_FAILED
Summary	The query or mutation has a syntax error. This error often comes from quotes or backslashes in string values that are not escaped.

Example:

{
  "errors": [{
    "message": "Syntax Error: Invalid number, expected digit but got: \"a\".",
    "locations": [{
      "line": 7,
      "column": 33
    }],
    "extensions": {
      "code": "GRAPHQL_PARSE_FAILED"
    }
  }]
}

Common causes:

• Unescaped special characters, such as quotes or backslashes, in string values
• Malformed GraphQL syntax
• Invalid JSON in variables

With descriptionFormatting: RICH_FORMATTING, the description field accepts raw HTML, so you don't need to escape HTML tags.

HTTP 429 Too Many Requests

You exceeded your rate limit. This is one of the few errors that returns a status code other than HTTP 200.

To fix this error:

• Before you retry, wait the number of seconds in the Retry-After response header.
• Spread requests over time instead of sending large batches.
• Send one job per request, in real time, instead of in hourly batches.

Feed type errors

All jobs on this feed must have seats

Your feed is a multiseat feed, but the job has no seats.

Add a seats array with at least one seat:

body: {
  title: "Software Engineer"
  location: {
    country: "US"
  }
  seats: [{
    seatPostingId: "SEAT-001"
    seatLocation: {
      country: "US"
      cityRegionPostal: "Dallas, TX 75201"
    }
  }]
}

No jobs on this feed may have seats

Your feed is a standard feed, but the job includes seats.

Remove the seats array, and set the location at the job level:

body: {
  title: "Software Engineer"
  location: {
    country: "US"
    cityRegionPostal: "Austin, TX 78701"
    streetAddress: "100 Congress Ave"
  }
}

If you're not sure which feed type you have, submit a job without seats first.

Contact validation errors

No contacts found with type "contact"

No contact in the request has "contact" in contactType.

Include exactly one contact with "contact" in its contactType array:

contacts: [{
  contactType: ["contact", "hiring manager"]
  contactInfo: {
    email: "hr@example.com"
  }
}]

Multiple contacts with type "contact" found

More than one contact has contact in its contactType array. Only one contact can have this type. For other contacts, use types such as recruiter or hiring manager.

Salary validation errors

Maximum amount cannot be less than minimum amount

maximumMinor is less than minimumMinor.

Set maximumMinor to a value greater than or equal to minimumMinor. For a minimum-only salary, omit maximumMinor:

salary: {
  currency: "USD"
  minimumMinor: 5000000 # $50000
  maximumMinor: 7500000 # $75000
  period: "YEAR"
}

Salary values use minor currency units, such as cents for USD. For example, $50,000 is 5000000, not 50000.

Duplicate entry errors

The request contains duplicate job entries

The same sourceName and jobPostingId pair appears more than once in the request. Each job needs a unique pair.

The request contains duplicate seat entries

The same sourceName and seatPostingId pair appears more than once in the request. Each seat in the request needs a unique sourceName and seatPostingId pair.

Multiseat validation errors

All seats must be located in the same country

A seat location uses a different country from the job's top-level location.

Every seat must use the same country code as the top-level location:

body: {
  location: {
    country: "US"
  }
  seats: [{
    seatPostingId: "SEAT-001"
    seatLocation: {
      country: "US"
      # Must match top - level
      cityRegionPostal: "Dallas, TX 75201"
    }
  }, {
    seatPostingId: "SEAT-002"
    seatLocation: {
      country: "US"
      # Must match top - level
      cityRegionPostal: "Austin, TX 78701"
    }
  }]
}

Location validation errors

cityRegionPostal cannot be null when remote type is not "Fully Remote"

Jobs that aren't fully remote require cityRegionPostal.

Provide cityRegionPostal, or set the job as fully remote:

# Option 1: Provide location
location: {
  country: "US"
  cityRegionPostal: "Austin, TX 78701"
}
# Option 2: Set as fully remote
location: {
  country: "US"
}
taxonomyClassification: {
  remoteType: "Fully Remote"
}

---

Job lifecycle issues

Created job does not appear on Indeed

Possible causes:

• The job is still processing, which can take 1 to 2 hours.
• Indeed rejected the job during processing.
• The sourceName is incorrect.

To fix this issue:

1. 1.
   Wait 1 to 2 hours for jobs to become searchable.
2. 2.
   Query the job status by employerJobId.
3. 3.
   Check the lifecycleStatus and isRejected fields.
4. 4.
   Verify that sourceName matches your registered feed.

Job won't reactivate

You can reactivate a job only within 30 days of expiration.

• Within 30 days: Call createSourcedJobPostings with the original jobPostingId and sourceName, and update datePublished.

• After 30 days: Create the job as a new posting. Indeed might assign a new sourcedPostingId.

Jobs don't auto-expire

Jobs don't expire automatically. To expire a job, call expireSourcedJobsBySourcedPostingId.

---

Retry strategy

The Job Sync API uses an upsert pattern, so retries are safe. If you submit a job with the same sourceName and jobPostingId, Indeed updates the job instead of creating a duplicate.

Retryable errors

Retryable errors

Error	Retryable?	Strategy
HTTP 429 Too Many Requests	Yes	Wait the time in the Retry-After header
Network timeout	Yes	Exponential backoff
Connection refused	Yes	Exponential backoff
FORBIDDEN (expired token)	Yes	Refresh token, then retry once
BAD_USER_INPUT	No	Fix the request
GRAPHQL_PARSE_FAILED	No	Fix the query syntax

Best practices

• Use exponential backoff with jitter for retries.
• Start with a 1-second delay and double it on each retry.
• Add 0 to 1 second of random jitter so that clients don't all retry at the same time.
• Limit retries to 3 to 5 attempts.

---

Get support

If this guide doesn't cover your issue:

1. 1.
   Read the GraphQL error message and extensions object.
2. 2.
   Confirm that all required fields are present and correctly formatted.
3. 3.
   Test with the minimum input, then add fields one at a time.
4. 4.
   Contact your Indeed representative for feed-specific issues.

See also

Guides

• Troubleshoot GraphQL errors
• Troubleshoot OAuth errors
• Rate limiting

Specifications

• RFC 3339: Date and Time on the Internet: Timestamps (opens in a new window) — The DateTime format.
• ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 (opens in a new window) — Two-letter country codes.
• E.164 (opens in a new window) — The international phone number format.

GraphQL API reference

• createSourcedJobPostings — Submits a job posting to Indeed.
• expireSourcedJobsBySourcedPostingId — Expires a job posting by sourcedPostingId.

 

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