HTTP 5xx status code
500 Internal Server Error
500 Internal Server Error is the server’s way of admitting that something went wrong on its side without saying what. It sits in the 5xx range, which covers server errors, and it is the most generic of them all. The request may have been perfectly valid; the server simply failed to handle it.
The vagueness is deliberate. A 500 is returned when an unexpected problem stops the server completing the request, and it does not reveal the cause, partly because doing so could leak sensitive detail to an attacker. For a visitor that makes it frustrating, because there is nothing to fix at their end. Reloading after a short wait sometimes helps, if the problem was temporary, but often the only option is to try again later.
For whoever runs the server, the real information is in the logs. Behind every generic 500 is a specific error recorded server-side, and that is where debugging starts. The usual culprits are a bug in the application code, a database that is down or unreachable, a bad configuration, or the machine running out of memory. Fixing the underlying fault is what clears the 500, since the code itself is only the symptom.
Frequently asked
What does a 500 internal server error mean?
It means the server hit an unexpected problem and could not complete the request. It is a catch-all for server-side failures, so it deliberately does not say what went wrong. The request itself was usually fine.
Is a 500 error my fault?
Almost never, if you are a visitor. A 500 is a problem on the server, not with your browser or request. The best you can do is reload after a moment or come back later. Fixing it is the site owner's job.
How does a site owner fix a 500 error?
Check the server logs, which record the real error behind the generic 500. Common causes are a bug in the application code, a broken database connection, a misconfiguration, or the server running out of memory.