Error States Operators Understand at a Glance

Published 2026-01-18 by Faraz Rahimi

"Request failed" is not a message. "Could not save this count. It is still on the phone. Try again or find a lead." is a message.

Tags: UX, React, Operations, Internal Tools, unlisted

I write errors as next steps. Network: queued. Unknown SKU: hold shelf path. Duplicate receipt: here is the original. Permission: who to ask.

Red is for stop. Yellow is for queued. I do not use red for "please wait."

Keep the item on screen

If the save fails, do not clear the form. That is how you lose a count of 47 and gain a legend about the app eating work.

Log the code, show the English

The error id can be small. The sentence must be large. I want a lead to screenshot the English into Slack without me translating JSON.

Original post: https://farazrahimi.com/posts/error-states-operators-understand-at-a-glance