Error Handling Hook

The onErrorOccurred hook is called when errors occur during session execution. Use it to:

• Implement custom error logging
• Track error patterns
• Provide user-friendly error messages
• Trigger alerts for critical errors

Hook Signature

type ErrorOccurredHandler = (
  input: ErrorOccurredHookInput,
  invocation: HookInvocation
) => Promise<ErrorOccurredHookOutput | null | undefined>;

ErrorOccurredHandler = Callable[
    [ErrorOccurredHookInput, HookInvocation],
    Awaitable[ErrorOccurredHookOutput | None]
]

type ErrorOccurredHandler func(
    input ErrorOccurredHookInput,
    invocation HookInvocation,
) (*ErrorOccurredHookOutput, error)

public delegate Task<ErrorOccurredHookOutput?> ErrorOccurredHandler(
    ErrorOccurredHookInput input,
    HookInvocation invocation);

Input

Output

Return null or undefined to use default error handling. Otherwise, return an object with:

Examples

Basic Error Logging

const session = await client.createSession({
  hooks: {
    onErrorOccurred: async (input, invocation) => {
      console.error(`[${invocation.sessionId}] Error: ${input.error}`);
      console.error(`  Context: ${input.errorContext}`);
      console.error(`  Recoverable: ${input.recoverable}`);
      return null;
    },
  },
});

async def on_error_occurred(input_data, invocation):
    print(f"[{invocation['session_id']}] Error: {input_data['error']}")
    print(f"  Context: {input_data['errorContext']}")
    print(f"  Recoverable: {input_data['recoverable']}")
    return None

session = await client.create_session({
    "hooks": {"on_error_occurred": on_error_occurred}
})

session, _ := client.CreateSession(context.Background(), &copilot.SessionConfig{
    Hooks: &copilot.SessionHooks{
        OnErrorOccurred: func(input copilot.ErrorOccurredHookInput, inv copilot.HookInvocation) (*copilot.ErrorOccurredHookOutput, error) {
            fmt.Printf("[%s] Error: %s\n", inv.SessionID, input.Error)
            fmt.Printf("  Context: %s\n", input.ErrorContext)
            fmt.Printf("  Recoverable: %v\n", input.Recoverable)
            return nil, nil
        },
    },
})

var session = await client.CreateSessionAsync(new SessionConfig
{
    Hooks = new SessionHooks
    {
        OnErrorOccurred = (input, invocation) =>
        {
            Console.Error.WriteLine($"[{invocation.SessionId}] Error: {input.Error}");
            Console.Error.WriteLine($"  Context: {input.ErrorContext}");
            Console.Error.WriteLine($"  Recoverable: {input.Recoverable}");
            return Task.FromResult<ErrorOccurredHookOutput?>(null);
        },
    },
});

Send Errors to Monitoring Service

import { captureException } from "@sentry/node"; // or your monitoring service

const session = await client.createSession({
  hooks: {
    onErrorOccurred: async (input, invocation) => {
      captureException(new Error(input.error), {
        tags: {
          sessionId: invocation.sessionId,
          errorContext: input.errorContext,
        },
        extra: {
          error: input.error,
          recoverable: input.recoverable,
          cwd: input.cwd,
        },
      });
      
      return null;
    },
  },
});

User-Friendly Error Messages

const ERROR_MESSAGES: Record<string, string> = {
  "model_call": "There was an issue communicating with the AI model. Please try again.",
  "tool_execution": "A tool failed to execute. Please check your inputs and try again.",
  "system": "A system error occurred. Please try again later.",
  "user_input": "There was an issue with your input. Please check and try again.",
};

const session = await client.createSession({
  hooks: {
    onErrorOccurred: async (input) => {
      const friendlyMessage = ERROR_MESSAGES[input.errorContext];
      
      if (friendlyMessage) {
        return {
          userNotification: friendlyMessage,
        };
      }
      
      return null;
    },
  },
});

Suppress Non-Critical Errors

const session = await client.createSession({
  hooks: {
    onErrorOccurred: async (input) => {
      // Suppress tool execution errors that are recoverable
      if (input.errorContext === "tool_execution" && input.recoverable) {
        console.log(`Suppressed recoverable error: ${input.error}`);
        return { suppressOutput: true };
      }
      return null;
    },
  },
});

Add Recovery Context

const session = await client.createSession({
  hooks: {
    onErrorOccurred: async (input) => {
      if (input.errorContext === "tool_execution") {
        return {
          userNotification: `
The tool failed. Here are some recovery suggestions:
- Check if required dependencies are installed
- Verify file paths are correct
- Try a simpler approach
          `.trim(),
        };
      }
      
      if (input.errorContext === "model_call" && input.error.includes("rate")) {
        return {
          errorHandling: "retry",
          retryCount: 3,
          userNotification: "Rate limit hit. Retrying...",
        };
      }
      
      return null;
    },
  },
});

Track Error Patterns

interface ErrorStats {
  count: number;
  lastOccurred: number;
  contexts: string[];
}

const errorStats = new Map<string, ErrorStats>();

const session = await client.createSession({
  hooks: {
    onErrorOccurred: async (input, invocation) => {
      const key = `${input.errorContext}:${input.error.substring(0, 50)}`;
      
      const existing = errorStats.get(key) || {
        count: 0,
        lastOccurred: 0,
        contexts: [],
      };
      
      existing.count++;
      existing.lastOccurred = input.timestamp;
      existing.contexts.push(invocation.sessionId);
      
      errorStats.set(key, existing);
      
      // Alert if error is recurring
      if (existing.count >= 5) {
        console.warn(`Recurring error detected: ${key} (${existing.count} times)`);
      }
      
      return null;
    },
  },
});

Alert on Critical Errors

const CRITICAL_CONTEXTS = ["system", "model_call"];

const session = await client.createSession({
  hooks: {
    onErrorOccurred: async (input, invocation) => {
      if (CRITICAL_CONTEXTS.includes(input.errorContext) && !input.recoverable) {
        await sendAlert({
          level: "critical",
          message: `Critical error in session ${invocation.sessionId}`,
          error: input.error,
          context: input.errorContext,
          timestamp: new Date(input.timestamp).toISOString(),
        });
      }
      
      return null;
    },
  },
});

Combine with Other Hooks for Context

const sessionContext = new Map<string, { lastTool?: string; lastPrompt?: string }>();

const session = await client.createSession({
  hooks: {
    onPreToolUse: async (input, invocation) => {
      const ctx = sessionContext.get(invocation.sessionId) || {};
      ctx.lastTool = input.toolName;
      sessionContext.set(invocation.sessionId, ctx);
      return { permissionDecision: "allow" };
    },
    
    onUserPromptSubmitted: async (input, invocation) => {
      const ctx = sessionContext.get(invocation.sessionId) || {};
      ctx.lastPrompt = input.prompt.substring(0, 100);
      sessionContext.set(invocation.sessionId, ctx);
      return null;
    },
    
    onErrorOccurred: async (input, invocation) => {
      const ctx = sessionContext.get(invocation.sessionId);
      
      console.error(`Error in session ${invocation.sessionId}:`);
      console.error(`  Error: ${input.error}`);
      console.error(`  Context: ${input.errorContext}`);
      if (ctx?.lastTool) {
        console.error(`  Last tool: ${ctx.lastTool}`);
      }
      if (ctx?.lastPrompt) {
        console.error(`  Last prompt: ${ctx.lastPrompt}...`);
      }
      
      return null;
    },
  },
});

Best Practices

1. Always log errors - Even if you suppress them from users, keep logs for debugging.

2. Categorize errors - Use errorType to handle different errors appropriately.

3. Don't swallow critical errors - Only suppress errors you're certain are non-critical.

4. Keep hooks fast - Error handling shouldn't slow down recovery.

5. Provide helpful context - When errors occur, additionalContext can help the model recover.

6. Monitor error patterns - Track recurring errors to identify systemic issues.

See Also

• Hooks Overview
• Session Lifecycle Hooks
• Debugging Guide