EXTRACTION_FAILED

The fetch or the parse failed: an origin error, an unreachable host, a redirect problem, or a page or PDF Onto couldn't parse.

EXTRACTION_FAILED covers several failures. The origin answered with an error status other than 401, 403 or 404, such as a 500. The connection was refused or the host was unreachable. The site redirected more than 5 times, or sent a redirect Onto couldn't follow. Or the page or PDF couldn't be parsed. The message says which. Failed requests are refunded.

HTTP 500. Body always includes code: "EXTRACTION_FAILED". Branch on code, never on the human-readable message — wording can change without notice; the code is the stable contract.

{
  "status": "error",
  "code": "EXTRACTION_FAILED",
  "message": "Upstream returned HTTP 503"
}

Retry once. Errors are never cached, so a retry fetches the page again. If it keeps failing, read the message: an origin 5xx or an unreachable host is the site's problem. If the page loads fine in a browser and still fails, email the URL to founder@buildonto.dev.

Suggested handling in a Node client:

if (data.code === 'EXTRACTION_FAILED') {
  // Often transient. Retry once — errors aren't cached.
  return retry();
}

See the full error index for the complete catalog with the handling switch statement covering every code at once.