HTTP 418 I'm a teapot
What a 418 I'm a teapot response means, why it happens, and the fastest ways to fix it.
An April Fools joke from 1998 (RFC 2324, Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol): the teapot refuses to brew coffee. Some real services use it playfully for blocked requests.
- A developer having fun; some anti-bot layers return it.
- Treat it as a 4xx refusal; check the service's docs or support if it blocks real traffic.
Notes
HTTP status codes are defined in RFC 9110 (which replaced RFC 7231). The first digit is the class: 1xx informational, 2xx success, 3xx redirection, 4xx client error, 5xx server error.
Same class: 400 · 401 · 403 · 404 · 405 · 408 · 409 · 410 · 412 · 413 · 415 · 422 · 425 · 429 · 431 · 451
All codes: HTTP status code reference
Frequently asked questions
What does HTTP 418 mean?
HTTP 418 I'm a teapot: An April Fools joke from 1998 (RFC 2324, Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol): the teapot refuses to brew coffee. Some real services use it playfully for blocked requests.
How do I fix a 418 error?
Treat it as a 4xx refusal; check the service's docs or support if it blocks real traffic.
Is a 418 my fault or the server's?
418 is a client error — the request itself needs to change, though server misconfiguration can also trigger it.