# Error Message Translator

> Paste a technical error and get the plain-English cause and troubleshooting steps. Matches your error message against a database of over 120 known errors (HTTP status codes, TLS/certificate, DNS, network, filesystem, Node.js, Python, Java, npm, pip, git, Docker, SQL and Windows codes), explains the cause in plain English and fills the concrete file, host, port or package from your message into the steps.

Part of usefulweb.site (https://usefulweb.site/). Results are deterministic calculations from the inputs and the listed assumptions; the API returns exactly what the web page shows.

## Use it
- Human interface: https://errormessagetranslator.usefulweb.site/ (interactive tool at https://errormessagetranslator.usefulweb.site/tool)
- JSON API: POST https://errormessagetranslator.usefulweb.site/api/v1/calculate with a JSON object of inputs (schema: https://errormessagetranslator.usefulweb.site/api/v1/tool)
- OpenAPI: https://errormessagetranslator.usefulweb.site/openapi.json
- MCP (Streamable HTTP): https://errormessagetranslator.usefulweb.site/mcp - tool `error_message_translator`

## Inputs
- message (textarea, required): Error message
- context (select): Where did you see it?

## Method
- Every pattern is a regular expression with a specificity score from 1 (generic, e.g. "permission denied") to 10 (one exact error code).
- All matching patterns are ranked by specificity, then by how early in the message they match; the top one is explained, the rest are listed.
- If you pick a context, patterns from matching categories get +2 specificity when ranking.
- Concrete values (URL, host, port, path, module, package, status/error code) are extracted from the message and inserted into the steps.
- No match → generic triage steps; nothing is guessed.