Error Messages
A reference for the error messages and error pages you may see while using Genie, and what to do about them.
Page-level error screens
These take over the whole browser tab when something fundamental goes wrong.
401 – Unauthorized
You don't have permission to view this page. Please log in to continue.
Cause: You are not signed in, your session expired, or your token was invalidated.
Fix: Click DHL SSO Login to sign in again.
403 – Forbidden
You don't have permission to view this page.
Cause: You are signed in, but you tried to open a page that requires a role you don't have. The most common case is trying to open /create-app or /apps/{id}/edit without admin rights.
Fix: This page is a dead end — it has no buttons. Type genie.dhlrdlab.com/ in the address bar to go back to the landing page. If you believe you should have access, contact the relevant KB owner or Support.
404 – Not Found
The page you are looking for does not exist.
Cause: The URL doesn't match any page in Genie. This can also happen if you try to open a KB you no longer have access to — Genie returns 404 rather than 403 to avoid revealing the KB's existence.
Fix: Click the Go to Home Page button.
Sign-in problems
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Stuck on /auth/callback with a spinner | The SSO redirect didn't complete | Clear cookies/site data for genie.dhlrdlab.com and retry. If it persists, try a different browser. |
| MFA prompt rejects every code | Account-level MFA issue | Contact IT Service Desk to reset your MFA methods. |
| "Login failed" toast | Network blocked Entra during sign-in | Try a different network (corporate VPN often required). |
Chat errors
These appear inline in the chat as a red error block with a Retry button.
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Your message contains content that was flagged by the OpenAI content filter. | Question triggered Azure OpenAI safety filters (e.g., sensitive topic, profanity) | Rephrase the question more neutrally. |
| Your message exceeded the context length limit for this OpenAI model. Please shorten your message or change your settings to retrieve fewer search results. | The combination of your current question + chat history is too long for the model | Click New Chat in the sidebar to start a fresh session. |
| Knowledge base not found | The KB was deleted while you had it open, or your access was revoked | Refresh the page; pick a different KB. |
| Access denied | You don't have permission to chat with this KB (you may have been removed) | Contact the KB owner. |
| Generic error message | Transient backend issue, network blip | Click Retry. If it persists, wait a minute and try again. |
| No error, but chat stalls forever | Token expired mid-stream | Refresh the page; you'll be redirected to sign in. |
Upload errors
These appear as toast notifications when you try to upload a document.
| Toast | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Only PDF files can be uploaded. Please select a PDF file. | You picked a non-PDF (Word, Excel, etc.) | Convert your file to PDF and try again. |
| File size exceeds the limit (the exact MB value is whatever the upload zone hint shows, default 100 MB) | File is over the active per-file size limit for this environment | Compress the PDF (e.g., reduce image quality) or split it. |
| File '{name}' already exists in this knowledge base | A file with that exact name is already uploaded | Rename your file or delete the existing one first. |
| Upload limit exceeded with details like Cannot upload N files. Current: X/Y files. or Maximum file limit reached (Y files). Please delete some files before uploading new ones. | KB has hit its document quota | Delete an unneeded document, or contact Support to raise the limit. |
| Upload fails with no clear message | Network interruption mid-upload | Try again on a more stable connection. |
File processing errors
After upload, the document goes through a processing pipeline. Failures show in the document table under the Status column.
| Status / message | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| failed: File rejected: malware detected | Azure Defender flagged the file as malicious | Do not retry. Investigate the file source. |
| failed: File held: scan inconclusive | Malware scan timed out | Retry after a few minutes. Contact Support if it persists. |
| failed: Extraction failed | Corrupted, password-protected, or unusual-format PDF | Re-export from the original source; unlock password-protected PDFs first. |
| failed: Token limit exceeded | Document too large/dense for the model context | Split into smaller PDFs. |
| failed: (generic) | Transient backend error | Delete the failed entry and try uploading again. |
Permission and approval errors
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to create join request. You may already have a pending request. | You already requested access to this KB | Check My Requests for the status; contact the admin if it's stuck. |
| You already have access to this knowledge base | You requested access to a KB you already belong to | Open it from the Apps Dashboard. |
| Mail service not enabled | Email notifications are off in this environment, so join requests can't fire | Contact Support; join requests aren't usable until email is configured. |
| Join request was already processed by another reviewer | Two admins clicked Approve/Reject at the same time | Refresh — the request is already finalised. |
| Could not retrieve your email address. Please contact support. | Microsoft Graph couldn't return your email — usually an account configuration issue | Contact Support. |
Rate limit errors (HTTP 429)
When you exceed a per-action limit, the API returns HTTP 429 with a two-field error body:
- error:
Rate limit exceeded for {action} endpoint - message:
Please try again in {N} seconds
The frontend may show these together or just one of them, but you'll see a generic chat-error or toast appear. There's no banner or countdown widget. Wait the suggested time and retry.
The most common rate-limited actions: chat (30 per minute), uploads (10 per minute), Knowledge Base writes (5 per minute).
"Generating answer…" never completes
If you've been staring at the spinner for more than 30 seconds:
- Check your network — switching from VPN to direct or vice versa can help.
- Refresh the page (your sign-in is preserved).
- Try a simpler version of your question.
- If a specific question always hangs, take note of the wording and Support can investigate.
Reporting a bug
Errors that don't match anything above are likely bugs. When reporting one, please include:
- What you were trying to do
- The exact error text (screenshot is ideal)
- The chat URL (it contains the session ID —
/c/{session-id}) - Your DHL email (so we can match it to logs)
See Contact for how to reach the team.