How to use
- Copy the installation command and review the source package before installing it in your own agent environment.
- Check the source document for required tools, credentials and supported hosts.
- Describe your input and desired deliverable; review the output against the source material.
npx skills add https://github.com/actionbook/rust-skills --skill m13-domain-errorBefore you start
- Installation does not include a model subscription, API allowance or permission to access your files.
- Repository stars and installation counts describe activity, not an independent quality or security test.
Rendered from the source repository. Headings, examples, code, tables, links, and referenced images are preserved.
Domain Error Strategy
Layer 2: Design Choices
Core Question
Who needs to handle this error, and how should they recover?
Before designing error types:
- Is this user-facing or internal?
- Is recovery possible?
- What context is needed for debugging?
Error Categorization
| Error Type | Audience | Recovery | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| User-facing | End users | Guide action | InvalidEmail, NotFound |
| Internal | Developers | Debug info | DatabaseError, ParseError |
| System | Ops/SRE | Monitor/alert | ConnectionTimeout, RateLimited |
| Transient | Automation | Retry | NetworkError, ServiceUnavailable |
| Permanent | Human | Investigate | ConfigInvalid, DataCorrupted |
Thinking Prompt
Before designing error types:
- Who sees this error?
- End user → friendly message, actionable
- Developer → detailed, debuggable
- Ops → structured, alertable
- Can we recover?
- Transient → retry with backoff
- Degradable → fallback value
- Permanent → fail fast, alert
- What context is needed?
- Call chain → anyhow::Context
- Request ID → structured logging
- Input data → error payload
Trace Up ↑
To domain constraints (Layer 3):
"How should I handle payment failures?"
↑ Ask: What are the business rules for retries?
↑ Check: domain-fintech (transaction requirements)
↑ Check: SLA (availability requirements)| Question | Trace To | Ask |
|---|---|---|
| Retry policy | domain-* | What's acceptable latency for retry? |
| User experience | domain-* | What message should users see? |
| Compliance | domain-* | What must be logged for audit? |
Trace Down ↓
To implementation (Layer 1):
"Need typed errors"
↓ m06-error-handling: thiserror for library
↓ m04-zero-cost: Error enum design
"Need error context"
↓ m06-error-handling: anyhow::Context
↓ Logging: tracing with fields
"Need retry logic"
↓ m07-concurrency: async retry patterns
↓ Crates: tokio-retry, backoffQuick Reference
| Recovery Pattern | When | Implementation |
|---|---|---|
| Retry | Transient failures | exponential backoff |
| Fallback | Degraded mode | cached/default value |
| Circuit Breaker | Cascading failures | failsafe-rs |
| Timeout | Slow operations | tokio::time::timeout |
| Bulkhead | Isolation | separate thread pools |
Error Hierarchy
#[derive(thiserror::Error, Debug)]
pub enum AppError {
// User-facing
#[error("Invalid input: {0}")]
Validation(String),
// Transient (retryable)
#[error("Service temporarily unavailable")]
ServiceUnavailable(#[source] reqwest::Error),
// Internal (log details, show generic)
#[error("Internal error")]
Internal(#[source] anyhow::Error),
}
impl AppError {
pub fn is_retryable(&self) -> bool {
matches!(self, Self::ServiceUnavailable(_))
}
}Retry Pattern
use tokio_retry::{Retry, strategy::ExponentialBackoff};
async fn with_retry<F, T, E>(f: F) -> Result<T, E>
where
F: Fn() -> impl Future<Output = Result<T, E>>,
E: std::fmt::Debug,
{
let strategy = ExponentialBackoff::from_millis(100)
.max_delay(Duration::from_secs(10))
.take(5);
Retry::spawn(strategy, || f()).await
}Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Why Wrong | Better |
|---|---|---|
| Same error for all | No actionability | Categorize by audience |
| Retry everything | Wasted resources | Only transient errors |
| Infinite retry | DoS self | Max attempts + backoff |
| Expose internal errors | Security risk | User-friendly messages |
| No context | Hard to debug | .context() everywhere |
Anti-Patterns
| Anti-Pattern | Why Bad | Better |
|---|---|---|
| String errors | No structure | thiserror types |
| panic! for recoverable | Bad UX | Result with context |
| Ignore errors | Silent failures | Log or propagate |
| Box<dyn Error> everywhere | Lost type info | thiserror |
| Error in happy path | Performance | Early validation |
Related Skills
| When | See |
|---|---|
| Error handling basics | m06-error-handling |
| Retry implementation | m07-concurrency |
| Domain modeling | m09-domain |
| User-facing APIs | domain-* |





