LightAtom

500 Internal Server Error: Causes and Fixes

The server ran into an error it didn't handle while processing your request. It's a bug or misconfiguration on the website's side.

500 Internal Server Error

The website's server crashed or failed while handling your request and couldn't say anything more specific. The problem is on the server, not your device.

Quick checks

  • Reload the page once.
  • Go back and try the action again, in case a form field triggered it.
  • Check the site's status page or social media for an outage.

If you’re visiting the site

  1. Retry and simplify

    1. Reload, or try again in a few minutes.
    2. Clear the site's cookies (they can carry a bad session): in Chrome, click the icon left of the address › Cookies and site data.
    3. If one action always fails, contact the site with the time and the steps.

If you run the site

  1. Read the error log

    1. The 500 page hides the real error; your application or web-server log has the stack trace.
    2. PHP: the PHP-FPM or Apache error log; Node, Python, Ruby: the process output or your logging service.

  2. Check recent changes

    1. A deploy, configuration change, plugin update or .htaccess edit is the usual trigger. Roll back to confirm.

  3. Common causes

    1. Syntax errors in .htaccess or server config.
    2. File permission problems after a deploy.
    3. Exhausted memory limits or a failing database connection.

Still not working?

Visitors have to wait for the site to fix it. Owners: never show stack traces to the public, but log them with a request ID so a visitor's report can be matched to the exact error.

See what’s happening

For local apps, LightAtom's connections view shows whether your server process connects to its database and other services.

Frequently asked questions

What causes a 500 Internal Server Error?

An unhandled error in the website's code or server: bugs, broken configuration, permission problems, memory limits or a failed database connection.

Can I fix a 500 error as a visitor?

Usually not. Reloading or clearing the site's cookies sometimes helps when a bad session caused it. Otherwise only the site can fix it.

What is the difference between 500 and 503?

500 means the server failed unexpectedly. 503 means it's deliberately unavailable, overloaded or in maintenance, and often says when to retry.

How do I find the cause of a 500 on my WordPress site?

Turn on WP_DEBUG_LOG in wp-config.php and read wp-content/debug.log, then disable plugins one by one. A corrupted .htaccess is another common cause.

Related errors and tools

Related

LightAtom team

The people who build LightAtom, a network monitor for macOS.