HTTP 506 Variant Also Negotiates

What does HTTP 506 mean?

The server has a content-negotiation configuration error. A chosen variant is itself configured to negotiate, causing a loop. It points to a misconfigured Apache MultiViews or type-map setup.

5xx Server error: The request looked valid, but the server failed to fulfil it. The fix is on the server side.

Common causes of a 506 error

• Circular content-negotiation rules on the server.

How to fix 506 Variant Also Negotiates

• Review Apache MultiViews and type-map configuration.

506 and SEO

Like other 5xx errors: ongoing errors reduce crawling.

Example response

HTTP/1.1 506 Variant Also Negotiates

How to return a 506 response

Node.js (Express)

res.status(506).json({ error: 'Variant Also Negotiates' });

PHP

http_response_code(506);

Python (Flask)

return {'error': 'Variant Also Negotiates'}, 506

Go (net/http)

w.WriteHeader(506)

nginx

return 506;

Related status codes

• 500 Internal Server Error — The server hit an unexpected condition and could not complete the request.
• 300 Multiple Choices — The resource has several representations and the client may choose one.
• 406 Not Acceptable — The server cannot produce a response matching the client’s Accept headers.

Check which status code a URL returns with the HTTP header checker.