HTTP 423 Locked

What does HTTP 423 mean?

WebDAV: the resource is locked and cannot be changed right now. Returned when another user or process holds a lock on a file — for example a document open for editing on a WebDAV or SharePoint server.

4xx Client error: The request has a problem the client can fix: wrong URL, missing credentials, bad data or too many requests.

Common causes of a 423 error

• Another client holds a WebDAV lock.
• A stale lock left by a crashed client.

How to fix 423 Locked

• Wait and retry, or ask the lock owner to close the file.
• Remove stale locks on the server (they usually expire after a timeout).

423 and SEO

Not relevant for normal web pages.

Example response

HTTP/1.1 423 Locked

How to return a 423 response

Node.js (Express)

res.status(423).json({ error: 'Locked' });

PHP

http_response_code(423);

Python (Flask)

return {'error': 'Locked'}, 423

Go (net/http)

w.WriteHeader(423)

nginx

return 423;

Related status codes

• 409 Conflict — The request conflicts with the current state of the resource.
• 424 Failed Dependency — WebDAV: the request failed because a request it depends on failed.
• 412 Precondition Failed — A condition in the request headers (If-Match, If-Unmodified-Since) was not met.

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