HTTP error 422 is not as common as other codes such as 404 or 500. This particular error can be hard to diagnose as it doesn’t provide you with much information about what part of your request is causing the problem.
Broadly speaking, if you see an HTTP 422 error it means the server understands your request, but it can’t fulfill it due to a problem on your end. If you fix that problem, you should be able to reload the page and the error will go away.
In this article, we’ll talk about what causes the 422 error and how to troubleshoot it if you’re using WordPress. Let’s get to it!
Check Out Our Video Guide to the 422 Error
What Is the HTTP 422 Error?
Error 422 is an HTTP code that tells you that the server can’t process your request, although it understands it. The full name of the error code is 422 “unprocessable entity.”
In a nutshell, the error means that you’re making a request the server understands, but it can’t process it. Typically, this happens because there’s a semantic error somewhere in the request, usually within a PHP or JavaScript file.
Unlike other HTTP errors, the 422 code will keep reappearing until you manage to troubleshoot the problem with your request. However, this can be difficult since the error doesn’t provide specific information about what part of the request it can’t process.
What Causes the HTTP 422 Error?
Typically, the HTTP 422 code pops up when there’s a semantic error in the contents of a request. If you’re using WordPress, that usually means one of two things:
- One of the files involved in the request contains code with semantic errors. To put it another way, there’s an error somewhere in the code.
- You’re dealing with a corrupt database table.
One problem with error 422 is that there’s no way of knowing what its cause is at first glance. This means you may need to try more than one troubleshooting method until you arrive at the problem.
You can check the HTTP response code of any page using our HTTP header Checker tool.
How To Fix the 422 Error in WordPress (2 Methods)
In this section, we’ll show you how to repair a corrupted WordPress database and how to identify files with semantic code errors. These steps will also help you debug other issues, such as the HTTP 400 error.
1. Repair a Corrupted WordPress Database
In some cases, tables within the WordPress database might become corrupted during an update. This means that if you’re updating a plugin, theme, or WordPress itself and the process is interrupted, database entries can start presenting errors.
A corrupt database can lead to all sorts of errors within WordPress, such as pages not loading, features not working correctly, and HTTP codes such as 422. There are two ways to repair a corrupted WordPress database. The easiest approach is to use a plugin such as WP-DBManager:
Once you activate WP-DBManager, you’ll get access to a new Database tab in the dashboard. Go to Database > Repair DB and select the tables that you want to repair. Since you may not know which table is corrupt, select them all and click on Repair:
The process should only take a few seconds and you’ll see a success message when it’s ready. Now, try accessing the page that returned the 422 error to see if it persists.
If you don’t have access to the WordPress admin due to the 422 error, you can repair the database manually. To do so, you’ll need to access the database from your hosting control panel.
If you use Kinsta, you can access the database from your MyKinsta dashboard. Select a website and go to the Info tab. Look for the Database access section, where you’ll find the login credentials for the database. Click on Open phpMyAdmin and enter those credentials:
Select the database you want to repair from the menu to the left and you’ll see a breakdown of all the tables it contains to the right. Use the Check all option at the bottom of the page to select every table. Then, look for the Repair table option in the menu to the right:
Click on the Go button and wait for phpMyAdmin to return a success message. Now, go ahead and check if the HTTP 422 error persists.
2. Use the WordPress Error Logs To Identify HTTP 422 Code Causes
If repairing the database doesn’t make error 422 go away, the problem lies with one of the WordPress files. Since every WordPress installation contains dozens to hundreds of files, it’s not feasible to check all of them for semantic code errors.
Your best bet, in this scenario, is to enable the WordPress debug feature, which will give you access to error logs. To enable the WordPress debug mode manually, you’ll need to edit the wp-config.php file in the root directory.
You can do that by accessing your website via a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client and locating the wp-config.php file. Open the file and add the following two lines of code before the line that says /* That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */:
define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );If the WP_DEBUG line already exists, make sure that it reads true and simply add the second line of code (the WP_DEBUG_LOG entry). Save the changes to the file and reload the page that returns the 422 error.
The error should persist, but now you have access to error logs. To read those logs, navigate to the wp-content folder inside the root directory and look for the debug.log file. You can open the file using a text editor.
If the file is new, it should only contain a few lines, one of which should refer to the error that’s causing the 422 code. The error should point you towards a specific file that’s causing the problem. It should also include information about which line within the file contains a semantic error.
If you use Kinsta, you don’t have to enable the WordPress debug mode or error logs manually. Instead, go to MyKinsta, select a website, and jump to the Tools tab. Inside you’ll find an option for enabling WordPress debugging:
After enabling debugging, you can go to the Logs tab and select the error.log option. MyKinsta will display the latest errors on your website and the viewer includes a search feature to help you find specific entries:
Focusing on the latest entries should help you identify which file is causing the 422 error. Once you identify the file, you can try and fix the semantic error or replace it with a stock version from WordPress.
Summary
Identifying what’s causing the HTTP 422 error can be somewhat complicated. However, troubleshooting the error doesn’t take all that long. The process is much simpler if you’re using WordPress, as the software comes with tools that can help you when it comes to debugging errors.
If you run into the HTTP 422 error in WordPress, there are two ways that you can fix it:
- Repair a corrupted WordPress database.
- Use the WordPress error logs to identify the causes of the 422 code.
With Kinsta, troubleshooting errors is much easier. Our MyKinsta dashboard includes built-in tools for debugging WordPress. If you don’t want to troubleshoot issues manually, you can always reach out to our support team!
