Handling 401 Errors and Refresh Tokens (Real-World Pattern)

In real systems, tokens expire. If your API returns 401, you should: - attempt refresh (if your backend supports it) - retry the original request once - if refresh fails, log out and redirect to login ## Conceptual flow (easy to remember) ```mermaid flowchart TD A[API Request] --> B{401?} B -->|No| C[Return Response] B -->|Yes| D[Try Refresh Token] D --> E{Refresh OK?} E -->|Yes| F[Retry Original Request] E -->|No| G[Logout + Redirect] ``` ## Safe retry rule Never retry forever. Retry once after refresh. ## Practical note Implementation details vary by backend: - Some use refresh token cookies (more secure) - Some return refresh tokens in response body - Some require silent re-login (OIDC providers) If you want, I can generate a clean interceptor-based implementation based on your backend’s refresh design. > Next: Environment configs, build-time vs runtime config for multi environments.