Overview
The status endpoint provides real-time information about the API’s operational status and data freshness. This endpoint is public and doesn’t require authentication.
This endpoint is perfect for health checks and monitoring integrations. It’s unlimited and cached at the edge for optimal performance.
Request
curl https://api.exchangeratesapi.com.au/status
Response
{
"status": "operational",
"last_update": "2025-09-01T06:17:41.202Z",
"stale": false,
"next_update_expected": "2025-09-02T06:00:00.000Z"
}
Current operational status of the APIPossible values:
operational - API is fully functionaldegraded - API is experiencing issues but functionaloutage - API is experiencing a full outage
ISO 8601 timestamp of when RBA data was last successfully fetched and processed
Indicates if the current data is stale (older than expected)
false - Data is fresh (within expected timeframe)true - Data is stale (RBA update may have failed)
ISO 8601 timestamp of when the next RBA data update is expected (4 PM AEST next business day)
Status Codes
| Status | Description |
|---|
operational | All systems functioning normally |
degraded | Minor issues detected, API still functional |
outage | Major issues, API may not be functioning |
Data Freshness
The Exchange Rates API fetches RBA data daily at 4:00 PM AEST. The stale field helps you understand data freshness:
Fresh Data (stale: false)
- Last update was within expected timeframe (within 26 hours of last business day 4 PM AEST)
- RBA data fetch was successful
- All systems operating normally
Stale Data (stale: true)
- Last update was longer ago than expected (over 26 hours)
- May indicate RBA website issues or weekend/holiday delay
- Data is still valid but older than usual
- Additional headers will be present on rate endpoints:
X-Data-Stale: trueX-RBA-Source-Date: YYYY-MM-DD
Monitoring Integration
Health Check Example
async function healthCheck() {
try {
const response = await fetch('https://api.exchangeratesapi.com.au/status');
const data = await response.json();
if (data.status === 'operational' && !data.stale) {
return { healthy: true, message: 'API operational with fresh data' };
} else if (data.status === 'operational' && data.stale) {
return {
healthy: true,
warning: 'API operational but data may be stale',
lastUpdate: data.last_update
};
} else {
return {
healthy: false,
error: `API status: ${data.status}`,
lastUpdate: data.last_update
};
}
} catch (error) {
return { healthy: false, error: 'Failed to reach API' };
}
}
Nagios/Zabbix Integration
#!/bin/bash
# Health check script for monitoring systems
STATUS=$(curl -s https://api.exchangeratesapi.com.au/status | jq -r '.status')
case $STATUS in
"operational")
echo "OK - Exchange Rates API is operational"
exit 0
;;
"degraded")
echo "WARNING - Exchange Rates API is degraded"
exit 1
;;
"outage")
echo "CRITICAL - Exchange Rates API is experiencing an outage"
exit 2
;;
*)
echo "UNKNOWN - Could not determine API status"
exit 3
;;
esac
HTTP/2 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Cache-Control: no-store
X-Request-Id: 123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000
X-Response-Time: 45ms
CF-Cache-Status: MISS
CF-Ray: 8a1b2c3d4e5f6789-SYD
The status endpoint returns Cache-Control: no-store to ensure you always get current status information rather than cached responses.
Use Cases
Application Health Checks
Monitor your application’s dependency on the Exchange Rates API:
// Check API health before making rate requests
const statusCheck = await fetch('https://api.exchangeratesapi.com.au/status');
const status = await statusCheck.json();
if (status.status !== 'operational') {
console.warn('Exchange Rates API is not operational, using cached rates');
return getCachedRates();
}
Status Page Integration
Display API status on your own status page:
async function getAPIStatus() {
const response = await fetch('https://api.exchangeratesapi.com.au/status');
const data = await response.json();
return {
service: 'Exchange Rates API',
status: data.status,
lastUpdate: data.last_update,
isStale: data.stale,
nextUpdate: data.next_update_expected
};
}
Scheduled Monitoring
Set up automated monitoring to track API reliability:
import requests
import time
from datetime import datetime
def monitor_api():
try:
response = requests.get('https://api.exchangeratesapi.com.au/status', timeout=30)
data = response.json()
log_entry = {
'timestamp': datetime.now().isoformat(),
'status': data['status'],
'stale': data['stale'],
'response_time': response.elapsed.total_seconds(),
'next_update': data['next_update_expected']
}
# Log to your monitoring system
print(f"API Status: {data['status']} | Stale: {data['stale']} | Response: {response.elapsed.total_seconds()}s")
except Exception as e:
print(f"Failed to check API status: {e}")
# Run every 5 minutes
while True:
monitor_api()
time.sleep(300)
Error Responses
While the status endpoint is highly reliable, it may occasionally return errors:
{
"success": false,
"error": {
"code": 503,
"type": "service_unavailable",
"info": "Status service temporarily unavailable"
}
}
The response is of type object.
