VAST error codes / Interactive and verification
VAST error 409: Interactive unit not executed
Short answer: The InteractiveCreativeFile (SIMID) unit failed to run. Introduced in VAST 4.1.
Debug this tag now
If you only have a live URL, test it first. If the failure is in the wrapper chain, inspect each hop. Validate resolved XML when you already have the response.
What your player reported
409· Interactive unit in the InteractiveCreativeFile node was not executed.
Wording from the IAB VAST 4.3 specification error table. Players may shorten or reformat it, but the code is the same.
What it means
The player found an `<InteractiveCreativeFile>` but the interactive (SIMID) unit did not execute.
Common causes
- Interactive file unreachable or wrong `type`
- SIMID runtime not available on the player
- Missing or invalid `apiFramework`
How to fix it
Validate the `<InteractiveCreativeFile>` type and apiFramework, and confirm the linear media still plays without the interactive layer.
VAST error codes are runtime buckets emitted by the player. They tell you where the failure happened, not which line of XML caused it. Paste the raw tag into the validator to map this code onto the exact element and rule.
Related vastlint rules
- VAST-4.1-interactive-creative-type: <InteractiveCreativeFile> should have a type attribute identifying the MIME type
- VAST-4.0-interactive-creative-no-api: <InteractiveCreativeFile> should have an apiFramework attribute
Related error codes
- VAST error 410: Verification unit not executed
- VAST error 901: General VPAID error
- VAST error 902: General InteractiveCreativeFile (SIMID) error
Debug this tag now
Validate the XML, follow the wrapper chain, or check it in CI before launch:
# CLI: exits non-zero on errors, ideal for pipelines
vastlint check creative.xml