VAST error codes / NonLinear and companion
VAST error 500: General NonLinearAds error
Short answer: The player could not display the non-linear overlay.
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
500· General NonLinearAds error.
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
A catch-all for non-linear (overlay) failures not covered by 501–503.
Common causes
- No usable non-linear resource
- An overlay the player cannot render
How to fix it
Check the `<NonLinear>` resource and dimensions. 501–503 are the specific cases.
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-2.0-nonlinear-resource: InLine <NonLinear> must contain at least one StaticResource, IFrameResource, or HTMLResource
- VAST-2.0-nonlinear-dimensions: <NonLinear> missing required width or height attributes
Related error codes
- VAST error 501: NonLinear dimensions do not fit
- VAST error 502: Cannot fetch NonLinear resource
- VAST error 503: No supported NonLinear resource
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