An HTTP status code is a numerical part of a server's response that describes the result of an HTTP request. It can indicate success, redirection or categories of client and server conditions. Its meaning belongs to the particular request, so a programme list and an individual media segment can return different results during one viewing session.
A practical example
A player can retrieve its catalogue successfully but receive an error when requesting one media resource. Recording the specific request's status, where safely available, gives support more useful information than assuming the entire service returned the same result everywhere.
A common misunderstanding
A status code is not always a complete diagnosis. Applications, proxies and servers can generate responses at different stages, and private addresses or tokens in logs should be redacted before sharing.
Related terms
Stable technical definition. Editorial approach