How should error messages be designed for users and developers?

• A. User messages should be clear and non-technical; Developer messages should be descriptive with actionable details, without revealing secrets
• B. User messages should be technical; Developer messages should reveal secrets
• C. All error messages should be verbose and technical
• D. User messages should be long; developer messages should be concise

Answer: (A)

Users and developers have different needs when an error occurs. The best approach is to tailor messages to each audience: user-facing messages should be clear, non-technical, and provide guidance on what the user can do next, while developer-facing messages should be descriptive and actionable for debugging, without exposing sensitive information.

For users, error messages should use plain language that explains what happened in everyday terms and offer concrete next steps. Avoid technical terms, internal codes, or stack traces. Include practical guidance such as how to retry, check input, or contact support, and if possible, guide the user toward a resolution without revealing sensitive details.

For developers, error messages (or logs) should include enough context to diagnose and fix the issue: descriptive error information, contextual data about the environment, error codes, reproduction steps, and relevant state. Crucially, this should be done without leaking secrets like passwords, keys, or internal system details.

Why the other options don’t fit: messages aimed at users that are technical or reveal secrets burden users and create security risks. A one-size-fits-all approach with verbose, technical messages for everyone makes it harder for users to recover and harder for developers to pinpoint issues. Pushing long, user-facing messages only also clutters the user experience, while giving developers concise messages can impede effective debugging.