Ably: token capabilities are baked in, reconnecting with the same token changes nothing

Ably: token capabilities are baked in, reconnecting with the same token changes nothing

TL;DR

Ably 40160 on a token-auth client means the token itself lacks the capability, so reconnecting will not help. Update your token-issuing code to include the capability (publish, subscribe, history, presence, whatever the operation needs) and issue a fresh token. Context: From Ably's official error-code docs for 40160 (capability denied).

Use this when you run into the situation in the title.

When not to use this skill: unrelated tasks. It covers only the procedure above.

Compatibility

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Details

Every operation needs a capability on the channel or resource, and a client on token auth keeps the capabilities baked into that token until it is refreshed. Reconnecting with the same cached token changes nothing; the fix is to update the code that issues tokens so they include the needed capability. API-key clients pick up changes on their next connection, token clients do not.

Source: From Ably's official error-code docs for 40160 (capability denied). Every operation needs a capability on the channel or resource, and a client on token auth keeps the capabilities baked into that token until it is refreshed. Reconnecting with the same cached token changes nothing; the fix is to update the code that issues tokens so they include the needed capability. API-key clients pick up changes on their next connection, token clients do not.

Verified resolution: Ably 40160 on a token-auth client means the token itself lacks the capability, so reconnecting will not help. Update your token-issuing code to include the capability (publish, subscribe, history, presence, whatever the operation needs) and issue a fresh token.

Source URL: https://github.com/ably/ably-common/blob/HEAD/errors/codes/40160.md