Missing and retired resources

Choose 404 when an address is unknown and 410 when a resource was deliberately retired. These direct response routes produce the page at the edge without asking the application to generate it.

Status	Meaning	Example message
404	The requested resource is not found; the status does not say whether this is permanent.	Resource not found
410	The resource is intentionally gone and its removal is expected to be permanent.	Resource retired

Unknown resource: 404

Visitor message: Resource not found

The direct route selects exactly /demo/missing and sets 404 with the encoded page. Pair it with the matching body mapping shown below.

{
  "spec": {
    "routes": [
      {
        "direct_response_route": {
          "path": {
            "path": "/demo/missing"
          },
          "http_method": "ANY",
          "route_direct_response": {
            "response_code": 404,
            "response_body_encoded": "string: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"
          }
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Decoded preview (escaped):

<!doctype html><html lang="en"><head><meta charset="utf-8"><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width"><title>Resource not found</title><style>body{margin:0;background:#071b33;color:#fff;font:18px system-ui}main{max-width:42rem;margin:12vh auto;padding:2rem}.brand{color:#ff5f64;font-weight:700}h1{font-size:clamp(2rem,6vw,3.5rem)}p{line-height:1.6}a{color:#9cddff}</style></head><body><main><p class="brand">F5 · Custom Responses</p><h1>Resource not found</h1><p>The requested demo resource is missing. Check the address and try again.</p><a href="/demo/panel">Explore response controls</a></main></body></html>

Verified live example: Open the missing-resource page.

Expected result: The selected path returns 404 and “Resource not found”.

Retired resource: 410

Visitor message: Resource retired

This alternative selects exactly /demo/gone and sets 410. Use it when you can tell callers the removal is permanent.

{
  "spec": {
    "routes": [
      {
        "direct_response_route": {
          "path": {
            "path": "/demo/gone"
          },
          "http_method": "ANY",
          "route_direct_response": {
            "response_code": 410,
            "response_body_encoded": "string: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"
          }
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Decoded preview (escaped):

<!doctype html><html lang="en"><head><meta charset="utf-8"><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width"><title>Resource retired</title><style>body{margin:0;background:#071b33;color:#fff;font:18px system-ui}main{max-width:42rem;margin:12vh auto;padding:2rem}.brand{color:#ff5f64;font-weight:700}h1{font-size:clamp(2rem,6vw,3.5rem)}p{line-height:1.6}a{color:#9cddff}</style></head><body><main><p class="brand">F5 · Custom Responses</p><h1>Resource retired</h1><p>This demo resource has been permanently retired. Choose a current resource.</p><a href="/demo/panel">Explore response controls</a></main></body></html>

Verified live example: Open the retired-resource page.

Expected result: The selected path returns 410 and “Resource retired”. An unrelated path still reaches the application.

Required body mappings

On this shared load balancer, both direct error statuses need matching more_option.custom_errors bodies for their intended pages to appear. Add the relevant mapping to the same load balancer as its route. These mappings also apply to eligible edge-generated errors; they do not prove that origin-generated 404 or 410 bodies are replaced.

{
  "spec": {
    "more_option": {
      "custom_errors": {
        "404": "<ENCODED_RESPONSE_BODY>",
        "410": "<ENCODED_RESPONSE_BODY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

See Error responses for mapping eligibility and Maintenance for a temporary unavailable-service response.