diff --git a/pkg/jobstore/boltdb/errors.go b/pkg/jobstore/boltdb/errors.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..21f2dddc37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/jobstore/boltdb/errors.go
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+package boltjobstore
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+
+	"github.com/bacalhau-project/bacalhau/pkg/models"
+	"go.etcd.io/bbolt"
+)
+
+const BOLTDB_COMPONENT = "BDB"
+
+func NewBoltDbError(err error) *models.BaseError {
+	switch {
+	case errors.Is(err, bbolt.ErrBucketNotFound):
+		return models.NewBaseError(err.Error()).WithCode(models.NewErrorCode(BOLTDB_COMPONENT, 404))
+	case errors.Is(err, bbolt.ErrBucketExists):
+		return models.NewBaseError(err.Error()).WithCode(models.NewErrorCode(BOLTDB_COMPONENT, 409))
+	case errors.Is(err, bbolt.ErrTxNotWritable):
+		return models.NewBaseError(err.Error()).WithCode(models.NewErrorCode(BOLTDB_COMPONENT, 500))
+	case errors.Is(err, bbolt.ErrIncompatibleValue):
+		return models.NewBaseError(err.Error()).WithCode(models.NewErrorCode(BOLTDB_COMPONENT, 500))
+	case errors.Is(err, bbolt.ErrKeyRequired):
+		return models.NewBaseError(err.Error()).WithCode(models.NewErrorCode(BOLTDB_COMPONENT, 500))
+	case errors.Is(err, bbolt.ErrKeyTooLarge):
+		return models.NewBaseError(err.Error()).WithCode(models.NewErrorCode(BOLTDB_COMPONENT, 500))
+	case errors.Is(err, bbolt.ErrValueTooLarge):
+		return models.NewBaseError(err.Error()).WithCode(models.NewErrorCode(BOLTDB_COMPONENT, 500))
+	default:
+		return models.NewBaseError(err.Error()).WithCode(models.NewErrorCode(BOLTDB_COMPONENT, 500))
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/jobstore/boltdb/store.go b/pkg/jobstore/boltdb/store.go
index 7a9836a585..e330969516 100644
--- a/pkg/jobstore/boltdb/store.go
+++ b/pkg/jobstore/boltdb/store.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package boltjobstore
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"slices"
 	"sort"
@@ -191,7 +192,7 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) reifyJobID(tx *bolt.Tx, jobID string) (string, error) {
 	if idgen.ShortUUID(jobID) == jobID {
 		bktJobs, err := NewBucketPath(BucketJobs).Get(tx, false)
 		if err != nil {
-			return "", jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+			return "", NewBoltDbError(err)
 		}
 
 		found := make([]string, 0, 1)
@@ -225,7 +226,7 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) getExecution(tx *bolt.Tx, id string) (models.Execution, e
 	}
 
 	if bkt, err := NewBucketPath(BucketJobs, key, BucketJobExecutions).Get(tx, false); err != nil {
-		return exec, jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+		return exec, NewBoltDbError(err)
 	} else {
 		data := bkt.Get([]byte(id))
 		if data == nil {
@@ -244,7 +245,7 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) getExecution(tx *bolt.Tx, id string) (models.Execution, e
 func (b *BoltJobStore) getExecutionJobID(tx *bolt.Tx, id string) (string, error) {
 	keys, err := b.executionsIndex.List(tx, []byte(id))
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+		return "", NewBoltDbError(err)
 	}
 
 	if len(keys) != 1 {
@@ -299,7 +300,7 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) getExecutions(tx *bolt.Tx, options jobstore.GetExecutions
 
 	bkt, err := NewBucketPath(BucketJobs, jobID, BucketJobExecutions).Get(tx, false)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+		return nil, NewBoltDbError(err)
 	}
 
 	var execs []models.Execution
@@ -423,7 +424,7 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) getJobsInitialSet(tx *bolt.Tx, query jobstore.JobQuery) (
 	if query.ReturnAll || query.Namespace == "" {
 		bkt, err := NewBucketPath(BucketJobs).Get(tx, false)
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+			return nil, NewBoltDbError(err)
 		}
 
 		err = bkt.ForEachBucket(func(k []byte) error {
@@ -431,12 +432,12 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) getJobsInitialSet(tx *bolt.Tx, query jobstore.JobQuery) (
 			return nil
 		})
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+			return nil, NewBoltDbError(err)
 		}
 	} else {
 		ids, err := b.namespacesIndex.List(tx, []byte(query.Namespace))
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+			return nil, NewBoltDbError(err)
 		}
 
 		for _, k := range ids {
@@ -457,7 +458,7 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) getJobsIncludeTags(tx *bolt.Tx, jobSet map[string]struct{
 		tagLabel := []byte(strings.ToLower(tag))
 		ids, err := b.tagsIndex.List(tx, tagLabel)
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+			return nil, NewBoltDbError(err)
 		}
 
 		for _, k := range ids {
@@ -485,7 +486,7 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) getJobsExcludeTags(tx *bolt.Tx, jobSet map[string]struct{
 		tagLabel := []byte(strings.ToLower(tag))
 		ids, err := b.tagsIndex.List(tx, tagLabel)
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+			return nil, NewBoltDbError(err)
 		}
 
 		for _, k := range ids {
@@ -586,7 +587,7 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) getInProgressJobs(tx *bolt.Tx, jobType string) ([]models.
 
 	keys, err := b.inProgressIndex.List(tx)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+		return nil, NewBoltDbError(err)
 	}
 
 	for _, jobIDKey := range keys {
@@ -779,7 +780,7 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) update(ctx context.Context, update func(tx *bolt.Tx) erro
 	tx, externalTx = txFromContext(ctx)
 	if externalTx {
 		if !tx.Writable() {
-			return jobstore.NewBoltDbError("readonly transaction provided in context for update operation")
+			return NewBoltDbError(errors.New("readonly transaction provided in context for update operation"))
 		}
 	} else {
 		tx, err = b.database.Begin(true)
@@ -819,7 +820,7 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) view(ctx context.Context, view func(tx *bolt.Tx) error) e
 	if !externalTx {
 		tx, err = b.database.Begin(false)
 		if err != nil {
-			return jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+			return NewBoltDbError(err)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -846,21 +847,21 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) createJob(tx *bolt.Tx, job models.Job) error {
 
 	jobIDKey := []byte(job.ID)
 	if bkt, err := NewBucketPath(BucketJobs, job.ID).Get(tx, true); err != nil {
-		return jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+		return NewBoltDbError(err)
 	} else {
 		// Create the evaluations and executions buckets and so forth
 		if _, err := bkt.CreateBucketIfNotExists([]byte(BucketJobExecutions)); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		if _, err := bkt.CreateBucketIfNotExists([]byte(BucketJobEvaluations)); err != nil {
-			return jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+			return NewBoltDbError(err)
 		}
 		if _, err := bkt.CreateBucketIfNotExists([]byte(BucketJobHistory)); err != nil {
-			return jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+			return NewBoltDbError(err)
 		}
 
 		if _, err := bkt.CreateBucketIfNotExists([]byte(BucketExecutionHistory)); err != nil {
-			return jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+			return NewBoltDbError(err)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -871,7 +872,7 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) createJob(tx *bolt.Tx, job models.Job) error {
 	}
 
 	if bkt, err := NewBucketPath(BucketJobs, job.ID).Get(tx, false); err != nil {
-		return jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+		return NewBoltDbError(err)
 	} else {
 		if err = bkt.Put(SpecKey, jobData); err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -881,11 +882,11 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) createJob(tx *bolt.Tx, job models.Job) error {
 	// Create a composite key for the in progress index
 	jobkey := createInProgressIndexKey(&job)
 	if err = b.inProgressIndex.Add(tx, []byte(jobkey)); err != nil {
-		return jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+		return NewBoltDbError(err)
 	}
 
 	if err = b.namespacesIndex.Add(tx, jobIDKey, []byte(job.Namespace)); err != nil {
-		return jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+		return NewBoltDbError(err)
 	}
 
 	// Write sentinels keys for specific tags
@@ -920,7 +921,7 @@ func (b *BoltJobStore) deleteJob(tx *bolt.Tx, jobID string) error {
 
 	// Delete the Job bucket (and everything within it)
 	if bkt, err := NewBucketPath(BucketJobs).Get(tx, false); err != nil {
-		return jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+		return NewBoltDbError(err)
 	} else {
 		if err = bkt.DeleteBucket([]byte(jobID)); err != nil {
 			return err
diff --git a/pkg/jobstore/errors.go b/pkg/jobstore/errors.go
index 70aea00cd7..f0b2d52db3 100644
--- a/pkg/jobstore/errors.go
+++ b/pkg/jobstore/errors.go
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 
 const (
 	JOB_STORE_COMPONENT = "JBS"
-	BOLTDB_COMPONENT    = "BDB"
 )
 
 func NewErrJobNotFound(id string) *models.BaseError {
@@ -71,10 +70,6 @@ func NewErrExecutionAlreadyTerminal(id string, actual models.ExecutionStateType,
 	return models.NewBaseError("execution %s is in terminal state %s and cannot transition to %s", id, actual, newState)
 }
 
-func NewBoltDbError(message string) *models.BaseError {
-	return models.NewBaseError(message).WithCode(models.NewErrorCode(BOLTDB_COMPONENT, 500))
-}
-
 func NewJobStoreError(message string) *models.BaseError {
 	return models.NewBaseError(message)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/orchestrator/endpoint.go b/pkg/orchestrator/endpoint.go
index 1d9893d7ea..9a2bb9b2cb 100644
--- a/pkg/orchestrator/endpoint.go
+++ b/pkg/orchestrator/endpoint.go
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ func (e *BaseEndpoint) StopJob(ctx context.Context, request *StopJobRequest) (St
 
 	txContext, err := e.store.BeginTx(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
-		return StopJobResponse{}, jobstore.NewBoltDbError(err.Error())
+		return StopJobResponse{}, jobstore.NewJobStoreError(err.Error())
 	}
 
 	defer func() {
diff --git a/pkg/publicapi/apimodels/error.go b/pkg/publicapi/apimodels/error.go
index 5a3262e21c..236523a006 100644
--- a/pkg/publicapi/apimodels/error.go
+++ b/pkg/publicapi/apimodels/error.go
@@ -30,14 +30,14 @@ import (
 type APIError struct {
 	// httpstatuscode is the http status code associated with this error.
 	// it should correspond to standard http status codes (e.g., 400, 404, 500).
-	HTTPStatusCode int `json:"code"`
+	HTTPStatusCode int `json:"-"`
 
 	// message is a short, human-readable description of the error.
 	// it should be concise and provide a clear indication of what went wrong.
 	Message string `json:"message"`
 
 	// RequestID is the request ID of the request that caused the error.
-	RequestID string `json:"request_id"`
+	RequestID string `json:"-"`
 }
 
 // NewAPIError creates a new APIError with the given HTTP status code and message.
diff --git a/pkg/publicapi/middleware/error_handler.go b/pkg/publicapi/middleware/error_handler.go
index e9c160fbf4..6631f54312 100644
--- a/pkg/publicapi/middleware/error_handler.go
+++ b/pkg/publicapi/middleware/error_handler.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package middleware
 
 import (
 	"net/http"
-	"os"
 
 	"github.com/bacalhau-project/bacalhau/pkg/models"
 	"github.com/bacalhau-project/bacalhau/pkg/publicapi/apimodels"
@@ -37,7 +36,7 @@ func CustomHTTPErrorHandler(err error, c echo.Context) {
 		message = "internal server error"
 		code = c.Response().Status
 
-		if isDebugMode() {
+		if c.Echo().Debug {
 			message = err.Error()
 		}
 	}
@@ -62,7 +61,3 @@ func CustomHTTPErrorHandler(err error, c echo.Context) {
 	}
 
 }
-
-func isDebugMode() bool {
-	return os.Getenv("BACALHAU_DEBUG") == "true"
-}
diff --git a/pkg/publicapi/server.go b/pkg/publicapi/server.go
index 9178f590fe..f6fa6a5433 100644
--- a/pkg/publicapi/server.go
+++ b/pkg/publicapi/server.go
@@ -90,12 +90,13 @@ func NewAPIServer(params ServerParams) (*Server, error) {
 	server.Router.Binder = NewNormalizeBinder()
 	server.Router.Validator = NewCustomValidator()
 
-	// enable debug mode to get clearer error messages
-	// TODO: disable debug mode after we implement our own error handler
-	server.Router.Debug = true
-
 	// set middleware
 	logLevel, err := zerolog.ParseLevel(params.Config.LogLevel)
+	if logLevel == zerolog.DebugLevel {
+		// enable debug mode to get clearer error messages
+		server.Router.Debug = true
+	}
+
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}