diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1138054..39f502c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -348,6 +348,7 @@ Common error codes:
 - `not_found` (`404`)
 - `conflict` (`409`)
 - `validation_error` (`422`)
+- `target_unreachable` (`503`)
 - `internal_error` (`500`)
 
 ## `pg_stat_statements` Requirement
diff --git a/backend/app/api/routes/admin_settings.py b/backend/app/api/routes/admin_settings.py
index 5c227c5..6c8a4bc 100644
--- a/backend/app/api/routes/admin_settings.py
+++ b/backend/app/api/routes/admin_settings.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
 from app.core.db import get_db
 from app.core.deps import require_roles
+from app.core.errors import api_error
 from app.models.models import EmailNotificationSettings, User
 from app.schemas.admin_settings import EmailSettingsOut, EmailSettingsTestRequest, EmailSettingsUpdate
 from app.services.audit import write_audit_log
@@ -96,9 +97,9 @@ async def test_email_settings(
 ) -> dict:
     settings = await _get_or_create_settings(db)
     if not settings.smtp_host:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="SMTP host is not configured")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=api_error("smtp_host_missing", "SMTP host is not configured"))
     if not settings.from_email:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="From email is not configured")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=api_error("smtp_from_email_missing", "From email is not configured"))
 
     password = decrypt_secret(settings.encrypted_smtp_password) if settings.encrypted_smtp_password else None
     message = EmailMessage()
@@ -126,7 +127,10 @@ async def test_email_settings(
                     smtp.login(settings.smtp_username, password or "")
                 smtp.send_message(message)
     except Exception as exc:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=f"SMTP test failed: {exc}")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400,
+            detail=api_error("smtp_test_failed", "SMTP test failed", {"error": str(exc)}),
+        ) from exc
 
     await write_audit_log(db, "admin.email_settings.test", admin.id, {"recipient": str(payload.recipient)})
     return {"status": "sent", "recipient": str(payload.recipient)}
diff --git a/backend/app/api/routes/admin_users.py b/backend/app/api/routes/admin_users.py
index 22ff253..362b65e 100644
--- a/backend/app/api/routes/admin_users.py
+++ b/backend/app/api/routes/admin_users.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ from sqlalchemy import select
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 from app.core.db import get_db
 from app.core.deps import require_roles
+from app.core.errors import api_error
 from app.core.security import hash_password
 from app.models.models import User
 from app.schemas.user import UserCreate, UserOut, UserUpdate
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ async def list_users(admin: User = Depends(require_roles("admin")), db: AsyncSes
 async def create_user(payload: UserCreate, admin: User = Depends(require_roles("admin")), db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db)) -> UserOut:
     exists = await db.scalar(select(User).where(User.email == payload.email))
     if exists:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail="Email already exists")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail=api_error("email_exists", "Email already exists"))
     user = User(
         email=payload.email,
         first_name=payload.first_name,
@@ -46,13 +47,13 @@ async def update_user(
 ) -> UserOut:
     user = await db.scalar(select(User).where(User.id == user_id))
     if not user:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="User not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("user_not_found", "User not found"))
     update_data = payload.model_dump(exclude_unset=True)
     next_email = update_data.get("email")
     if next_email and next_email != user.email:
         existing = await db.scalar(select(User).where(User.email == next_email))
         if existing and existing.id != user.id:
-            raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail="Email already exists")
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail=api_error("email_exists", "Email already exists"))
     if "password" in update_data:
         raw_password = update_data.pop("password")
         if raw_password:
@@ -68,10 +69,10 @@ async def update_user(
 @router.delete("/{user_id}")
 async def delete_user(user_id: int, admin: User = Depends(require_roles("admin")), db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
     if user_id == admin.id:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Cannot delete yourself")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=api_error("cannot_delete_self", "Cannot delete yourself"))
     user = await db.scalar(select(User).where(User.id == user_id))
     if not user:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="User not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("user_not_found", "User not found"))
     await db.delete(user)
     await db.commit()
     await write_audit_log(db, "admin.user.delete", admin.id, {"deleted_user_id": user_id})
diff --git a/backend/app/api/routes/alerts.py b/backend/app/api/routes/alerts.py
index bba8624..2faa592 100644
--- a/backend/app/api/routes/alerts.py
+++ b/backend/app/api/routes/alerts.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
 from app.core.db import get_db
 from app.core.deps import get_current_user, require_roles
+from app.core.errors import api_error
 from app.models.models import AlertDefinition, Target, User
 from app.schemas.alert import (
     AlertDefinitionCreate,
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ async def _validate_target_exists(db: AsyncSession, target_id: int | None) -> No
         return
     target_exists = await db.scalar(select(Target.id).where(Target.id == target_id))
     if target_exists is None:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Target not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("target_not_found", "Target not found"))
 
 
 @router.get("/status", response_model=AlertStatusResponse)
@@ -101,7 +102,7 @@ async def update_alert_definition(
 ) -> AlertDefinitionOut:
     definition = await db.scalar(select(AlertDefinition).where(AlertDefinition.id == definition_id))
     if definition is None:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Alert definition not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("alert_definition_not_found", "Alert definition not found"))
 
     updates = payload.model_dump(exclude_unset=True)
     if "target_id" in updates:
@@ -131,7 +132,7 @@ async def delete_alert_definition(
 ) -> dict:
     definition = await db.scalar(select(AlertDefinition).where(AlertDefinition.id == definition_id))
     if definition is None:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Alert definition not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("alert_definition_not_found", "Alert definition not found"))
     await db.delete(definition)
     await db.commit()
     invalidate_alert_cache()
@@ -148,7 +149,7 @@ async def test_alert_definition(
     _ = user
     target = await db.scalar(select(Target).where(Target.id == payload.target_id))
     if target is None:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Target not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("target_not_found", "Target not found"))
     try:
         value = await run_scalar_sql_for_target(target, payload.sql_text)
         return AlertDefinitionTestResponse(ok=True, value=value)
diff --git a/backend/app/api/routes/auth.py b/backend/app/api/routes/auth.py
index 32d3d98..ed97cea 100644
--- a/backend/app/api/routes/auth.py
+++ b/backend/app/api/routes/auth.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 from app.core.config import get_settings
 from app.core.db import get_db
 from app.core.deps import get_current_user
+from app.core.errors import api_error
 from app.core.security import create_access_token, create_refresh_token, verify_password
 from app.models.models import User
 from app.schemas.auth import LoginRequest, RefreshRequest, TokenResponse
@@ -19,7 +20,10 @@ settings = get_settings()
 async def login(payload: LoginRequest, db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db)) -> TokenResponse:
     user = await db.scalar(select(User).where(User.email == payload.email))
     if not user or not verify_password(payload.password, user.password_hash):
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="Invalid credentials")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
+            detail=api_error("invalid_credentials", "Invalid credentials"),
+        )
 
     await write_audit_log(db, action="auth.login", user_id=user.id, payload={"email": user.email})
     return TokenResponse(access_token=create_access_token(str(user.id)), refresh_token=create_refresh_token(str(user.id)))
@@ -30,14 +34,23 @@ async def refresh(payload: RefreshRequest, db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db)) -
     try:
         token_payload = jwt.decode(payload.refresh_token, settings.jwt_secret_key, algorithms=[settings.jwt_algorithm])
     except jwt.InvalidTokenError as exc:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="Invalid refresh token") from exc
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
+            detail=api_error("invalid_refresh_token", "Invalid refresh token"),
+        ) from exc
 
     if token_payload.get("type") != "refresh":
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="Invalid refresh token type")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
+            detail=api_error("invalid_refresh_token_type", "Invalid refresh token type"),
+        )
     user_id = token_payload.get("sub")
     user = await db.scalar(select(User).where(User.id == int(user_id)))
     if not user:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="User not found")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
+            detail=api_error("user_not_found", "User not found"),
+        )
 
     await write_audit_log(db, action="auth.refresh", user_id=user.id, payload={})
     return TokenResponse(access_token=create_access_token(str(user.id)), refresh_token=create_refresh_token(str(user.id)))
diff --git a/backend/app/api/routes/me.py b/backend/app/api/routes/me.py
index 0b43821..14cd815 100644
--- a/backend/app/api/routes/me.py
+++ b/backend/app/api/routes/me.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException, status
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 from app.core.db import get_db
 from app.core.deps import get_current_user
+from app.core.errors import api_error
 from app.core.security import hash_password, verify_password
 from app.models.models import User
 from app.schemas.user import UserOut, UserPasswordChange
@@ -22,10 +23,16 @@ async def change_password(
     db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     if not verify_password(payload.current_password, user.password_hash):
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST, detail="Current password is incorrect")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST,
+            detail=api_error("invalid_current_password", "Current password is incorrect"),
+        )
 
     if verify_password(payload.new_password, user.password_hash):
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST, detail="New password must be different")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST,
+            detail=api_error("password_reuse_not_allowed", "New password must be different"),
+        )
 
     user.password_hash = hash_password(payload.new_password)
     await db.commit()
diff --git a/backend/app/api/routes/targets.py b/backend/app/api/routes/targets.py
index 6ab0322..ea437a7 100644
--- a/backend/app/api/routes/targets.py
+++ b/backend/app/api/routes/targets.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
 from app.core.db import get_db
 from app.core.deps import get_current_user, require_roles
+from app.core.errors import api_error
 from app.models.models import Metric, QueryStat, Target, TargetOwner, User
 from app.schemas.metric import MetricOut, QueryStatOut
 from app.schemas.overview import DatabaseOverviewOut
@@ -85,7 +86,10 @@ async def _discover_databases(payload: TargetCreate) -> list[str]:
         )
         return [row["datname"] for row in rows if row["datname"]]
     except Exception as exc:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=f"Database discovery failed: {exc}")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400,
+            detail=api_error("database_discovery_failed", "Database discovery failed", {"error": str(exc)}),
+        )
     finally:
         if conn:
             await conn.close()
@@ -131,7 +135,10 @@ async def test_target_connection(
         version = await conn.fetchval("SHOW server_version")
         return {"ok": True, "message": "Connection successful", "server_version": version}
     except Exception as exc:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=f"Connection failed: {exc}")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400,
+            detail=api_error("connection_test_failed", "Connection test failed", {"error": str(exc)}),
+        )
     finally:
         if conn:
             await conn.close()
@@ -147,7 +154,10 @@ async def create_target(
     if owner_ids:
         owners_exist = (await db.scalars(select(User.id).where(User.id.in_(owner_ids)))).all()
         if len(set(owners_exist)) != len(owner_ids):
-            raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="One or more owner users were not found")
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=400,
+                detail=api_error("owner_users_not_found", "One or more owner users were not found"),
+            )
 
     encrypted_password = encrypt_secret(payload.password)
     created_targets: list[Target] = []
@@ -155,7 +165,10 @@ async def create_target(
     if payload.discover_all_databases:
         databases = await _discover_databases(payload)
         if not databases:
-            raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="No databases discovered on target")
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=400,
+                detail=api_error("no_databases_discovered", "No databases discovered on target"),
+            )
         group_id = str(uuid4())
         base_tags = payload.tags or {}
         for dbname in databases:
@@ -194,7 +207,10 @@ async def create_target(
                 await _set_target_owners(db, target.id, owner_ids, user.id)
 
         if not created_targets:
-            raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="All discovered databases already exist as targets")
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=400,
+                detail=api_error("all_discovered_databases_exist", "All discovered databases already exist as targets"),
+            )
         await db.commit()
         for item in created_targets:
             await db.refresh(item)
@@ -247,7 +263,7 @@ async def get_target(target_id: int, user: User = Depends(get_current_user), db:
     _ = user
     target = await db.scalar(select(Target).where(Target.id == target_id))
     if not target:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Target not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("target_not_found", "Target not found"))
     owner_map = await _owners_by_target_ids(db, [target.id])
     return _target_out_with_owners(target, owner_map.get(target.id, []))
 
@@ -261,7 +277,7 @@ async def update_target(
 ) -> TargetOut:
     target = await db.scalar(select(Target).where(Target.id == target_id))
     if not target:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Target not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("target_not_found", "Target not found"))
 
     updates = payload.model_dump(exclude_unset=True)
     owner_user_ids = updates.pop("owner_user_ids", None)
@@ -273,7 +289,10 @@ async def update_target(
     if owner_user_ids is not None:
         owners_exist = (await db.scalars(select(User.id).where(User.id.in_(owner_user_ids)))).all()
         if len(set(owners_exist)) != len(set(owner_user_ids)):
-            raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="One or more owner users were not found")
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=400,
+                detail=api_error("owner_users_not_found", "One or more owner users were not found"),
+            )
         await _set_target_owners(db, target.id, owner_user_ids, user.id)
 
     await db.commit()
@@ -292,12 +311,15 @@ async def set_target_owners(
 ) -> list[TargetOwnerOut]:
     target = await db.scalar(select(Target).where(Target.id == target_id))
     if not target:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Target not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("target_not_found", "Target not found"))
     owner_user_ids = sorted(set(payload.user_ids))
     if owner_user_ids:
         owners_exist = (await db.scalars(select(User.id).where(User.id.in_(owner_user_ids)))).all()
         if len(set(owners_exist)) != len(set(owner_user_ids)):
-            raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="One or more owner users were not found")
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=400,
+                detail=api_error("owner_users_not_found", "One or more owner users were not found"),
+            )
     await _set_target_owners(db, target_id, owner_user_ids, user.id)
     await db.commit()
     await write_audit_log(db, "target.owners.update", user.id, {"target_id": target_id, "owner_user_ids": owner_user_ids})
@@ -321,7 +343,7 @@ async def get_target_owners(
     _ = user
     target = await db.scalar(select(Target).where(Target.id == target_id))
     if not target:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Target not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("target_not_found", "Target not found"))
     rows = (
         await db.execute(
             select(User.id, User.email, User.role)
@@ -341,7 +363,7 @@ async def delete_target(
 ) -> dict:
     target = await db.scalar(select(Target).where(Target.id == target_id))
     if not target:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Target not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("target_not_found", "Target not found"))
     await db.delete(target)
     await db.commit()
     await write_audit_log(db, "target.delete", user.id, {"target_id": target_id})
@@ -369,7 +391,22 @@ async def get_metrics(
 
 
 async def _live_conn(target: Target) -> asyncpg.Connection:
-    return await asyncpg.connect(dsn=build_target_dsn(target))
+    try:
+        return await asyncpg.connect(dsn=build_target_dsn(target))
+    except (OSError, asyncpg.PostgresError) as exc:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=503,
+            detail=api_error(
+                "target_unreachable",
+                "Target database is not reachable",
+                {
+                    "target_id": target.id,
+                    "host": target.host,
+                    "port": target.port,
+                    "error": str(exc),
+                },
+            ),
+        ) from exc
 
 
 @router.get("/{target_id}/locks")
@@ -377,7 +414,7 @@ async def get_locks(target_id: int, user: User = Depends(get_current_user), db:
     _ = user
     target = await db.scalar(select(Target).where(Target.id == target_id))
     if not target:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Target not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("target_not_found", "Target not found"))
     conn = await _live_conn(target)
     try:
         rows = await conn.fetch(
@@ -398,7 +435,7 @@ async def get_activity(target_id: int, user: User = Depends(get_current_user), d
     _ = user
     target = await db.scalar(select(Target).where(Target.id == target_id))
     if not target:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Target not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("target_not_found", "Target not found"))
     conn = await _live_conn(target)
     try:
         rows = await conn.fetch(
@@ -420,7 +457,7 @@ async def get_top_queries(target_id: int, user: User = Depends(get_current_user)
     _ = user
     target = await db.scalar(select(Target).where(Target.id == target_id))
     if not target:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Target not found")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("target_not_found", "Target not found"))
     if not target.use_pg_stat_statements:
         return []
     rows = (
@@ -450,5 +487,20 @@ async def get_overview(target_id: int, user: User = Depends(get_current_user), d
     _ = user
     target = await db.scalar(select(Target).where(Target.id == target_id))
     if not target:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Target not found")
-    return await get_target_overview(target)
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=api_error("target_not_found", "Target not found"))
+    try:
+        return await get_target_overview(target)
+    except (OSError, asyncpg.PostgresError) as exc:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=503,
+            detail=api_error(
+                "target_unreachable",
+                "Target database is not reachable",
+                {
+                    "target_id": target.id,
+                    "host": target.host,
+                    "port": target.port,
+                    "error": str(exc),
+                },
+            ),
+        ) from exc
diff --git a/backend/app/core/config.py b/backend/app/core/config.py
index e54f34a..899dba8 100644
--- a/backend/app/core/config.py
+++ b/backend/app/core/config.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ from functools import lru_cache
 from pydantic import field_validator
 from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings, SettingsConfigDict
 
-NEXAPG_VERSION = "0.1.8"
+NEXAPG_VERSION = "0.2.0"
 
 
 class Settings(BaseSettings):
diff --git a/backend/app/core/deps.py b/backend/app/core/deps.py
index 0260c1b..b91a92a 100644
--- a/backend/app/core/deps.py
+++ b/backend/app/core/deps.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ from sqlalchemy import select
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 from app.core.config import get_settings
 from app.core.db import get_db
+from app.core.errors import api_error
 from app.models.models import User
 
 settings = get_settings()
@@ -16,27 +17,42 @@ async def get_current_user(
     db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> User:
     if not credentials:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="Missing token")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
+            detail=api_error("missing_token", "Missing token"),
+        )
     token = credentials.credentials
     try:
         payload = jwt.decode(token, settings.jwt_secret_key, algorithms=[settings.jwt_algorithm])
     except jwt.InvalidTokenError as exc:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="Invalid token") from exc
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
+            detail=api_error("invalid_token", "Invalid token"),
+        ) from exc
 
     if payload.get("type") != "access":
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="Invalid token type")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
+            detail=api_error("invalid_token_type", "Invalid token type"),
+        )
 
     user_id = payload.get("sub")
     user = await db.scalar(select(User).where(User.id == int(user_id)))
     if not user:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="User not found")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
+            detail=api_error("user_not_found", "User not found"),
+        )
     return user
 
 
 def require_roles(*roles: str):
     async def role_dependency(user: User = Depends(get_current_user)) -> User:
         if user.role not in roles:
-            raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN, detail="Forbidden")
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN,
+                detail=api_error("forbidden", "Forbidden"),
+            )
         return user
 
     return role_dependency
diff --git a/backend/app/core/errors.py b/backend/app/core/errors.py
index a4c1f3c..60c2bbc 100644
--- a/backend/app/core/errors.py
+++ b/backend/app/core/errors.py
@@ -12,6 +12,14 @@ def error_payload(code: str, message: str, details: Any, request_id: str) -> dic
     }
 
 
+def api_error(code: str, message: str, details: Any = None) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    return {
+        "code": code,
+        "message": message,
+        "details": details,
+    }
+
+
 def http_status_to_code(status_code: int) -> str:
     mapping = {
         400: "bad_request",
@@ -28,4 +36,3 @@ def http_status_to_code(status_code: int) -> str:
         504: "gateway_timeout",
     }
     return mapping.get(status_code, f"http_{status_code}")
-
diff --git a/backend/app/services/alerts.py b/backend/app/services/alerts.py
index 199205d..0180961 100644
--- a/backend/app/services/alerts.py
+++ b/backend/app/services/alerts.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ from sqlalchemy import desc, func, select
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
 from app.core.config import get_settings
+from app.core.errors import api_error
 from app.models.models import AlertDefinition, Metric, QueryStat, Target
 from app.schemas.alert import AlertStatusItem, AlertStatusResponse
 from app.services.collector import build_target_dsn
@@ -144,25 +145,40 @@ def get_standard_alert_reference() -> list[dict[str, str]]:
 
 def validate_alert_thresholds(comparison: str, warning_threshold: float | None, alert_threshold: float) -> None:
     if comparison not in _ALLOWED_COMPARISONS:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=f"Invalid comparison. Use one of {sorted(_ALLOWED_COMPARISONS)}")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400,
+            detail=api_error(
+                "invalid_comparison",
+                f"Invalid comparison. Use one of {sorted(_ALLOWED_COMPARISONS)}",
+            ),
+        )
     if warning_threshold is None:
         return
 
     if comparison in {"gte", "gt"} and warning_threshold > alert_threshold:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="For gte/gt, warning_threshold must be <= alert_threshold")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400,
+            detail=api_error("invalid_thresholds", "For gte/gt, warning_threshold must be <= alert_threshold"),
+        )
     if comparison in {"lte", "lt"} and warning_threshold < alert_threshold:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="For lte/lt, warning_threshold must be >= alert_threshold")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400,
+            detail=api_error("invalid_thresholds", "For lte/lt, warning_threshold must be >= alert_threshold"),
+        )
 
 
 def validate_alert_sql(sql_text: str) -> str:
     sql = sql_text.strip().rstrip(";")
     lowered = sql.lower().strip()
     if not lowered.startswith("select"):
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Alert SQL must start with SELECT")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=api_error("invalid_alert_sql", "Alert SQL must start with SELECT"))
     if _FORBIDDEN_SQL_WORDS.search(lowered):
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Only read-only SELECT statements are allowed")
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400,
+            detail=api_error("invalid_alert_sql", "Only read-only SELECT statements are allowed"),
+        )
     if ";" in sql:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Only a single SQL statement is allowed")
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=api_error("invalid_alert_sql", "Only a single SQL statement is allowed"))
     return sql
 
 
diff --git a/backend/app/services/collector.py b/backend/app/services/collector.py
index 51bbe3c..6befd5c 100644
--- a/backend/app/services/collector.py
+++ b/backend/app/services/collector.py
@@ -195,6 +195,7 @@ async def collect_once() -> None:
         except (OSError, SQLAlchemyError, asyncpg.PostgresError, Exception) as exc:
             now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
             current_error = str(exc)
+            error_class = exc.__class__.__name__
             state = _failure_state.get(target.id)
             if state is None:
                 _failure_state[target.id] = {
@@ -202,7 +203,13 @@ async def collect_once() -> None:
                     "last_log_at": now,
                     "error": current_error,
                 }
-                logger.exception("collector_error target=%s err=%s", target.id, exc)
+                logger.warning(
+                    "collector_target_unreachable target=%s error_class=%s err=%s consecutive_failures=%s",
+                    target.id,
+                    error_class,
+                    current_error,
+                    1,
+                )
                 continue
 
             count = int(state.get("count", 0)) + 1
@@ -220,9 +227,10 @@ async def collect_once() -> None:
             if should_log:
                 state["last_log_at"] = now
                 state["error"] = current_error
-                logger.error(
-                    "collector_error_throttled target=%s err=%s consecutive_failures=%s",
+                logger.warning(
+                    "collector_target_unreachable target=%s error_class=%s err=%s consecutive_failures=%s",
                     target.id,
+                    error_class,
                     current_error,
                     count,
                 )