Atlas surfaces "Forbidden: request was blocked by a gateway or proxy. You may not have permission to access this resource" because the proxy accepted your identity and then refused the resource. Atlas uses the same HTML-body detection as the 401 case, but for status 403. Verify that your account or org actually has access to the model or endpoint you are calling, ask whoever runs the proxy to allow the Atlas egress path for that provider host, and check provider settings for a project or workspace scope that excludes the model.
What does Forbidden: request was blocked by a gateway or proxy mean in Atlas
Forbidden in Atlas means the proxy accepted your identity and then refused the resource. Atlas applies the same HTML-body detection used for the 401 case, but for status 403, so a proxy denial page becomes the readable sentence: You may not have permission to access this resource.
A 403 is a permission verdict, not an identity verdict. The gateway knew who you were. The gateway looked at the resource you requested and denied it. Atlas detects the HTML denial page a proxy returns, sees the 403 status, and substitutes a readable Forbidden sentence instead of putting markup in your transcript. Understanding that distinction saves real debugging time, because rotating a key, re-running an authentication flow, or reissuing a token are all aimed at the wrong layer. Your identity was accepted. Your permission to that resource was refused.
How do I fix a 403 gateway block in Atlas
Fix a 403 gateway block in Atlas by first verifying that your account or org actually has access to the model or endpoint you are calling. A 403 says the proxy accepted your identity and refused the resource, so entitlement to the specific resource is the first thing worth checking.
Go to the provider console and look at what the account behind your Atlas credential is permitted to call. Model access is frequently granted at the org level, and an individual account can be authenticated correctly and still be outside the group that is allowed to reach a given model or endpoint. Establish the entitlement question first. If your org genuinely does have access and the Forbidden message still appears, the block is being applied by the proxy rather than by the provider, and the proxy owner becomes the person to talk to.
How to get the Atlas egress path allowed through a proxy
Ask whoever runs the proxy to allow the Atlas egress path for that provider host. A corporate proxy that has not been told about the provider host will deny the request with a 403 and an HTML page, which is exactly the condition Atlas rewrites into the Forbidden gateway message.
Egress rules are normally maintained as an allowlist of permitted destination hosts. If the provider host Atlas calls is absent from that allowlist, the proxy denies the connection with a 403 no matter how valid your credential is. Bring the proxy administrator the specific provider host and ask for it to be permitted on the Atlas egress path. Expect a policy review, since an allowlist entry is a network permission change rather than a setting you can flip yourself. Until the provider host is permitted, no reconfiguration inside Atlas will get the request through.
Does a project or workspace scope cause a 403 in Atlas
A project or workspace scope can absolutely cause a 403 in Atlas. Check provider settings for a project or workspace scope that excludes the model you are calling. The credential is valid, the identity is accepted, and the scope attached to it simply does not cover that resource.
Many providers attach a project or workspace scope to a key. The key works, requests authenticate, and any resource outside the scope is refused with a 403. From Atlas the result is indistinguishable from a proxy denial, because both arrive as a forbidden status. Open the provider settings for the exact key configured in Atlas and read its scope. If the model you are calling sits outside that project or workspace, either widen the scope or issue a key in the scope that includes the model, then reconfigure Atlas with it.
How to confirm the Atlas 403 block is scoped to one model
Retry with a model you know your account is entitled to, to confirm the block is scoped. If that model succeeds while the original one returns the Forbidden gateway message, the 403 is specific to the resource rather than a blanket denial of the Atlas egress path.
The entitled-model test is the cheapest diagnostic available for a 403 in Atlas, and it splits the problem cleanly in two. A successful call to a known-good model proves the proxy is allowing the Atlas egress path and that your identity is accepted, which narrows the cause to entitlement or scope on the original model. A Forbidden message on every model, including one you are certain you can use, points at the proxy denying the provider host outright. Atlas lets you switch the active model and provider on the fly with favorites and recents, so running the test takes seconds.
How to verify the Forbidden gateway fix worked
Verify the Forbidden fix by retrying the original request and confirming that the model responds normally. A normal response means the proxy no longer refuses the resource, so Atlas has no 403 and no HTML denial body to rewrite into the Forbidden gateway message.
Retry after each individual change, not after all four, so you learn which one carried the fix. Confirming org access to the model, getting the Atlas egress path allowed for the provider host, and correcting a project or workspace scope all resolve the same visible symptom, and knowing which applied to you matters for the next person on your team who hits it. If Forbidden persists after all four steps, the proxy is enforcing a policy that is not visible from the client side, and the proxy operator holds the only remaining answer.
How to fix it
- 01Verify your account or org actually has access to the model or endpoint you are calling.
- 02Ask whoever runs the proxy to allow the Atlas egress path for that provider host.
- 03Check provider settings for a project or workspace scope that excludes the model.
- 04Retry with a model you know your account is entitled to, to confirm the block is scoped.
Frequently asked questions
- how to fix Forbidden request was blocked by a gateway or proxy in atlas
- Verify your account or org actually has access to the model or endpoint, ask whoever runs the proxy to allow the Atlas egress path for that provider host, and check provider settings for a project or workspace scope that excludes the model.
- what is the difference between the atlas 401 and 403 gateway errors
- In Atlas, a 401 gateway block means your authentication token may be missing or expired. A 403 means the proxy accepted your identity and refused the resource, so it is a permission problem rather than an identity problem.
- atlas 403 forbidden but my api key is valid
- A valid key still produces a 403 when the proxy accepts your identity and refuses the resource. Check that your org has access to the model, and look for a project or workspace scope on the key that excludes it.
- how do I get my proxy to allow atlas requests
- Ask whoever runs the proxy to allow the Atlas egress path for the provider host you are calling. Corporate proxies deny unlisted destination hosts with a 403 regardless of how valid your credential is.
- can a workspace scope block a model in atlas
- Yes. A project or workspace scope attached to a provider key can exclude a model, and the provider then refuses the call with a 403. Check the scope on the exact key configured in Atlas.
- how do I test whether an atlas 403 is model specific
- Retry with a model you know your account is entitled to. If that model works while the original returns the Forbidden gateway message, the 403 is scoped to the resource rather than blocking the Atlas egress path entirely.
- why doesn't atlas show the raw html from my proxy
- Atlas detects an HTML response body from a proxy or gateway and, on status 403, substitutes the readable sentence: Forbidden: request was blocked by a gateway or proxy. You may not have permission to access this resource.
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