answers.removeUpvote()

Removes a previously cast upvote from an answer, returning the vote count to its previous state.

Syntax

async removeUpvote(questionId: number, answerId: number): Promise<AnswerSummaryResponseModel>

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
questionId	number	Yes	The unique identifier of the question that contains the answer
answerId	number	Yes	The unique identifier of the answer to remove the upvote from

Return Value

Returns a Promise<AnswerSummaryResponseModel> containing updated answer summary information with the adjusted vote count and score.

Examples

Basic Upvote Removal

import { StackOverflowSDK } from 'so-teams-sdk';

const sdk = new StackOverflowSDK({
  accessToken: 'your-access-token',
  baseUrl: 'https://[your-site].stackenterprise.co/api/v3'
});

// Remove an upvote from an answer
const result = await sdk.answers.removeUpvote(123, 456);
console.log(`Answer score is now: ${result.score}`);

Remove Upvote with Score Tracking

try {
  const answerBefore = await sdk.answers.get(123, 456);
  console.log(`Current score: ${answerBefore.score}`);

  const result = await sdk.answers.removeUpvote(123, 456);

  console.log(`Score after removing upvote: ${result.score}`);
  console.log(`Score decreased by: ${answerBefore.score - result.score}`);
} catch (error) {
  console.error('Failed to remove upvote:', error.message);
}

Conditional Vote Removal

async function removeUpvoteIfExists(questionId: number, answerId: number) {
  try {
    const result = await sdk.answers.removeUpvote(questionId, answerId);
    console.log(`Removed upvote from answer ${answerId}, new score: ${result.score}`);
    return { removed: true, score: result.score };
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.message.includes('no upvote') || error.message.includes('not voted')) {
      console.log('No upvote to remove');
      return { removed: false, reason: 'no_upvote' };
    } else {
      console.error('Error removing upvote:', error.message);
      throw error;
    }
  }
}

const result = await removeUpvoteIfExists(123, 456);

Vote Management Workflow

async function changeVoteToDownvote(questionId: number, answerId: number) {
  try {
    // First, remove existing upvote
    await sdk.answers.removeUpvote(questionId, answerId);
    console.log('Upvote removed');

    // Then cast a downvote
    const result = await sdk.answers.downvote(questionId, answerId);
    console.log(`Changed vote to downvote, new score: ${result.score}`);

    return result;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Failed to change vote:', error.message);
    throw error;
  }
}

await changeVoteToDownvote(123, 456);

Team Context

// Using team context
const teamSDK = sdk.forTeam('team-123');
const result = await teamSDK.answers.removeUpvote(123, 456);

// Or with direct client initialization
import { AnswerClient } from 'so-teams-sdk';
const teamAnswerClient = new AnswerClient(config, 'team-123');
const voteResult = await teamAnswerClient.removeUpvote(123, 456);

Bulk Vote Management

async function removeUpvotesFromMultipleAnswers(questionId: number, answerIds: number[]) {
  const results = [];

  for (const answerId of answerIds) {
    try {
      const result = await sdk.answers.removeUpvote(questionId, answerId);
      results.push({
        answerId,
        status: 'removed',
        newScore: result.score
      });
      console.log(`Removed upvote from answer ${answerId}`);
    } catch (error) {
      results.push({
        answerId,
        status: 'failed',
        error: error.message
      });
      console.error(`Failed to remove upvote from answer ${answerId}:`, error.message);
    }
  }

  return results;
}

const results = await removeUpvotesFromMultipleAnswers(123, [456, 789]);
console.log('Vote removal results:', results);

Error Handling

This method can throw the following errors:

Error Type	Status Code	Description
AuthenticationError	401	Invalid or missing authentication token
TokenExpiredError	401	Authentication token has expired
ForbiddenError	403	Cannot remove upvote (no existing upvote, insufficient permissions)
NotFoundError	404	Question or answer with the specified ID does not exist
SDKError	Various	Other API or network errors

Example Error Handling

import StackOverflowSDK, { NotFoundError, ForbiddenError } from 'so-teams-sdk';

const sdk = new StackOverflowSDK({
  accessToken: 'your-access-token',
  baseUrl: 'https://[your-site].stackenterprise.co/api/v3'
});

try {
  const result = await sdk.answers.removeUpvote(123, 456);
  console.log('Upvote removed successfully, new score:', result.score);
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof NotFoundError) {
    console.error('Answer not found');
  } else if (error instanceof ForbiddenError) {
    if (error.message.includes('no upvote') || error.message.includes('not voted')) {
      console.error('You have not upvoted this answer');
    } else {
      console.error('Cannot remove upvote:', error.message);
    }
  } else {
    console.error('Failed to remove upvote:', error.message);
  }
}

Safe Vote Removal

async function safeRemoveUpvote(questionId: number, answerId: number) {
  try {
    const result = await sdk.answers.removeUpvote(questionId, answerId);
    return {
      success: true,
      score: result.score,
      message: 'Upvote removed successfully'
    };
  } catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof ForbiddenError) {
      if (error.message.includes('no upvote') || error.message.includes('not voted')) {
        return {
          success: false,
          reason: 'no_upvote',
          message: 'No upvote exists to remove'
        };
      }
    }
    return {
      success: false,
      reason: 'error',
      message: error.message
    };
  }
}

const result = await safeRemoveUpvote(123, 456);
if (result.success) {
  console.log('Upvote removed, new score:', result.score);
} else {
  console.log('Could not remove upvote:', result.message);
}

Notes

• This method can only be called if the user has previously upvoted the answer
• Calling this method when no upvote exists will result in a ForbiddenError
• After removing an upvote, the user can cast either an upvote or downvote on the same answer
• The score decrease depends on the voting system (typically decreases by 1)
• Vote removal is immediate and reflected in the returned response
• Users cannot remove votes on their own answers (since they can’t vote on them in the first place)
• Some platforms may have time limits on vote changes - after a certain period, votes may become locked
• The returned AnswerSummaryResponseModel contains the updated vote-related information