diff --git a/commands/response.go b/commands/response.go
index 6a60f1435..a538814c5 100644
--- a/commands/response.go
+++ b/commands/response.go
@@ -7,6 +7,12 @@ const (
   // TODO: add more types of errors for better error-specific handling
 )
 
+// Error is a struct for marshalling errors
+type Error struct {
+  message string
+  code ErrorType
+}
+
 type Response struct {
   req *Request
   Error error
@@ -19,6 +25,10 @@ func (r *Response) SetError(err error, errType ErrorType) {
   r.ErrorType = errType
 }
 
+func (r *Response) FormatError() Error {
+  return Error{ r.Error.Error(), r.ErrorType }
+}
+
 /*func (r *Response) Encode() ([]byte, error) {
 
 }*/