diff --git a/cpp/include/kvikio/defaults.hpp b/cpp/include/kvikio/defaults.hpp
index 71773f23e0..1e06e90acc 100644
--- a/cpp/include/kvikio/defaults.hpp
+++ b/cpp/include/kvikio/defaults.hpp
@@ -57,6 +57,9 @@ namespace detail {
  */
 CompatMode parse_compat_mode_str(std::string_view compat_mode_str);
 
+std::vector<int> parse_http_status_codes(std::string_view nev_var_name,
+                                         std::string const status_codes);
+
 }  // namespace detail
 
 template <typename T>
diff --git a/cpp/tests/test_defaults.cpp b/cpp/tests/test_defaults.cpp
index c4a88775e4..3953cca28e 100644
--- a/cpp/tests/test_defaults.cpp
+++ b/cpp/tests/test_defaults.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2024, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+ * Copyright (c) 2024-2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -51,3 +51,25 @@ TEST(Defaults, parse_compat_mode_str)
     }
   }
 }
+
+TEST(Defaults, parse_http_status_codes)
+{
+  {
+    std::vector<std::string> inputs{
+      "429,500", "429, 500", " 429,500", "429,  500", "429 ,500", "429,500 "};
+    std::vector<int> expected = {429, 500};
+    // std::string const input = "429,500,501,503";
+    for (const auto& input : inputs) {
+      EXPECT_EQ(kvikio::detail::parse_http_status_codes("KVIKIO_HTTP_STATUS_CODES", input),
+                expected);
+    }
+  }
+
+  {
+    std::vector<std::string> inputs{"429,", ",429", "a,b", "429,,500", "429,1000"};
+    for (const auto& input : inputs) {
+      EXPECT_THROW(kvikio::detail::parse_http_status_codes("KVIKIO_HTTP_STATUS_CODES", input),
+                   std::invalid_argument);
+    }
+  }
+}