Shopify 'getaddrinfo: nodename nor servname provided, or not known': the fix
UPDATED 3 MIN READBY THE SCENOX COMMERCE TEAM
SHORT ANSWER
'Validation failed: getaddrinfo: nodename nor servname provided, or not known' means the host in an Image Src URL could not be found. The URL is malformed: a missing protocol, a typo in the domain, spaces, or a local path. Use a full public https link to the image.
ON THIS PAGE
Some imports fail with a long, technical message: "Validation failed: getaddrinfo: nodename nor servname provided, or not known". It reads like a server fault, but the cause is almost always in your Image Src column. See the Shopify CSV import errors guide for the other image errors.
What it means
Before Shopify can download an image it must translate the host name in the URL, such as cdn.example.com, into an address. This message says that step failed. Shopify's documentation attributes it to a wrong image URL and recommends including the protocol and using a publicly accessible direct link.
Causes
- No protocol. The cell contains
cdn.example.com/tee.jpgwith nohttps://. - A typo in the domain, such as
cdn.exmaple.com. - Spaces in the URL, or a line break pasted into the cell.
- A local file path or bare file name such as
tee.jpgorC:\photos\tee.jpg. - A private or internal host, such as a staging site, an intranet address or
localhost. - Two URLs in one cell, separated by a comma or space.
- A host that no longer exists, for example an expired domain or retired CDN.
- A placeholder left in the column, such as
TBDorimage url here.
Broken row and fixed row
Broken:
Handle,Title,Image Src
tee,Tee,cdn.example.com/tee 1.jpg
mug,Mug,mug-front.jpg
Fixed:
Handle,Title,Image Src
tee,Tee,https://cdn.example.com/tee-1.jpg
mug,Mug,https://cdn.example.com/mug-front.jpg
The first row lacks a protocol and has a space. The second only holds a file name, so the importer has no host to look up.
Step-by-step fix
- Find the lines the error names, and read the Image Src value on each.
- Check that it starts with
https://followed by a real domain. - Look for spaces, line breaks and trailing characters. Trim them.
- Paste the URL into a private browser window. If the image does not load, the host or path is wrong.
- If the file only exists on your machine or a staging site, upload it to a public host, a CDN or Shopify Files first.
- Make sure each cell contains one URL. Extra images go on their own rows with the same handle.
- Remove placeholders and re-import.
- For the lines that still fail, import without images and add them afterwards.
Prevention
Build Image Src from two columns: a base URL and a file name. Join them with a formula and the protocol can never be missing. Run a script that requests every URL and logs failures. And keep file names without spaces so no URL needs encoding.
Treat staging hosts with caution. Images that load for you on a company network may be invisible to Shopify.
When to do it yourself and when to hand it off
If a few URLs are wrong, fix them and import. If you have thousands of images across folders with inconsistent names, getting each one hosted and linked correctly is the larger task. Our bulk product upload service takes images, names them, hosts them and builds the file, and a person reviews every output before you approve it. You can ask for a free 10-product sample if your project is a fit.
