wget: unable to resolve host address `http'

Question

I am getting this strange thing on my Ubuntu 12.04 64-bit machine when I do a wget

$ wget google.com

--2014-07-18 14:44:32--  http://google.com/

Resolving http (http)... failed: Name or service not known.

wget: unable to resolve host address `http'

I have encountered this problem earlier when I got it for any web pages (and not http), which required me to add my nameserver to /etc/resolv.conf.

However, here that doesn't seem to be the problem, instead it is recognizing http as something different. Any advise?

you won't be able to wget anything then. You have an issue with your nameserver configuration. As @WhiteCoffee suggests below, add in the google public DNS servers and try to ping then. If that works, wget should work. — ChrisBint, Jul 18 '14 at 09:39
You cannot use ping for some proxies. Nor can you use a DNS lookup from the client in question. Some corporate networks do not allow external resolution. The proxy server must handle that. I suspect in @techEnthusiast's case, the proxy is required to handle the DNS. — rjenkins, Nov 23 '15 at 22:16

score 73 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 18 '14 at 09:35

73

The DNS server seems out of order. You can use another DNS server such as 8.8.8.8. Put nameserver 8.8.8.8 to the first line of /etc/resolv.conf.

answered Jul 18 '14 at 09:35

whitecoffee

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why exactly 8.8.8.8 – Mouin Jan 04 '17 at 09:13
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@Mouin 8.8.8.8 is the [Google public DNS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Public_DNS) which is a common used server, if you are looking for a open/democratic one have a look at: https://www.opennicproject.org/ – Mehdi Nellen Apr 11 '17 at 12:10

score 15 · Answer 2 · edited Nov 17 '15 at 15:36

15

remove the http or https from wget https:github.com/facebook/facebook-php-sdk/archive/master.zip . this worked fine for me.

edited Nov 17 '15 at 15:36

Sterling Archer

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answered Nov 17 '15 at 14:30

Kibrom Gebrehiwot

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It works for me too. but why I used prefix http or https succeed before? – Alex Chiang Mar 17 '17 at 02:11
Why tf does this work? – J-Cake Jun 06 '23 at 13:00

score 9 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 09 '23 at 13:27

I have this issue too. I suspect there is an issue with DigitalOcean’s nameservers, so this will likely affect a lot of other people too. Here’s what I’ve done to temporarily get around it - but someone else might be able to advise on a better long-term fix:

Make sure your DNS Resolver config file is writable:

sudo chmod o+r /etc/resolv.conf
Temporarily change your DNS to use Google’s nameservers instead of DigitalOcean’s:

sudo nano /etc/resolv.conf

Change the IP address in the file to: 8.8.8.8

Press CTRL + X to save the file.

This is only a temporary fix as this file is automatically written/updated by the server, however, I’ve not yet worked out what writes to it so that I can update it permanently.

sudo chattr +i /etc/resolv.conf - which will make the file immutable and won't be overwritten next time you start wsl — Subodh Wasankar, Sep 09 '22 at 15:36

score 6 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 18 '14 at 09:52

6

I figured out what went wrong. In the proxy configuration of my box, an extra http:// got prefixed to "proxy server with http".

Example..

http://http://proxy.mycollege.com

and that has created problems. Corrected that, and it works perfectly.

Thanks @WhiteCoffee and @ChrisBint for your suggestions!

answered Jul 18 '14 at 09:52

kausal_malladi

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please tell how to change the setting. – Rahul Satal Jul 02 '15 at 10:33
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you can change the setting by HTTP_PROXY="your server" on your terminal. – kausal_malladi Jul 02 '15 at 14:47
For me, using Fedora and Ubuntu, I put http://localhost in the System Settings Networking section. The gui only expects localhost. – rjenkins Nov 23 '15 at 22:11
Unbelievably this was my problem as well. Had to edit `/etc/environment`. – ededed Dec 03 '21 at 12:51

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered May 04 '18 at 12:56

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If using Vagrant try reloading your box. This solved my issue.

answered May 04 '18 at 12:56

Dan Walters

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score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Sep 09 '22 at 15:38

It might happen because of the overriding of resolv.conf, This answer helped me, use below every time when you set up a new WSL. sudo chattr +i /etc/resolv.conf - will make the file immutable and won't be overwritten next time you start wsl.

sudo bash -c 'echo -e "[network]
generateResolvConf = false" > /etc/wsl.conf
rm /etc/resolv.conf
echo -e "options timeout:1 attempts:1 rotate
nameserver 1.1.1.1
nameserver 1.0.0.1" > /etc/resolv.conf
chattr -f +i /etc/resolv.conf'

Arash Ebrahimi · Answer 7 · 2023-08-13T12:09:42.177

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I had the same issue, I just removed the http:// from the link and it worked:

!wget www.robots.ox.ac.uk/~vgg/data/pets/data/images.tar.gz

edited Aug 13 '23 at 12:09

answered Aug 13 '23 at 12:08

Arash Ebrahimi

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wget: unable to resolve host address `http'

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