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How to Solve "requests.exceptions.InvalidSchema: No connection adapters were found"

The requests.exceptions.InvalidSchema: No connection adapters were found for error in Python, when using the requests library, indicates a problem with the URL you're trying to access.

This guide explains the common causes of this error, focusing on:

  • Incorrect URL format (missing scheme, special characters).
  • Passing the wrong data type to requests.get().
  • Accidental tuple creation.

We'll provide clear solutions for each cause.

Understanding the Error​

The requests library is designed to make HTTP requests. It needs a valid URL to know where to send the request and how to connect. The InvalidSchema error means the URL you provided doesn't have a recognizable protocol scheme (like http:// or https://). requests doesn't know how to handle the request without this information.

Common Causes and Solutions​

Incorrect URL Type​

The requests.get() function (and other requests methods like post(), put(), etc.) expects a string as the URL argument. Passing anything else (like a list, tuple, or dictionary) will cause an error.

import requests

# ⛔️ INCORRECT: Passing a list
# url = ['https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts']
# res = requests.get(url, timeout=10)  # Raises InvalidSchema

# ✅ CORRECT: Passing a string
url = 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts'
res = requests.get(url, timeout=10)
parsed = res.json()
print(parsed)

Always ensure your URL is a string. If it's stored in another data structure, extract it before passing it to requests.get():

import requests
# Correct example
url = ['https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts']
res = requests.get(url[0], timeout=10) # Access the first element to pass a string.
parsed = res.json()
print(parsed)

Missing URL Scheme (http:// or https://)​

The most common cause of InvalidSchema is omitting the protocol scheme (http:// or https://):

import requests
# ⛔️ INCORRECT: Missing "https://"
# res = requests.get('jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts', timeout=10)

# ✅ CORRECT: Include the scheme
res = requests.get('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts', timeout=10)
parsed = res.json()
print(parsed)
  • Always include http:// or https:// (or another valid protocol) at the beginning of your URL. requests needs this to determine how to connect.
  • Also, make sure that the protocol is spelled in lowercase letters.

Invalid Characters in the URL​

URLs can't contain certain characters directly. Newlines, spaces (in some contexts), and quotes are common culprits:

import requests
# ⛔️ INCORRECT: Newline characters in the URL
# url = """
# https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts
# """
# res = requests.get(url, timeout=10)

# ✅ CORRECT: Remove newlines and extra spaces
url = "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts"
res = requests.get(url, timeout=10)
parsed = res.json()
print(parsed)

Solution: Ensure your URL string is properly formatted:

  • No leading/trailing whitespace. Use url.strip() if necessary.
  • No newline characters (\n) or other control characters within the URL.
  • No unescaped spaces or other special characters within the URL's path or query parameters. Use urllib.parse.quote() or urllib.parse.urlencode() to properly encode these if necessary.

Accidental Tuple Creation​

An easy-to-make mistake is accidentally creating a tuple instead of a string:

url = 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts',  # Note the trailing comma!

# ('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts',)  # This is a tuple!
print(url)

print(type(url))  # Output: <class 'tuple'>

# ⛔️ requests.exceptions.InvalidSchema (because it's a tuple)
# requests.get(url, timeout=10)

#✅ CORRECT: Remove the trailing comma.
print(url[0])

  • url = '.../posts',: The trailing comma creates a single-element tuple, not a string.
  • Solution: Remove the trailing comma, or unpack the tuple value before using the url in a request: requests.get(url[0], ...)

Conclusion​

The requests.exceptions.InvalidSchema: No connection adapters were found for error is almost always due to an improperly formatted or typed URL. Always double-check that:

  • You're passing a string to requests.get() (and other requests methods).
  • The URL string includes the protocol scheme (http:// or https://).
  • The URL string is correctly formatted and doesn't contain invalid characters.
  • You haven't accidentally created a tuple instead of a string.

By carefully inspecting your URL and its type, you can quickly resolve this common error.

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