gohugoio/hugo · error

failed to create request for resource %s: %w

Error message

failed to create request for resource %s: %w

What it means

After decoding options, Hugo builds the `*http.Request` via `options.NewRequest(uri)`. This fails when `http.NewRequest` rejects the inputs — most commonly an invalid HTTP method string or a URL/body combination Go's http package won't accept. It fires before the request is sent, so it's a construction problem, not a network one.

Source

Thrown at resources/resource_factories/create/remote.go:252

		if err := c.validateFromRemoteArgs(uri, options); err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}

		getRes := func() (*http.Response, context.CancelFunc, error) {
			ctx := context.Background()
			var cancel context.CancelFunc
			if perRequestTimeout > 0 {
				ctx, cancel = context.WithTimeout(ctx, perRequestTimeout)
			}
			ctx = c.resourceIDDispatcher.Set(ctx, filecacheKey)

			req, err := options.NewRequest(uri)
			if err != nil {
				if cancel != nil {
					cancel()
				}
				return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create request for resource %s: %w", uri, err)
			}

			req = req.WithContext(ctx)

			resp, err := c.httpClient.Do(req)
			if err != nil {
				if cancel != nil {
					cancel()
				}
				return nil, nil, err
			}
			return resp, cancel, nil
		}

		res, cancel, err := getRes()
		if cancel != nil {
			defer cancel()
		}

View on GitHub ↗ (pinned to 8a468df065)

Solutions

1. Ensure the URL is absolute with an explicit scheme: `https://example.com/...`.
2. Sanitize the `method` option: valid HTTP token, no whitespace, e.g. `dict "method" "post"`.
3. Read the wrapped Go error text — it states exactly what http.NewRequest rejected — and correct that input.

Example fix

{{/* before */}}
{{ $r := resources.GetRemote "example.com/api" (dict "method" "POST ") }}
{{/* after */}}
{{ $r := resources.GetRemote "https://example.com/api" (dict "method" "post") }}

{{/* method must be a valid HTTP token; URL must be well-formed */}}
{{ $method := upper (default "get" .Params.method) }}
{{ if not (in (slice "GET" "POST" "HEAD") $method) }}
  {{ errorf "unsupported method %q for %s" $method $url }}
{{ end }}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `resources.GetRemote` with a `method` option containing an invalid token (spaces, lowercase is normalized but e.g. `"GET "` with whitespace or a non-token character fails), or a URI form that parsed leniently in step one but is rejected by `http.NewRequest` (e.g. missing scheme in some forms), or a body option that can't form a request.

Common situations: Method values from data files with stray whitespace or quotes, using a relative or scheme-less URL (`//example.com/x` or `example.com/x`), or unusual custom methods with illegal characters.

Related errors

• failed to parse URL for resource %s: %w
• failed to decode options for resource %s: %w
• error building site: %w
• failed to detect format from content
• failed to detect target data serialization format

AI-assisted analysis of gohugoio/hugo@8a468df065 (2026-07-31). Data as JSON: /data/errors/3831d956a2d56438.json. Report an issue: GitHub ↗.