"could not translate host name": the endpoint string is wrong

TL;DR

For "could not translate host name "[host]" to address": the hostname was hand-typed or hand-edited: a typo, a missing segment, or a -pooler suffix added/removed wrongly. The branch or endpoint was deleted or renamed; the string points at something that no longer exists.

could not translate host name "[host]" to address

Steps

1. The hostname was hand-typed or hand-edited: a typo, a missing segment, or a -pooler suffix added/removed wrongly.
2. The branch or endpoint was deleted or renamed; the string points at something that no longer exists.
3. Local DNS issues (rare; everything else resolves).
4. nslookup [host] fails while other names resolve: it is the string, not your network.
5. Compare character-by-character against the Connect modal in the Console for the current branch.
6. - Copy the connection string fresh from the Console; do not reconstruct it by memory.

• If the branch was deleted, recreate it or repoint the app at the right branch.
• Pin connection strings in secret management so they cannot drift by hand-edit.

4. DNS resolves and psql connects with the exact string the app uses.

When to use

You are seeing this: could not translate host name "[host]" to address (or the driver's DNS equivalent) on every connect attempt. Use this skill when you run into ""could not translate host name": the endpoint string is wrong".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

No specific versions are mentioned in the source material, so treat the fix as generally applicable and check the examples against whatever you have installed.

Why this happens

The hostname was hand-typed or hand-edited: a typo, a missing segment, or a -pooler suffix added/removed wrongly.

Neon's connection error docs (verified live 2026-09-26) list DNS resolution issues among resolved connection errors; the connect docs describe the Console constructing the string per branch/compute/database/role.