ConnectionRefusedError 🐍 Python

ConnectionRefusedError: [Errno 111] Connection refused

Nothing is listening on the host/port Python tried to connect to.

Seen on: Python

Meaning

The target service (database, Redis, API) is down, on another port, or — in Docker — you’re connecting to localhost inside a container.

Common causes

  • Target service not running
  • Wrong port
  • localhost inside Docker
  • Service listening only on 127.0.0.1 while connecting remotely

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Start the service and check its port
  2. Use the compose service name as host
  3. Bind the service to 0.0.0.0 when accessed remotely

Detailed fix by platform

Python

  1. Retry with backoff on startup while dependencies come up

How to diagnose

  1. Target — host:port in the traceback
  2. Service — Running?

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