When adding a source in Kodi, you may receive the following error “Couldn’t retrieve directory information. This could be due to the network not being connected. Do you want to add it anyway?“.
This error will always show up when trying to click “Ok” when adding the source, and there are a few reasons why. You can see an image below of what this error usually looks like.
It’s an annoying problem to face, and one that also everyone will go through. Thankfully, this doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with your actual Kodi device. Instead, it’s more likely going to be a problem with the host.
We have a small guide below which should help you troubleshoot and fix this error.
Before we start
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We have a small guide below which should help you troubleshoot and fix this error.
How to fix ‘Couldn’t retrieve directory information’ Error in Kodi Krypton
Basically, this error means that it can’t find the Source you have inputted.
- Internet connection failure: If your Kodi platform can’t connect to the internet sufficiently, it’s not going to be able to retrieve information from the Source URL. You can check your Kodi is connected to the internet by checking under System > Network
- Incorrect URL input: The most likely reason for receiving the ‘Couldn’t retrieve directory information’ error is mostly due to an incorrect Source URL being inputted into Kodi. Make sure that you’ve inputted every character correctly and that there is no spelling mistakes.
- Source is down: If your internet is working correctly and the correct URL has been inputted in Kodi, then there’s realistically only one more reason that you are receiving the Couldn’t retrieve directory information error. The source is probably down, and you can check yourself whether it is working. Check below.
This error could come from something simple. Using Googles URL on the image above, you can see that I forgot a ‘/’ in the URL. With this URL not existing with a / missing, the ‘Could not find directory’ error will appear.
How to check if a Kodi source is working correctly
Checking if a Kodi Source is still working is pretty easy. On your mobile device or computer, enter the source name into your web browser.
For example, we can try this with the ares repo, which is http://ares-repo.eu/
When you enter it into a browser, a page shows up which contains a ZIP while which proves the Source URL is working.
However, if we where to enter an incorrect character and try http://aras-repo.eu/ we see a “This site can’t be reached” error. In the URL, I changed Ares to Aras. Although Ares Wizard isn’t a thing anymore unfortunately as of 2018.
Testing a source URL in your browser on your PC or Phone is a good idea if your Kodi is set up on a device is set up on the Fire Stick. Nobody wants to spend all that time typing the URL character by character for it to not work.
