diff --git a/packages/graph-explorer/src/modules/CreateConnection/CreateConnection.test.tsx b/packages/graph-explorer/src/modules/CreateConnection/CreateConnection.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ded10545e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/graph-explorer/src/modules/CreateConnection/CreateConnection.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+// @vitest-environment happy-dom
+import { render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
+import userEvent from "@testing-library/user-event";
+import { describe, expect, test, vi } from "vitest";
+
+import { TooltipProvider } from "@/components";
+import { configurationAtom, getAppStore } from "@/core";
+import { createQueryClient } from "@/core/queryClient";
+import { TestProvider } from "@/utils/testing";
+
+import CreateConnection from "./CreateConnection";
+
+function renderCreateConnection() {
+  const store = getAppStore();
+  store.set(configurationAtom, new Map());
+
+  render(
+    <TestProvider client={createQueryClient()} store={store}>
+      <TooltipProvider>
+        <CreateConnection onClose={vi.fn()} />
+      </TooltipProvider>
+    </TestProvider>,
+  );
+
+  return store;
+}
+
+describe("CreateConnection", () => {
+  test("removes newlines and surrounding whitespace from URL fields", async () => {
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    const store = renderCreateConnection();
+
+    await user.type(
+      screen.getByRole("textbox", { name: "Public or Proxy Endpoint" }),
+      "  https://proxy.example.com/{Enter}path  ",
+    );
+    await user.click(
+      screen.getByRole("checkbox", { name: "Using Proxy-Server" }),
+    );
+    await user.type(
+      screen.getByRole("textbox", { name: "Graph Connection URL" }),
+      "  https://database.example.com/{Enter}graph  ",
+    );
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Add Connection" }));
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(store.get(configurationAtom)).toHaveLength(1);
+    });
+
+    const [savedConnection] = store.get(configurationAtom).values();
+    expect(savedConnection).toMatchObject({
+      connection: {
+        url: "https://proxy.example.com/path",
+        graphDbUrl: "https://database.example.com/graph",
+      },
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("rejects a URL that is empty after normalization", async () => {
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    const store = renderCreateConnection();
+
+    await user.type(
+      screen.getByRole("textbox", { name: "Public or Proxy Endpoint" }),
+      "  {Enter}  ",
+    );
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Add Connection" }));
+
+    expect(store.get(configurationAtom)).toHaveLength(0);
+    expect(screen.getByText("URL is required")).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/graph-explorer/src/modules/CreateConnection/CreateConnection.tsx b/packages/graph-explorer/src/modules/CreateConnection/CreateConnection.tsx
index ac6bb5a1f..1a2ee1cbc 100644
--- a/packages/graph-explorer/src/modules/CreateConnection/CreateConnection.tsx
+++ b/packages/graph-explorer/src/modules/CreateConnection/CreateConnection.tsx
@@ -50,6 +50,10 @@ type ConnectionForm = {
   nodeExpansionLimit?: number;
 };
 
+function normalizeUrlField(value: string | undefined) {
+  return value?.replace(/[\r\n]/g, "").trim();
+}
+
 const CONNECTIONS_OP: {
   label: string;
   value: QueryEngine;
@@ -234,22 +238,35 @@ const CreateConnection = ({
 
   const reset = useResetState();
   const onSubmit = () => {
-    if (!form.name || !form.url || !form.queryEngine) {
+    const normalizedForm: ConnectionForm = {
+      ...form,
+      url: normalizeUrlField(form.url),
+      graphDbUrl: normalizeUrlField(form.graphDbUrl),
+    };
+
+    if (
+      !normalizedForm.name ||
+      !normalizedForm.url ||
+      !normalizedForm.queryEngine
+    ) {
       setError(true);
       return;
     }
 
-    if (form.proxyConnection && !form.graphDbUrl) {
+    if (normalizedForm.proxyConnection && !normalizedForm.graphDbUrl) {
       setError(true);
       return;
     }
 
-    if (form.awsAuthEnabled && (!form.awsRegion || !form.serviceType)) {
+    if (
+      normalizedForm.awsAuthEnabled &&
+      (!normalizedForm.awsRegion || !normalizedForm.serviceType)
+    ) {
       setError(true);
       return;
     }
 
-    onSave(form as Required<ConnectionForm>);
+    onSave(normalizedForm as Required<ConnectionForm>);
     reset();
     onClose();
   };
@@ -292,7 +309,9 @@ const CreateConnection = ({
             onChange={onFormChange("url")}
             errorMessage="URL is required"
             placeholder="https://example.com"
-            validationState={hasError && !form.url ? "invalid" : "valid"}
+            validationState={
+              hasError && !normalizeUrlField(form.url) ? "invalid" : "valid"
+            }
           />
         </FormItem>
 
@@ -317,7 +336,9 @@ const CreateConnection = ({
               errorMessage="URL is required"
               placeholder="https://neptune-cluster.amazonaws.com"
               validationState={
-                hasError && !form.graphDbUrl ? "invalid" : "valid"
+                hasError && !normalizeUrlField(form.graphDbUrl)
+                  ? "invalid"
+                  : "valid"
               }
             />
           </FormItem>