Fix 'Filename too long' on Windows

Does this match your situation?

• 'error: unable to create file ...: Filename too long'
• 'warning: Clone succeeded, but checkout failed.'
• The cloned folder exists but is empty or only partly populated.
• Only deeply nested paths fail — node_modules, generated code, vendored dependencies.
• The same repository clones fine on macOS or Linux.

Step-by-step fix

1. Turn on long paths in Git

   Git for Windows can use the extended path API, but does not by default. The system scope needs an administrator terminal and covers every repository; --global works for just your account if you cannot elevate.

   step 1Copy

   git config --system core.longpaths true
   
   # no admin rights? your account only:
   git config --global core.longpaths true
   
   # just this clone:
   git clone -c core.longpaths=true <url>
   

2. Turn on long paths in Windows itself

   Git's setting only helps if Windows accepts the paths too. This has been supported since Windows 10 build 1607, but it is opt-in and off by default. A restart, or at least a new terminal, is needed afterwards.

   step 2Copy

   # PowerShell as Administrator:
   New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem' \
     -Name 'LongPathsEnabled' -Value 1 -PropertyType DWORD -Force
   

   💡Group Policy equivalent: Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → System → Filesystem → Enable Win32 long paths.

3. Finish the checkout you already have

   'Clone succeeded, but checkout failed' is good news: every object was downloaded and the repository is complete. Only writing the files out failed, and that step can simply be repeated once the limits are lifted.

   step 3Copy

   cd <repo>
   git config core.longpaths true
   git checkout .
   git status
   

4. Or shorten the path you clone into

   The limit applies to the whole absolute path, so where you clone matters as much as what is inside the repository. Cloning to a short root buys back the length that C:\Users\<name>\Documents\Projects was spending.

   step 4Copy

   cd C:\src
   git clone <url> proj
   
   # or map a drive letter to a deep folder:
   subst X: C:\Users\me\very\deep\path
   

5. If only some files are unwanted, check them out selectively

   When the offending paths are generated output or an optional package you do not need, sparse checkout skips writing them entirely while keeping the repository intact.

   step 5Copy

   git clone --no-checkout <url>
   cd <repo>
   git sparse-checkout set src docs
   git checkout
   

Why this works

The 260-character MAX_PATH limit is not Git's — it comes from the original Win32 file APIs, and it counts the whole absolute path, so a repository that is perfectly legal on Linux becomes unclonable purely because of where you put it. Modern Windows can accept longer paths through the Unicode versions of those APIs, but only when the application opts in and the machine has the policy enabled, which is why both settings are needed. What makes this recoverable is that Git downloads objects first and writes files second: the pack containing your entire history transfers fine, and only the final checkout hits the filesystem. That is why 'Clone succeeded, but checkout failed' really does mean the hard part is done.

If that didn’t work

• Some tools bundle their own Git — check git --version and configure the one your IDE actually runs.
• Older Git for Windows builds handled long paths poorly; upgrade before spending time on anything else.
• Windows Explorer and some antivirus tools still cannot delete long paths — use git clean -fdx from inside the repository.
• As a last resort, rename the offending directories in the repository and commit shorter paths.

How to stop it happening again

• Clone into a short root such as C:\src rather than a deep Documents folder.
• Set core.longpaths and LongPathsEnabled once when you set up a Windows machine.
• Keep generated output out of the repository — node_modules and build folders cause most of these.
• Avoid very long directory names in a codebase that Windows users will clone.

Commands used in this guide

Frequently asked questions