--- title: Fixing "Filename too long" errors on Windows with Git description: When cloning or pulling a Git repository on Windows, you may encounter 'Filename too long' errors due to Windows' default MAX_PATH limit of 260 characters. The... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/fixing-filename-too-long-errors-on-windows-with-git-94apoh6rf twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Fixing "Filename too long" errors on Windows with Git | daily.dev og:description: When cloning or pulling a Git repository on Windows, you may encounter 'Filename too long' errors due to Windows' default MAX_PATH limit of 260 characters. The... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/fixing-filename-too-long-errors-on-windows-with-git-94apoh6rf og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/94Apoh6rf.png og:image:alt: Fixing "Filename too long" errors on Windows with Git og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Fixing "Filename too long" errors on Windows with Git **[The Art of Simplicity](https://daily.dev/sources/bartwullems)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary When cloning or pulling a Git repository on Windows, you may encounter 'Filename too long' errors due to Windows' default MAX_PATH limit of 260 characters. The fix involves enabling Git's core.longpaths setting either system-wide (git config --system core.longpaths true) or per-user (git config --global core.longpaths true). For full OS-level support, you also need to enable long paths in Windows via Group Policy Editor or a registry edit, followed by a reboot. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I fix the Git error 'Filename too long' on Windows? Enable long path support in Git by running git config --system core.longpaths true if you have administrator rights, or git config --global core.longpaths true if you don't. This tells Git to handle file paths longer than the Windows default 260-character MAX_PATH limit, which commonly occurs with deeply nested folders like node_modules. _daily.dev surfaces practical fixes like this for developers debugging Git and Windows path issues._ ### Does setting core.longpaths in Git also fix long path issues in Windows Explorer and other tools? No, core.longpaths only tells Git to support long paths for its own file operations. To get full system-wide long path support for Windows Explorer and other tools, you must also enable 'Win32 long paths' through Group Policy Editor (Enterprise/Pro) or by setting the LongPathsEnabled registry key to 1 (Home edition), then reboot. _Developers hitting cross-tool path length limits can find OS-level fixes like this through daily.dev._ ### How do I enable Win32 long paths on Windows without Group Policy Editor? On editions like Windows Home that lack Group Policy Editor, run reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem" /v LongPathsEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 1 from an elevated command prompt, then reboot for the change to take effect. _daily.dev helps developers troubleshoot Windows configuration quirks like long path support._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Windows has been silently breaking file paths for decades, and the fix is one Group Policy toggle away](https://daily.dev/posts/windows-has-been-silently-breaking-file-paths-for-decades-and-the-fix-is-one-group-policy-toggle-aw-uogrcshf1) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [You probably don’t need git worktrees](https://daily.dev/posts/you-probably-don-t-need-git-worktrees-ystacsb32) · RUBYLAND · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Git for Windows 2.49.0 broke my Azure DevOps pushes](https://daily.dev/posts/git-for-windows-2-49-0-broke-my-azure-devops-pushes-ajkqqa5n9) · The Art of Simplicity · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Linux 7.3 Corrects Faulty Behavior Of FAT File-System Driver For Filenames Too Fat](https://daily.dev/posts/linux-7-3-corrects-faulty-behavior-of-fat-file-system-driver-for-filenames-too-fat-zpdtofvpr) · Phoronix · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#windows](https://daily.dev/tags/windows), [#git](https://daily.dev/tags/git) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/fixing-filename-too-long-errors-on-windows-with-git-94apoh6rf) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Fixing \"Filename too long\" errors on Windows with Git","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/fixing-filename-too-long-errors-on-windows-with-git-94apoh6rf","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/fixing-filename-too-long-errors-on-windows-with-git-94apoh6rf"},"datePublished":"2026-07-09T05:10:08.059Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T21:04:37.070Z","description":"When cloning or pulling a Git repository on Windows, you may encounter 'Filename too long' errors due to Windows' default MAX_PATH limit of 260 characters. 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This tells Git to handle file paths longer than the Windows default 260-character MAX_PATH limit, which commonly occurs with deeply nested folders like node_modules. daily.dev surfaces practical fixes like this for developers debugging Git and Windows path issues."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Does setting core.longpaths in Git also fix long path issues in Windows Explorer and other tools?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No, core.longpaths only tells Git to support long paths for its own file operations. To get full system-wide long path support for Windows Explorer and other tools, you must also enable 'Win32 long paths' through Group Policy Editor (Enterprise/Pro) or by setting the LongPathsEnabled registry key to 1 (Home edition), then reboot. Developers hitting cross-tool path length limits can find OS-level fixes like this through daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I enable Win32 long paths on Windows without Group Policy Editor?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"On editions like Windows Home that lack Group Policy Editor, run reg add \"HKLM\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\FileSystem\" /v LongPathsEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 1 from an elevated command prompt, then reboot for the change to take effect. daily.dev helps developers troubleshoot Windows configuration quirks like long path support."}}]} ```