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Staging files with to long filenames (260+) stages the file for delete instead of modify

Kenny De Smedt April 19, 2017

I'm using windows 7 and sourcetree 1.9.10.0  with following in my git config file

core.symlinks=false
core.autocrlf=true
core.fscache=true
color.diff=auto
color.status=auto
color.branch=auto
color.interactive=true
help.format=html
http.sslcainfo=C:/Program Files/Git/mingw64/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt
diff.astextplain.textconv=astextplain
rebase.autosquash=true
credential.helper=manager
core.longpaths=true
user.name=myuser
user.email=myuser@mail.com
core.excludesfile=C:\Users\myuser\Documents\gitignore_global.txt

You notice the core.longpaths option there.  I can checkout my project from bitbucket perfectly and work on it in inteliJ.  However when I try to stage a file longer then 260 chars sourcetree stages it for delete.  I can commit the file just fine with command line git or even in inteliJ.

Is this a bug in the current sourcetree or can this be fixed with a parameter ?  This is a very dangerous development cause if a code reviewer misses this in one pull request the project code if not unit tested properly could get messed up.

11 answers

5 votes
Ana Retamal
Atlassian Team
Atlassian Team members are employees working across the company in a wide variety of roles.
April 21, 2017

Hi Kenny! The 260 character file path limit comes from the Windows side and was fixed on Windows 10, you can read more about it at Why does the 260 character path limit exist in Windows?

Regarding the long name files being staged for deletion, you can follow these steps to fix the issue:

  • Download and install the latest Git 
  • Enable longpaths with ‘git config core.longpaths true’
  • Make sure that SourceTree is using the System’s Git and not the embedded one. You can check that at Tools > Options > Git > Use System Git

After this, you'll be warned with a “Filename too long” message instead of having your files staged for deletion. 

Thanks to Matej Drolc for putting this together in his blog msysgit-longpath. I'll also open a bug ticket to see if we can get SourceTree's embedded Git to respect the longpath settings.

Hope this helps, Kenny :)

Cheers,

Ana

Kenny De Smedt April 23, 2017

Hey Ana,

I followed all the steps but the problem persists.  This is my current git config

core.symlinks=false
core.autocrlf=true
core.fscache=true
color.diff=auto
color.status=auto
color.branch=auto
color.interactive=true
help.format=html
diff.astextplain.textconv=astextplain
rebase.autosquash=true
http.sslcainfo=C:/Program Files/Git/mingw64/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt
diff.astextplain.textconv=astextplain
filter.lfs.clean=git-lfs clean -- %f
filter.lfs.smudge=git-lfs smudge -- %f
filter.lfs.required=true
filter.lfs.process=git-lfs filter-process
credential.helper=manager
user.name=<<My User>>
user.email=<<My Email>>
core.excludesfile=C:\Users\MyUser\Documents\gitignore_global.txt
core.repositoryformatversion=0
core.filemode=false
core.bare=false
core.logallrefupdates=true
core.symlinks=false
core.ignorecase=true
core.longpaths=true
remote.origin.url=<< my remote orgin url >>
remote.origin.fetch=+refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/*
branch.develop.remote=origin
branch.develop.merge=refs/heads/develop
branch.master.remote=origin
branch.master.merge=refs/heads/master
gitflow.branch.master=master
gitflow.branch.develop=develop
gitflow.prefix.feature=feature/
gitflow.prefix.release=release/
gitflow.prefix.hotfix=hotfix/
gitflow.prefix.support=support/

This is my git version now

$ git --version
git version 2.12.2.windows.2

I double checked and sourcetree is using the system git instead of the embedded git, I checked three times to be sure.  I also fully rebooted my machine cause well ... windows ... but the problem still persists.  I can commit and push fine using git bash just sourcetree keeps staging for delete.

Maybe it just can't work on windows 7 ?

Ana Retamal
Atlassian Team
Atlassian Team members are employees working across the company in a wide variety of roles.
May 2, 2017

Hi Kenny, I've submitted a bug report for that, you can track it at SRCTREEWIN-7075. Please watch that pages for updates on this issue :)

Edit: Realised there was already a ticket for that, please follow SRCTREEWIN-6606.

Cheers!

Ana

Delta Systems September 21, 2018

Add the line

longpaths = true 

to your .gitconfig file under the [core] section.

The .gitconfig file is probably in your C:\Users\<username>\   folder

Restart bitbucket and try the clone again.

 

gitconfig.png

1 vote
Gael
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October 4, 2018

Hi,

I'm on Windows 10 with SourceTree 2.6.10.0 and Git 2.18.0 and I had a problem staging a file path of 268 character.

SourceTree error message was : "fatal: pathspec 'my_very_long_path' did not match any files

I had the "longpaths = true" line under the [core] section of my ".gitconfig" file.

I solved the problem staging file with "Git Bash terminal" and command line :

git add "my_very_long_path"

0 votes
Rickey Marchram
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April 5, 2024

LongPath files are too irritating, I use Long Path Tool for this. 

0 votes
Martin Miller
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April 2, 2024

Long Path Tool is effective for solving path too long files. Try using it. 

0 votes
Martin Miller
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March 28, 2024

Hey, have you tried using Long Path Tool? I have been using it for months now and feel like it has solved most of my problems. 

0 votes
Damien Brock August 7, 2020

You can use tools like Long path tool

0 votes
Juan Miller July 18, 2020

Use "Long Path This very useful if you are having problems
in deleting, unlocking, copying and even renaming files, also very easy.

0 votes
DanielBrock
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May 12, 2020


"Long path tool" is very helpful for this problem. You can solve this problem like copy, delete, long path files by using this tool.I used to have similar problems too, but after using "long path tool" everything was solved.

0 votes
DanielBrock
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May 8, 2020

I would like to suggest you, try LongPathTool program to resolve this issue.

0 votes
Delta Systems September 21, 2018

Add the line

longpaths = true 

to your .gitconfig file under the [core] section.

The .gitconfig file is probably in your C:\Users\<username>\   folder

Restart bitbucket and try the clone again.

 gitconfig.png

0 votes
Kevin Howlett
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January 9, 2018

The problem of too long file names can be solved easily with programs like Long Path Tool.

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