threads / bug / 63813

Bug report: latest (2.50.1) x64 version of Git for Windows

Subject: Bug report: latest (2.50.1) x64 version of Git for Windows

## tl;dr

4 messages between Jul 21, 2025 and Jul 22, 2025.

replies: 3people: 3as markdown or json

James Gao· Jul 21, 2025, 20:34 UTC · lore

Hi!

I just installed my system, and downloaded latest (2.50.1) x64 version of Git for Windows and installed it.

I am on Windows 11 Pro, 10.0.22631. Git CLI is not getting permission to the folders. For example, I cannot run git init - error: couldn't set 'HEAD' I cannot git pull or clone or git add

It returns me similar errors: error: unable to write file .git/objects/36/dd1796da4dcbb2f53005b64afeef698cfaf510: Permission denied error: src/helpers/schedule.ts: failed to insert into database error: unable to index file 'src/helpers/schedule.ts'

I have tried every single help articles and blogs, nothing is working.

I tried running git bash as Administrator, still not working.

I am planning to download older versions, but it would be great to get it fixed for lts.

Best James

brian m. carlson· Jul 22, 2025, 00:01 UTC · re: James Gao · lore

Re: Bug report: latest (2.50.1) x64 version of Git for Windows

On 2025-07-21 at 20:34:35, James Gao wrote:

Show 23 quoted lines

> Hi!
> 
> I just installed my system, and downloaded latest (2.50.1) x64 version
> of Git for Windows and installed it.
> 
> I am on Windows 11 Pro, 10.0.22631.
> Git CLI is not getting permission to the folders.
> For example, I cannot run git init - error: couldn't set 'HEAD'
> I cannot git pull or clone or git add
> 
> It returns me similar errors:
> error: unable to write file
> .git/objects/36/dd1796da4dcbb2f53005b64afeef698cfaf510: Permission
> denied
> error: src/helpers/schedule.ts: failed to insert into database
> error: unable to index file 'src/helpers/schedule.ts'
> 
> I have tried every single help articles and blogs, nothing is working.
> 
> I tried running git bash as Administrator, still not working.
> 
> I am planning to download older versions, but it would be great to get
> it fixed for lts.

I don't see this behaviour on my Linux system, so I suspect this is something specific to your system or to Windows. I would suggest trying to report this on the Git for Windows issue tracker at https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/issues.

A brief search shows that there are some issues there with this error message. For instance, if you're operating on a CIFS/SMB share (that is, those with the `\\share\` syntax), there's a known issue about that. It's also known that you should not put your Git repositories in a folder that's special to Windows, such as Documents, because Windows imposes additional restrictions on those paths in ways that can break Git (this is also true of macOS).

Similarly, you absolutely should not place repositories in a directory managed by OneDrive, Dropbox, or a similar syncing service, since they often don't work and even when they do, these services can cause corruption to repositories. If it's not a regular folder on a regular NTFS disk, you might try using a regular NTFS disk (such as C) to try to see if it makes a difference.

If you do report it to the Git for Windows tracker, please search for both open and closed issues and mention anything that is special about your repositories and where you're storing them. Is it a network drive or folder? What kind? Is it a drive other than C? What storage is it on? What file system is it using? These kinds of answers will help the maintainer determine the relevant difference about what's not working and fix it. I feel very confident that the Git for Windows maintainer would not have released totally broken software, since they are thoughtful and diligent, so there's some specific reason it's not working for you while it is working for others.

Best of luck in solving your issue.

-- 
brian m. carlson (they/them)
Toronto, Ontario, CA

Johannes Schindelin· Jul 22, 2025, 09:47 UTC · re: James Gao · lore

Re: Bug report: latest (2.50.1) x64 version of Git for Windows

Hi James,

On Mon, 21 Jul 2025, James Gao wrote:

Show 6 quoted lines

> I just installed my system, and downloaded latest (2.50.1) x64 version
> of Git for Windows and installed it.
> 
> I am on Windows 11 Pro, 10.0.22631.
> Git CLI is not getting permission to the folders.
> For example, I cannot run git init - error: couldn't set 'HEAD'

Is this the full error message?

Show 8 quoted lines

> I cannot git pull or clone or git add
> 
> It returns me similar errors:
> error: unable to write file
> .git/objects/36/dd1796da4dcbb2f53005b64afeef698cfaf510: Permission
> denied
> error: src/helpers/schedule.ts: failed to insert into database
> error: unable to index file 'src/helpers/schedule.ts'

This suggests that you somehow have successfully created a clone... how?

> I tried running git bash as Administrator, still not working.

That is interesting, suggesting that the "Permission denied" error message is misleading and that the error is not actually due to missing write permissions.

Can you say more about your setup? Are you trying to clone onto a network drive, for example?

> I am planning to download older versions, but it would be great to get
> it fixed for lts.

I don't know what you mean with "for lts", but yes, it would be great to get it fixed.

By the way, before you download any older version, do make sure to try the latest snapshot from https://gitforwindows.org/git-snapshots/.

Ciao, Johannes

P.S.: I assume that https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/issues/5737 is also you?

James Gao· Jul 22, 2025, 16:38 UTC · re: Johannes Schindelin · lore

Re: Bug report: latest (2.50.1) x64 version of Git for Windows

Hi Johannes

Yes, https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/issues/5737 is mine. The clone is already-existing on my drive - background story is, I reinstalled OS, and tried to set up my development env again.

Repo is in a normal hard drive (not cloud, not onedrive, just in my local computer).

That is the all error message I got.

lts is actually LTS (Long Term Support). Term might be misleading, I sometimes use LTS to be latest lol.

I am sorry I was not able to use git-snapshots, I downloaded Git-2.24.1.2-64-bit and it worked OK. I might be able to reinstall the newest one, and reproduce, but I am quite afraid to do so, as my 20+ local git environment is at stake haha.

Except that, I am happy to help you handle the issue.

Thanks! James

On Tue, Jul 22, 2025 at 5:47 AM Johannes Schindelin <Johannes.Schindelin@gmx.de> wrote:

Show 48 quoted lines

>
> Hi James,
>
> On Mon, 21 Jul 2025, James Gao wrote:
>
> > I just installed my system, and downloaded latest (2.50.1) x64 version
> > of Git for Windows and installed it.
> >
> > I am on Windows 11 Pro, 10.0.22631.
> > Git CLI is not getting permission to the folders.
> > For example, I cannot run git init - error: couldn't set 'HEAD'
>
> Is this the full error message?
>
> > I cannot git pull or clone or git add
> >
> > It returns me similar errors:
> > error: unable to write file
> > .git/objects/36/dd1796da4dcbb2f53005b64afeef698cfaf510: Permission
> > denied
> > error: src/helpers/schedule.ts: failed to insert into database
> > error: unable to index file 'src/helpers/schedule.ts'
>
> This suggests that you somehow have successfully created a clone... how?
>
> > I tried running git bash as Administrator, still not working.
>
> That is interesting, suggesting that the "Permission denied" error message
> is misleading and that the error is not actually due to missing write
> permissions.
>
> Can you say more about your setup? Are you trying to clone onto a network
> drive, for example?
>
> > I am planning to download older versions, but it would be great to get
> > it fixed for lts.
>
> I don't know what you mean with "for lts", but yes, it would be great to
> get it fixed.
>
> By the way, before you download any older version, do make sure to try the
> latest snapshot from https://gitforwindows.org/git-snapshots/.
>
> Ciao,
> Johannes
>
> P.S.: I assume that https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/issues/5737 is
> also you?

-- 
James Gao - Big Dreamer, Fervent Developer, Forever Voyager

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