Git:warning: Clone succeeded, but checkout failed.

Delta-delta2026-02-21 12:46

Git Clone: Checkout Failed Warning

This warning means the repository was downloaded successfully , but Git couldn't check out (write) all the files to your working directory. The .git folder and history are intact --- only the working tree has issues.

Common causes:

File path/name conflicts --- filenames with characters invalid on your OS (e.g., :, *, ?, " on Windows), or case-insensitive filesystem collisions (e.g., Readme.md vs README.md on macOS/Windows)
Permissions issue --- Git can't write certain files to disk
Long file paths --- common on Windows where paths are limited to 260 characters by default
Symlink issues --- the repo contains symlinks your OS can't create

Step 1: Diagnose the problem

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cd your-repo
git status

This shows which files failed to check out.

Step 2: Try common fixes

For Windows long path issues:

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git config --global core.longpaths true
git restore --source=HEAD :/

For Windows filename/case issues:

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git config --global core.protectNTFS false
git restore --source=HEAD :/

For permission issues:

Run your terminal as Administrator (Windows) or use sudo (Linux/Mac), then retry:

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git restore --source=HEAD :/

For symlink issues:

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git config --global core.symlinks false
git restore --source=HEAD :/

Step 3: If all else fails, clone with a sparse checkout to skip problematic files:

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git clone --no-checkout <repo-url>
cd your-repo
git sparse-checkout init
git checkout