Documentation
Troubleshooting
Git Safe Directory (Windows)

Git Safe Directory Error on Windows

Symptoms

You run FVM commands on Windows and see:

Error: Unable to find git in your PATH.

git --version still works, so PATH is fine—but Flutter commands that rely on Git fail.

Root Cause

Git 2.35.2 (April 2022) introduced a security fix for CVE-2022-24765 (opens in a new tab). It refuses to run inside repositories owned by a different Windows user. Because FVM stores Flutter SDKs under %LOCALAPPDATA%\fvm\versions, Windows access control lists sometimes make Git think the directory belongs to another user. Git then halts with the misleading "unable to find git" error.

Quick Fix (Recommended)

Tell Git to trust every repository on your development machine:

git config --global --add safe.directory "*"

Restart your terminal and IDE (VS Code, Android Studio, etc.) after running the command.

What This Does

Git's safe.directory list defines which paths bypass the ownership check. Using * is a pragmatic fix for single-user development machines because it restores pre-2.35.2 behavior.

Alternative: Trust Only FVM Directories

If you want more control, add the directories that FVM manages:

# Trust the entire FVM cache
git config --global --add safe.directory "C:/Users/YourUsername/AppData/Local/fvm/versions"
 
# Or trust a single Flutter version
git config --global --add safe.directory "C:/Users/YourUsername/AppData/Local/fvm/versions/3.24.0"

Replace YourUsername with your Windows account name. Keep forward slashes (/) in the path.

Verify the Fix

# List all trusted directories
git config --global --get-all safe.directory
 
# Double-check your setup
fvm doctor
 
# Retry the original command
fvm flutter doctor

Why This Happens

The Security Update

  • Git 2.35.2+ blocks repositories whose file owner does not match the current user.
  • The change prevents malicious repositories from hijacking shared directories.

Why FVM Is Affected

  1. FVM installs Flutter SDKs under %LOCALAPPDATA%\fvm\versions.
  2. Windows assigns ownership metadata that may not match your current SID (especially after renames, domain joins, or running shells as Administrator).
  3. Flutter tools call Git internally; when Git refuses to run, Flutter reports "Unable to find git in your PATH".

When It Happens

  • After installing/upgrading to Git 2.35.2 or newer
  • On fresh Windows setups where no safe directories are configured
  • After changing Windows usernames or using multiple user profiles
  • When running PowerShell 7+ or terminals elevated as Administrator
  • In CI environments that download artifacts created by another user account

Other Solutions

Enable Windows Developer Mode

Some users report that enabling Developer Mode (Settings → System → For developers) alleviates ownership mismatches. You still need to restart your terminal.

Run the Terminal as Administrator (Temporary)

Launching PowerShell or CMD as Administrator can bypass the ownership check, but it is inconvenient and not recommended long term.

Related Resources

Troubleshooting Overview