fix: support Windows ARM64 (clangarm64) in install.cmd by AchoArnold · Pull Request #1259 · tj/git-extras

AchoArnold · 2026-06-17T21:09:48Z

Problem

Git for Windows on ARM64 uses a clangarm64 directory instead of mingw64. Running install.cmd on an ARM64 Windows machine fails with:

No mingw64 folder found in C:\Program Files\Git.

Solution

Updated install.cmd to auto-detect clangarm64 when mingw64 is not present. The changes cover all four places where the script resolves the target directory:

Auto-detection from PATH — resolves the correct architecture directory regardless of where git.exe sits in PATH. It inspects the leaf directory name of the resolved install dir: if git.exe is found under <GitRoot>\mingw64\bin or <GitRoot>\clangarm64\bin, that architecture directory is used directly; otherwise the script looks for a mingw64 or clangarm64 subdirectory. This avoids the previously-possible non-existent ...\mingw64\mingw64 / ...\clangarm64\clangarm64 paths.
Default path fallback — same auto-detection for %ProgramFiles%\Git
User-supplied path — recognizes clangarm64 in user-provided install paths
Validation check — accepts either mingw64 or clangarm64

When both directories exist, mingw64 is preferred to preserve existing behavior on x86/x64 systems.

Testing

Tested on Windows 11 ARM64 with Git for Windows 2.54.0 (clangarm64 layout). The installer now correctly detects and installs to C:\Program Files\Git\clangarm64 without requiring the user to manually supply the path.

Additionally verified that PATH auto-detection resolves the correct PREFIX for all four common layouts, with no duplicated or .. path segments:

<GitRoot>\cmd\git.exe (x64) → <GitRoot>\mingw64
<GitRoot>\mingw64\bin\git.exe → <GitRoot>\mingw64
<GitRoot>\cmd\git.exe (ARM64) → <GitRoot>\clangarm64
<GitRoot>\clangarm64\bin\git.exe → <GitRoot>\clangarm64

Git for Windows on ARM64 uses a `clangarm64` directory instead of `mingw64`. The installer now auto-detects `clangarm64` when `mingw64` is not present, so it works out of the box on ARM64 Windows machines without requiring the user to manually supply the path. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR updates install.cmd to support Git for Windows on ARM64, where the installation uses a clangarm64 directory layout instead of mingw64, by detecting and accepting either directory when resolving the install prefix.

Changes:

Extend prefix auto-detection to fall back to clangarm64 when mingw64 is not present.
Update default install path logic (%ProgramFiles%\Git) to detect clangarm64.
Update install path validation to accept either mingw64 or clangarm64.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

install.cmd:75

The user guidance still says the supplied path should point to the mingw64 directory, but the script now also supports clangarm64. This can confuse ARM64 users who hit the fallback path handling.

        echo Using git install path "%~1" as PREFIX, please make sure it's really a
        echo path to the mingw64 directory...
        echo.

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Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

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spacewander · 2026-07-07T06:06:25Z

 for %%G in ("%bindir%") do set installdir=%%~dpG
-set PREFIX=%installdir%mingw64
+if exist "%installdir%mingw64" (
+    set PREFIX=%installdir%mingw64
+) else if exist "%installdir%clangarm64" (
+    set PREFIX=%installdir%clangarm64


@AchoArnold
Would you address the issue pointed out by Copilot?
I don't know the syntax of cmd so I have to rely AI to check the code.

@spacewander I've addressed the comment.

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

When 'where git.exe' resolves to ...\mingw64\bin\git.exe or ...\clangarm64\bin\git.exe, installdir becomes the architecture directory itself. Detect that case by inspecting the leaf directory name instead of appending mingw64/clangarm64 (which produced non-existent ...\mingw64\mingw64 paths) or using ..\ segments. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

AchoArnold · 2026-07-07T07:27:09Z

Addressed the Copilot feedback in 59817ef.

The PATH auto-detection now inspects the leaf directory name of installdir instead of blindly appending mingw64/clangarm64 (which produced non-existent ...\mingw64\mingw64 paths) or relying on ..\ segments. When where git.exe resolves to <GitRoot>\mingw64\bin\git.exe or <GitRoot>\clangarm64\bin\git.exe, installdir is already the architecture directory, so it is used directly as PREFIX.

Verified all four PATH layouts resolve correctly with no duplicated segments:

<GitRoot>\cmd\git.exe (x64) -> <GitRoot>\mingw64
<GitRoot>\mingw64\bin\git.exe -> <GitRoot>\mingw64
<GitRoot>\cmd\git.exe (ARM64) -> <GitRoot>\clangarm64
<GitRoot>\clangarm64\bin\git.exe -> <GitRoot>\clangarm64

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 1 out of 1 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

spacewander · 2026-07-08T07:20:41Z

@AchoArnold
Merged. Thanks!

* fix: support Windows ARM64 (clangarm64) in install.cmd Git for Windows on ARM64 uses a `clangarm64` directory instead of `mingw64`. The installer now auto-detects `clangarm64` when `mingw64` is not present, so it works out of the box on ARM64 Windows machines without requiring the user to manually supply the path. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> * fix: remove trailing whitespace from install.cmd Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> * Potential fix for pull request finding Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> * Potential fix for pull request finding Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> * fix: correctly resolve PREFIX when git.exe is under the arch dir in PATH When 'where git.exe' resolves to ...\mingw64\bin\git.exe or ...\clangarm64\bin\git.exe, installdir becomes the architecture directory itself. Detect that case by inspecting the leaf directory name instead of appending mingw64/clangarm64 (which produced non-existent ...\mingw64\mingw64 paths) or using ..\ segments. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> --------- Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

AchoArnold and others added 2 commits June 18, 2026 00:09

fix: remove trailing whitespace from install.cmd

8c7a6ad

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AchoArnold and others added 2 commits July 7, 2026 10:23

Potential fix for pull request finding

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spacewander merged commit 7f36d37 into tj:main Jul 8, 2026
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fix: support Windows ARM64 (clangarm64) in install.cmd - #1259

fix: support Windows ARM64 (clangarm64) in install.cmd#1259
spacewander merged 5 commits into
tj:mainfrom
AchoArnold:fix/windows-arm64-install

AchoArnold commented Jun 17, 2026 •

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AchoArnold commented Jun 17, 2026 •

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