Fix Git is not recognised as an internal or external command

In some situations, you might have run into the error “bash: git: command not found or ‘git’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program, or bash file”. In this troubleshooting guide, you will learn how to “Fix Git is not recognised as an internal or external command”. The first error, that bash: git: command not found, is caused by a reason that is entirely different from the second error. But, we’re going to see how we can resolve the two issues. The first error is likely to occur even when you have Git installed on your PC.

I have experienced the first error numerous times, which is why I have decided to write about it now.

The second ('git' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program, or bash file). 

Kindly see some of these related errors: The term “git” was not used as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or executable Program recognized. Also, see Azure DevOps and GitHub integration for Docker and Kubernetes deployment.

The issue is due to the approach used during Git installation on your Windows PC. To sum it all up, both issues could occur even if you have Git installed on your PC. Here are some related guides: How to install Git on macOS, How to uninstall Git on macOS, and Practical Git use with markdown.

Root causes of “Git is not recognised command“

When trying to run a git command in Windows Command Prompt, the error “git is not recognized as an internal or external command” occurs, according to users. Here are two common causes of this problem:

1. During the Git installation, the Command Prompt in your PC was already running
2. You did not correctly configure the Git Path or you didn’t remember to configure it at all

Resolve “Git is not recognised as an internal or external command“

The steps to fix the“git is not recognized” or “git command not found” are listed in the following sections. If you are experiencing the same error, you can try them one at a time to resolve the issue.

Step 1 – Restart the Command Prompt

If you opened Command Prompt before installing Git for Windows. The most recent variable changes may not have been updated, which could be one of the reasons you received the error message “git is not recognized.” You can solve the problem by exiting the Command Prompt and reopening it as an administrator.

To do this search for CMD by pressing Win + S to open the Windows Search utility. When the search utility shows up, type CMD and right-click it. Then select Run as administrator. See the screenshot below:

Then try running the git command again to see if the error goes away. If this does not work, proceed to the next solution but if it works, you should see a screen display similar to the screenshot below:

Step 2 – Reinstall Git for Windows

If step 1 doesn’t work for you, try this step 2 by reinstalling Git for Windows. This is necessary if your Git path is incorrectly configured.

You may receive the error “git is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program, or batch file.” You can try reinstalling Git for Windows to automatically set the path.

Here is an interesting article: Running Docker commands returns Docker is not recognized as an internal or external command.

Uninstall Git

Kindly follow these steps to uninstall Git. Press Win + R to open the Run command. Type appwiz.cpl into the box and press Enter.

This will open up Uninstall or change a program window for you. Right-click on Git and click on uninstall.

Next, browse the official website of Git for Windows and download the latest program. After, downloading Git for Windows;

To install Git for Windows, run the downloaded file and follow the wizard. When the “Adjusting your PATH environment” window appears, select Git from the command line and also from 3rd-party software and then click Next.

Restart your computer once the installation is complete. You can now open Command Prompt after reinstalling Git for Windows to see if it works properly. If not, proceed to the last step.

Step 3 – Manually Configure the Git Path to resolve Git command not found

This last step serves as an alternative method to step 2. With this method, uninstalling and reinstalling your Git for Windows won’t be required. Below are some detailed steps:

Press Win + E to open File Explorer and go to the Git for Windows installation folder and open the cmd folder. By default, it’s in one of the following locations:

C:\Program Files\git\cmd
C:\Program Files (x86)\git\cmd

Right-click git.exe as shown above and select Properties. In the pop-up window, copy the location.

Next, Press Win + R to open the Run window. Then type sysdm.cpl in the box and click OK to open System Properties.

When the system properties open,  Click the Advanced tab and select Environment Variables.

Under the Environment variables section, select Path and click Edit as shown below.

In the following window, click the New button and paste the location you copied in the previous step above. Then press Enter to create the path.

Finally, click on OK to save the settings. Now, you have learned how to resolve how to fix “Git is not recognised as an internal or external command”.

To sum it all up, both issues could occur even if you have Git installed on your PC. Free feel to let us know the method that works for you. Cheers!