How to Install Git Silently with winget on Windows

Git is a non-negotiable for any developer machine. Here's the cleanest way to install Git for Windows silently with winget, including custom configuration overrides for team-wide standardisation.

TL;DR

Open Terminal as Administrator and run:

winget install --id Git.Git -e --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements

Git for Windows installs with default settings: main as default branch, Vim as commit editor, Git Credential Manager enabled, OpenSSH for transport. Ready to git clone in 30 seconds.

What gets installed

Field	Value
Package ID	`Git.Git`
Publisher	The Git Development Community
Installer type	Inno Setup
License	GPL-2.0
Latest version	2.54.0 (April 2026)
Homepage	gitforwindows.org
Default install path	`C:\Program Files\Git`

The installer registers:

git, git-bash, git-gui on PATH
Right-click "Git Bash Here" context menu
Optional shell integration (depends on flags)

Customising the silent install

Git for Windows' Inno Setup installer accepts a /COMPONENTS= flag to enable optional features. Pass it via --override:

winget install --id Git.Git -e --override "/VERYSILENT /NORESTART /COMPONENTS=icons,ext\reg\shellhere,ext\reg\guihere,assoc,assoc_sh"

Common component values:

Component	What it enables
`icons`	Start Menu shortcuts
`ext\reg\shellhere`	"Git Bash Here" right-click
`ext\reg\guihere`	"Git GUI Here" right-click
`assoc`	Associate `.git*` config files
`assoc_sh`	Associate `.sh` files with Bash
`gitlfs`	Install Git LFS
`windowsterminal`	Install Windows Terminal profile
`scalar`	Microsoft Scalar tool

Configure Git after install

Once Git installs silently, set your identity:

git config --global user.name  "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
git config --global pull.rebase true
git config --global core.autocrlf input

For a team-standard setup, include these in your provisioning script.

Variations

Specify version

To freeze on a known-good Git version (some CI systems are picky):

winget install --id Git.Git -e --version 2.54.0 --silent

List versions:

winget show --id Git.Git --versions

Pin to current major

After install, prevent winget upgrade from jumping major versions:

winget pin add --id Git.Git --version "2.*"

See winget pin guide.

Verify

git --version
# git version 2.54.0.windows.1

If git isn't recognized in a new Terminal, the PATH update hasn't propagated — close + reopen Terminal.

Upgrade silently

winget upgrade --id Git.Git -e --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements

Or as part of a weekly cron:

winget upgrade --all --silent --include-unknown

See How to update all Windows apps.

Uninstall silently

winget uninstall --id Git.Git --silent --disable-interactivity

Detailed guide: How to uninstall Windows apps with winget.

In a developer-machine script

PowerShell snippet for setting up a Git-ready dev environment:

# Install Git + companions silently
$apps = @(
  "Git.Git",
  "GitHub.cli",
  "Microsoft.WindowsTerminal",
  "Microsoft.VisualStudioCode"
)

foreach ($id in $apps) {
  winget install --id $id -e --silent `
    --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements
}

# Configure Git
git config --global user.name  "$env:USERNAME"
git config --global user.email "$env:USERNAME@example.com"
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
git config --global pull.rebase true

# Set up GitHub auth
gh auth login --web

Full dev setup: Setting up a Node.js dev environment or Python dev setup.

Common errors

"Git is already installed" — winget detects existing install. Force-reinstall:

winget install --id Git.Git -e --silent --force

Old Git keeps showing as outdated even after upgrade — duplicate install (vendor website + winget). See winget upgrade not working fix.

"Installer hash does not match" — manifest lag after publisher release. Wait 24h or --force. See hash mismatch fix.