Wiki source code of "File Path too Long" on Windows when Unzipping
Last modified by Eleni Cojocariu-testing account on 2026/08/21 17:09
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| author | version | line-number | content |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unzipping the XWiki distribution on Windows can stop with a "file path too long" error, leaving the extraction incomplete. | ||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | === Cause === | ||
| 4 | |||
| 5 | Windows limits a full file path to about 260 characters, as described in the [[maximum path length limitation>>https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/maximum-file-path-limitation]]. The distribution nests its files deeply, so extracting it into a folder that is itself deep in the tree pushes some of those paths past the limit. | ||
| 6 | |||
| 7 | === Solution === | ||
| 8 | |||
| 9 | Any one of the following avoids the limit: | ||
| 10 | |||
| 11 | * Extract the archive close to the root of the drive, into a folder with a short name such as ##C:\xwiki##. | ||
| 12 | * Extract it with PowerShell:((( | ||
| 13 | {{code language="powershell"}} | ||
| 14 | Expand-Archive -Force C:\path\to\XWiki.zip C:\where\to\extract\XWiki | ||
| 15 | {{/code}} | ||
| 16 | ))) | ||
| 17 | * Enable long paths system-wide, which takes both of the changes below and a restart of the computer: | ||
| 18 | ** In the Windows Registry, set ##LongPathsEnabled## to ##1## under ##HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem##. | ||
| 19 | ** In the Group Policy Editor, opened by pressing ##Win + R## and typing ##gpedit.msc##, go to "Computer Configuration", then "Administrative Templates", "System" and "File System"; double-click "Enable Win32 long paths", select "Enabled" and click "Apply". | ||
| 20 | * Extract it from the [[cygwin>>https://www.cygwin.com/]] environment, which is not subject to the limit. | ||
| 21 | * Extract it with a third-party archiver, such as one of these [[file archivers for Windows>>https://sourceforge.net/directory/file-archivers/windows/]]. |
