Long file path issues in Windows 11 Pro with Microsoft VS Code and File Explorer

Anonymous

I spent way too long debugging a compile error in MS VS Code (64bit version 1.66.2). It would fail with 'file not found' or 'unable to access file' errors. The workspace is located in "C:\Users\UserName\Documents\My Workspaces\firmware", with several levels of nested source folders below.

Initially, I got several linking errors due to Controlled Folder Access protection using the Ransomware protection built-in to Windows Security. I whitelisted ar.exe and as. exe, but the errors persisted. I even turned off Ransomware protection. Seeing a thread online about long file paths reminded me I hadn't enabled that on Windows 11 yet (fresh install), so I changed the following settings and rebooted the PC:
Registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem\LongPathsEnabled set to 1.

Group Policy: System "Configuration>Administrative Templates>System>Filesystem>Enable Win32 long paths" enabled.

About that time I noticed an issue with not being able to delete or rename files on an SMB share that were in a deep path. If I went to the other system and moved them up a few folders I was again able to rename the files.

Both of these scenarios work fine from my Windows 10 Pro PC. My Windows 11 Pro PC is a fresh install (Version 21H2 Build 22000.613).

So I believe Windows 11 isn't respecting my Long Paths settings. As a final test, I moved my VS Code Workspace folder to system drive root (C:\firmware) and it compiled without error.

I've seen other questions on here about Windows 11 path length issues that were brushed away because they were encountered using non-Microsoft 3rd Party software, but this is all built-in File Explorer and Microsoft's own VS Code product.

My question is, how do I actually allow long file paths in Windows 11 Pro?

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77 answers

Les Ferch 10,361 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2024-02-17T03:29:45+00:00

Cool testing there. I learned something new today. Thanks!

It would interesting to figure out a reasonable limit that will work in most scenarios. Maybe something like 4K?
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Anonymous

2022-12-28T16:25:39+00:00

You're using a console window instead of a ISE power shell. For console windows use \ instead of /

Once I ran into the windows 11 issues with my application I ended up reproducing the issue with emoji/unicode strings, and the ISE powershell supports those way better than the console. FYI: unicode chars can eat into the 255 byte limit really quickly.

I have no idea why I was using forward slashes, they cause all sorts of problems. Sorry about that.
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Anonymous

2022-12-28T13:09:14+00:00

Thanks for your reply.

I get this error from the first line of the suggested script:

The syntax of the command is incorrect.

And I get this error from each subsequent line of the suggested script:

The system cannot find the path specified.
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Anonymous

2022-11-30T17:57:08+00:00

Seems like this is taking forever. So, here's an update on what's going on:

The first guy they assigned it to went on vacation. Yesterday the new guy left some voicemail to a wrong number. Turns out the wrong phone number is on the ticket (digits transposed).

Hopefully I'll have something useful to report soon.

Thanks for the update.
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