Software⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-05-31

How to Fix: git update-index --assume-unchanged returns "fatal unable to mark file"

Git update-index --assume-unchanged error explanation.

Quick Answer: The issue is likely due to the file being in a Git subdirectory. Try using `git update-index --assume-unchanged --skip` instead of `--assume-unchanged`.

📋 Table of Contents

  1. 🛑 Root Causes of the Error
  2. ✅ Best Solutions to Fix It
  3. ✨ Wrapping Up

The error message 'fatal: Unable to mark file web.config' indicates that the Git repository is unable to mark the web.config file as unchanged. This can occur due to various reasons such as incorrect permissions, conflicting file names, or file system issues.

🛑 Root Causes of the Error

  • The file IS added to the repository

✅ Best Solutions to Fix It

Method 1: Force Push

  1. Step 1: Run the command `git update-index --assume-unchanged web.config` again, but this time use the `-f` option to force push: `git update-index --assume-unchanged -f web.config

Method 2: Remove Git Index Entry

  1. Step 1: Run the command `git update-index --refresh -f web.config` to refresh the index entry, and then run `git update-index --assume-unchanged -d web.config` to remove the assume-unchanged entry: `git update-index --refresh -f web.config && git update-index --assume-unchanged -d web.config

✨ Wrapping Up

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the 'fatal: Unable to mark file web.config' error and successfully use `git update-index --assume-unchanged`.

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