How to fix fatal: pathspec 'file.txt' did not match any files in Git

First, confirm the file exists in your filesystem. Use ls (Linux/macOS) or dir (Windows) to check:

# Linux/macOS
ls -la file.txt

# Windows
dir file.txt

If the file doesn't exist, you'll need to create it first before adding it to Git. Git's add command stages existing files - it doesn't create new ones.

Make sure you're in the correct directory relative to the file you want to add:

# Show current directory
pwd

# List files in current directory
ls -la

# If the file is in a subdirectory, use the full relative path
git add src/components/file.txt

You can also run git status to see which files Git detects as new or modified - this shows paths relative to the repository root.

Git is case-sensitive. A file named "README.md" won't match "readme.md". Use tab completion to ensure accuracy:

# Type partial name and press Tab to autocomplete
git add READ<Tab>

# Or list files to check exact names
ls -la | grep -i readme

On Windows/macOS, the filesystem may be case-insensitive, but Git still tracks the case. If you need to fix case sensitivity:

# Rename using a temporary name
git mv README.md temp.md
git mv temp.md readme.md

If a file matches a pattern in .gitignore, Git may not see it for certain operations:

# Check if a file is ignored
git check-ignore -v file.txt

# If you want to force-add an ignored file
git add -f file.txt

Note: If you're getting this error with git rm on an ignored file, it's because Git isn't tracking it in the first place.

The git status command shows the current state of your working directory:

git status

Look for your file under:
- Untracked files: New files not yet added to Git
- Changes not staged for commit: Modified tracked files
- Changes to be committed: Already staged files

If your file doesn't appear anywhere in the output, it either doesn't exist or is ignored.

If you see this error when checking out a branch, the branch may exist on the remote but not locally:

# Fetch all remote branches
git fetch --all

# Now try checking out the branch
git checkout feature-branch

# Or create a local tracking branch explicitly
git checkout -b feature-branch origin/feature-branch

This is common when a colleague created a new branch after you cloned the repository.

When using wildcards (glob patterns), your shell may expand them before Git sees them:

# Wrong - shell expands *.txt before Git
git add *.txt

# Better - quote to let Git handle the pattern
git add '*.txt'

# Or escape the asterisk
git add \*.txt

If no files match the pattern, you'll get the pathspec error. Use ls *.txt first to verify matches.