Install Git for Windows with NVDA
Install Git for Windows using the keyboard and NVDA, review the setup choices, and verify Git in Git Bash before creating your first repository.
Watch the video
In this walkthrough, I install Git for Windows using NVDA and the keyboard, then open Git Bash and check that Git responds. This gives you the Git tools for working with repositories on Windows.
Before you start
You need a Windows computer, an internet connection, and NVDA if you are following the screen-reader demonstration. I use Brave in the video. Install Visual Studio Code first if you want to select it as Git's default editor, as I do.
Git Bash is the terminal environment included with Git for Windows. It is separate from Ubuntu running in WSL. To follow my Linux-based development setup, use the WSL and Ubuntu guide as well; installing Git for Windows does not install Git inside Ubuntu.
1. Download Git from the official site
Open the official Git for Windows download page. In NVDA browse mode, Ctrl+Home returns to the top and H moves through headings. Locate the Windows download and choose the installer appropriate for your computer. Use the current release offered there rather than matching the version number spoken in the recording.
Save the installer, open your Downloads folder, and run it. In the video, I use Windows+R, type downloads, and press Enter to open that folder.
2. Move through the installer with the keyboard
Read each setup screen before continuing. Tab and Shift+Tab move between controls; arrow keys choose options in lists and radio groups; Space toggles a focused checkbox. NVDA+B reads the current window when you need the surrounding explanation. Activate the named Next button rather than relying on a fixed number of Tab presses.
I keep the default installation folder and Start menu folder. In the components list, I keep Windows Explorer integration and Open Git Bash here. I enable the daily update check and leave the extra Windows Terminal profile unchecked. These are choices shown in my recording, not requirements for every installation.
3. Review the choices that affect your workflow
For the default text editor, I select Visual Studio Code because it is already installed. For PATH, I keep the option that makes Git available from the command line and third-party software. I also keep bundled OpenSSH, the native Windows secure channel library, MinTTY, fast-forward or merge for pulls, and Git Credential Manager.
Two details deserve care. I return to Let Git decide on the initial-branch screen; that does not promise that every new repository will use main. The selected line-ending option checks out Windows-style endings and commits Unix-style endings. My spoken explanation oversimplifies this: Windows line endings do not universally make programs fail. Follow your project's line-ending policy when you start collaborating.
4. Finish and verify Git
Activate Install and wait for setup to finish, then choose Finish. The release-notes page may open if its checkbox remains selected. Open Start, search for Git Bash, and launch it. Type the following command and press Enter:
git --version
A response beginning with git version confirms that Git runs in that terminal. Your version number may differ from mine. If a terminal that was open before installation cannot find Git, close that terminal window completely and open a fresh one before checking again.
Next: create and clone a repository
Continue with Create and Clone Your First GitHub Repository with NVDA. That lesson uses an Ubuntu WSL terminal, so follow the WSL guide if you want the same environment. This installation video does not configure a GitHub account, SSH keys, or your commit identity.