Resolve "Sync Icon Overlay Missing" Issue in Git On Windows

Article

Sometimes GIT may not display sync icon overlays on files and folders on Windows. This includes the status for items that are syncing, items that synced, or items that did not sync.

sync

Note: A successful sync icon overlay contains a green circle with check mark, as in the following screen shot.

Warning

As stated about changing the registry settings:

"Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require you to reinstall the operating system. We cannot guarantee that these problems can be resolved. Modify the registry at your own risk".

Precaution

Before you modify back up the registry so that you can revert in case problems occur.

Solution/Fix

To fix the problem please follow the steps listed below carefully.

If you want to have GIT icon overlays take priority over other applications then update the registry as described below.

Update the registry to give priority to GIT. Priority is based on the alphabetical order of the entries. This will suppress other icon overlays from other programs, and some programs in future updates may re-suppress GIT icon overlays.

To update the registry, follow these steps: (Assumption: you are running Windows 7 OS):

Open registry editor. Click Start, type regedit.exe in the search box, and then press Enter. If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password, or provide confirmation.
Traverse to the following folder, and then expand it:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer\ShellIconOverlayIdentifiers

Rename the following registry keys. To do this, right-click the folder, select Rename, and then rename the folder. When you rename the folder, add a space at the beginning of the name.You may have to add more than one space to the beginning of the folder name depending whether other icon overlay providers have added leading spaces to their icon overlay names.

Old folder name	New folder name
1TortoiseNormal	<space>1TortoiseNormal
2TortoiseModified	<space>2TortoiseModified
3TortoiseConflict	<space>3TortoiseConflict

Here, number takes precedence over text after the space

In this example, <space> represents a space in the renamed folder name.
On the View menu, click Refresh to verify that the renamed keys now appear at the top of the list.
Exit Registry Editor, and then restart your computer.

I hope you are able to fix the issue after reading this post. Please comment if any further information is needed.

Good-to-Know Information

Windows supports a finite number of icon overlays. If you have other applications installed that heavily use icon overlays on files and folders, such as Dropbox and Box, those applications take priority in displaying their icon overlays and suppress the icon overlays for GIT or OneDrive for Business.

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