diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.adoc b/CONTRIBUTING.adoc
index 7ed88aabc6..01a2031450 100755
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.adoc
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.adoc
@@ -208,3 +208,13 @@ The sample applications are used as integration tests during the build (when you
 they cannot be called directly, and so instead are launched via the
 `maven-invoker-plugin`. If you encounter build failures running the integration tests,
 check the `build.log` file in the appropriate sample directory.
+
+
+== Cloning the git repository on Windows
+Some files in the git repository may exceed the Windows maximum file path (260
+characters), depending on where you clone the repository. If you get `Filename too long`
+errors, set the `core.longPaths=true` git option:
+
+```
+git clone -c core.longPaths=true https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-boot
+```