diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d497c96a..b98569ff 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ master
 * DRY-up config.rb-specific commands like `ignore` or `path`.
 * Fix automatic images with absolute (or images dir missing) paths in markdown. Fixes #1755
 * Fix asset_host in combination with Google Analytics snippet. #1751
+* Show an error message when git CLI is not available. #1765
 
 # 4.0.0
 
diff --git a/middleman-cli/lib/middleman-cli/init.rb b/middleman-cli/lib/middleman-cli/init.rb
index 469d9d4c..86e2ef91 100644
--- a/middleman-cli/lib/middleman-cli/init.rb
+++ b/middleman-cli/lib/middleman-cli/init.rb
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ module Middleman::Cli
   class Init < Thor::Group
     include Thor::Actions
 
+    GIT_CMD = 'git'
+
     check_unknown_options!
 
     argument :target, type: :string, default: '.'
@@ -25,6 +27,13 @@ module Middleman::Cli
       require 'fileutils'
       require 'tmpdir'
 
+      if !git_present?
+        msg =  "You need to install the git command line tool to initialize a new project. "
+        msg << "For help installing git, please refer to GitHub's tutorial at https://help.github.com/articles/set-up-git"
+        say msg, :red
+        exit 1
+      end
+
       repo_path, repo_branch = if shortname?(options[:template])
         require 'open-uri'
         require 'json'
@@ -51,10 +60,11 @@ module Middleman::Cli
       begin
         branch_cmd = repo_branch ? "-b #{repo_branch} " : ''
 
-        run("git clone --depth 1 #{branch_cmd}#{repo_path} #{dir}")
+        git_path = "#{branch_cmd}#{repo_path}"
+        run("#{GIT_CMD} clone --depth 1 #{branch_cmd}#{repo_path} #{dir}")
 
-        unless File.directory?(dir)
-          say 'Git clone failed, maybe the url is invalid or you don\'t have the permissions?', :red
+        if !$?.success?
+          say "Git clone command failed. Make sure git repository exists: #{git_path}", :red
           exit 1
         end
 
@@ -79,6 +89,25 @@ module Middleman::Cli
 
     protected
 
+    # Copied from Bundler
+    def git_present?
+      return @git_present if defined?(@git_present)
+      @git_present = which(GIT_CMD) || which("git.exe")
+    end
+
+    # Copied from Bundler
+    def which(executable)
+      if File.file?(executable) && File.executable?(executable)
+        executable
+      elsif ENV['PATH']
+        path = ENV['PATH'].split(File::PATH_SEPARATOR).find do |p|
+          abs_path = File.join(p, executable)
+          File.file?(abs_path) && File.executable?(abs_path)
+        end
+        path && File.expand_path(executable, path)
+      end
+    end
+
     def shortname?(repo)
       repo.split('/').length == 1
     end
diff --git a/middleman-core/features/cli_init.feature b/middleman-core/features/cli_init.feature
index 52aa8f7b..8591d1be 100644
--- a/middleman-core/features/cli_init.feature
+++ b/middleman-core/features/cli_init.feature
@@ -63,6 +63,13 @@ Feature: Middleman CLI
     And the file "Gemfile" should contain "middleman-blog"
     And the file ".gitignore" should exist
 
+  Scenario: Create an invalid project using Middleman directory
+    When I run `middleman init MY_PROJECT -T does-not-exist-for-reals`
+    Then a directory named "MY_PROJECT" should exist
+    When I cd to "MY_PROJECT"
+    And the file "Gemfile" should contain "middleman-blog"
+    And the file ".gitignore" should exist
+
   Scenario: Create a new project using github(user/repository)
     When I run `middleman init MY_PROJECT -T middleman/middleman-templates-default` interactively
     And I type "y"