diff --git a/hgext/git/__init__.py b/hgext/git/__init__.py
--- a/hgext/git/__init__.py
+++ b/hgext/git/__init__.py
@@ -225,5 +225,5 @@
     extensions.wrapfunction(localrepo, 'makestore', _makestore)
     extensions.wrapfunction(localrepo, 'makefilestorage', _makefilestorage)
     # Inject --git flag for `hg init`
-    entry = extensions.wrapcommand(commands.table, 'init', init)
+    entry = extensions.wrapcommand(commands.table, b'init', init)
     entry[1].extend([('', 'git', None, 'setup up a git repository instead of hg')])