diff --git a/Documentation/git-rev-list.txt b/Documentation/git-rev-list.txt
index 8255ae1bceee562140179704352a7e4f9cd83d99..ad6d14c55aab2144bdac3c313305ba408fe5f0db 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-rev-list.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-rev-list.txt
@@ -68,9 +68,10 @@ OPTIONS
 --bisect::
 	Limit output to the one commit object which is roughly halfway
 	between the included and excluded commits. Thus, if 'git-rev-list
-	--bisect foo ^bar ^baz' outputs 'midpoint', the output
-	of 'git-rev-list foo ^midpoint' and 'git-rev-list midpoint
-	^bar ^baz' would be of roughly the same length. Finding the change
+	--bisect foo {caret}bar {caret}baz' outputs 'midpoint', the output
+	of 'git-rev-list foo {caret}midpoint' and 'git-rev-list midpoint
+	{caret}bar {caret}baz' would be of roughly the same length.
+	Finding the change
 	which introduces a regression is thus reduced to a binary search:
 	repeatedly generate and test new 'midpoint's until the commit chain
 	is of length one.
diff --git a/cat-file.c b/cat-file.c
index 628f6cada89431acd23d612f7e0b10649348e088..7413feed78f20feb635ad55f098c59a2afc2a54c 100644
--- a/cat-file.c
+++ b/cat-file.c
@@ -103,8 +103,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 	setup_git_directory();
 	git_config(git_default_config);
-	if (argc != 3 || get_sha1(argv[2], sha1))
+	if (argc != 3)
 		usage("git-cat-file [-t|-s|-e|-p|<type>] <sha1>");
+	if (get_sha1(argv[2], sha1))
+		die("Not a valid object name %s", argv[2]);
 
 	opt = 0;
 	if ( argv[1][0] == '-' ) {
@@ -133,8 +135,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		return !has_sha1_file(sha1);
 
 	case 'p':
-		if (get_sha1(argv[2], sha1) ||
-		    sha1_object_info(sha1, type, NULL))
+		if (sha1_object_info(sha1, type, NULL))
 			die("Not a valid object name %s", argv[2]);
 
 		/* custom pretty-print here */
diff --git a/commit-tree.c b/commit-tree.c
index bad72e89e8d83360f75c6f260d2b358fd7f2bf36..0320036e802f820760dd197f745698acb5531bbb 100644
--- a/commit-tree.c
+++ b/commit-tree.c
@@ -91,15 +91,19 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 	git_config(git_default_config);
 
-	if (argc < 2 || get_sha1(argv[1], tree_sha1) < 0)
+	if (argc < 2)
 		usage(commit_tree_usage);
+	if (get_sha1(argv[1], tree_sha1))
+		die("Not a valid object name %s", argv[1]);
 
 	check_valid(tree_sha1, tree_type);
 	for (i = 2; i < argc; i += 2) {
 		char *a, *b;
 		a = argv[i]; b = argv[i+1];
-		if (!b || strcmp(a, "-p") || get_sha1(b, parent_sha1[parents]))
+		if (!b || strcmp(a, "-p"))
 			usage(commit_tree_usage);
+		if (get_sha1(b, parent_sha1[parents]))
+			die("Not a valid object name %s", b);
 		check_valid(parent_sha1[parents], commit_type);
 		if (new_parent(parents))
 			parents++;
diff --git a/config.c b/config.c
index 61eacefbee9d1466cd392801af12cae315750578..0f518c957cda48bb4fdc3aa7b472bb8a1c26a3bf 100644
--- a/config.c
+++ b/config.c
@@ -422,7 +422,7 @@ int git_config_set_multivar(const char* key, const char* value,
 	const char* value_regex, int multi_replace)
 {
 	int i;
-	int fd, in_fd;
+	int fd = -1, in_fd;
 	int ret;
 	char* config_filename = strdup(git_path("config"));
 	char* lock_file = strdup(git_path("config.lock"));
@@ -480,15 +480,11 @@ int git_config_set_multivar(const char* key, const char* value,
 		if ( ENOENT != errno ) {
 			error("opening %s: %s", config_filename,
 			      strerror(errno));
-			close(fd);
-			unlink(lock_file);
 			ret = 3; /* same as "invalid config file" */
 			goto out_free;
 		}
 		/* if nothing to unset, error out */
 		if (value == NULL) {
-			close(fd);
-			unlink(lock_file);
 			ret = 5;
 			goto out_free;
 		}
@@ -516,8 +512,6 @@ int git_config_set_multivar(const char* key, const char* value,
 				fprintf(stderr, "Invalid pattern: %s\n",
 					value_regex);
 				free(store.value_regex);
-				close(fd);
-				unlink(lock_file);
 				ret = 6;
 				goto out_free;
 			}
@@ -553,8 +547,6 @@ int git_config_set_multivar(const char* key, const char* value,
 		/* if nothing to unset, or too many matches, error out */
 		if ((store.seen == 0 && value == NULL) ||
 				(store.seen > 1 && multi_replace == 0)) {
-			close(fd);
-			unlink(lock_file);
 			ret = 5;
 			goto out_free;
 		}
@@ -603,8 +595,6 @@ int git_config_set_multivar(const char* key, const char* value,
 		unlink(config_filename);
 	}
 
-	close(fd);
-
 	if (rename(lock_file, config_filename) < 0) {
 		fprintf(stderr, "Could not rename the lock file?\n");
 		ret = 4;
@@ -614,10 +604,14 @@ int git_config_set_multivar(const char* key, const char* value,
 	ret = 0;
 
 out_free:
+	if (0 <= fd)
+		close(fd);
 	if (config_filename)
 		free(config_filename);
-	if (lock_file)
+	if (lock_file) {
+		unlink(lock_file);
 		free(lock_file);
+	}
 	return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/convert-objects.c b/convert-objects.c
index 12aacef5a9c06adec2e7abb7c11051acc954225a..a67d6b479ec57816de1b259f9efed2258e999703 100644
--- a/convert-objects.c
+++ b/convert-objects.c
@@ -321,8 +321,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 	setup_git_directory();
 
-	if (argc != 2 || get_sha1(argv[1], sha1))
+	if (argc != 2)
 		usage("git-convert-objects <sha1>");
+	if (get_sha1(argv[1], sha1))
+		die("Not a valid object name %s", argv[1]);
 
 	entry = convert_entry(sha1);
 	printf("new sha1: %s\n", sha1_to_hex(entry->new_sha1));
diff --git a/describe.c b/describe.c
index ff65742615cb6862d3699e4f301d671a7eadc2e2..8a9cd5d52c555330c512b977179ab030ccd28861 100644
--- a/describe.c
+++ b/describe.c
@@ -105,11 +105,11 @@ static void describe(char *arg, int last_one)
 	static int initialized = 0;
 	struct commit_name *n;
 
-	if (get_sha1(arg, sha1) < 0)
-		usage(describe_usage);
+	if (get_sha1(arg, sha1))
+		die("Not a valid object name %s", arg);
 	cmit = lookup_commit_reference(sha1);
 	if (!cmit)
-		usage(describe_usage);
+		die("%s is not a valid '%s' object", arg, commit_type);
 
 	if (!initialized) {
 		initialized = 1;
diff --git a/diff.c b/diff.c
index c845c871130a8943c3c5f5d46cfd52426180fc8b..5315270601eeb6ab54a12d97f69c5f29679c4cf7 100644
--- a/diff.c
+++ b/diff.c
@@ -296,7 +296,6 @@ static const char minuses[]= "--------------------------------------------------
 
 static void show_stats(struct diffstat_t* data)
 {
-	char *prefix = "";
 	int i, len, add, del, total, adds = 0, dels = 0;
 	int max, max_change = 0, max_len = 0;
 	int total_files = data->nr;
@@ -318,6 +317,7 @@ static void show_stats(struct diffstat_t* data)
 	}
 
 	for (i = 0; i < data->nr; i++) {
+		char *prefix = "";
 		char *name = data->files[i]->name;
 		int added = data->files[i]->added;
 		int deleted = data->files[i]->deleted;
diff --git a/ls-tree.c b/ls-tree.c
index e4ef200985030e8dee6f23dbe723bfa476160db0..f2b3bc1231b7fdfd7277974fc5a5708ceef9cbaf 100644
--- a/ls-tree.c
+++ b/ls-tree.c
@@ -142,8 +142,8 @@ int main(int argc, const char **argv)
 
 	if (argc < 2)
 		usage(ls_tree_usage);
-	if (get_sha1(argv[1], sha1) < 0)
-		usage(ls_tree_usage);
+	if (get_sha1(argv[1], sha1))
+		die("Not a valid object name %s", argv[1]);
 
 	pathspec = get_pathspec(prefix, argv + 2);
 	tree = parse_tree_indirect(sha1);
diff --git a/merge-base.c b/merge-base.c
index 07f5ab4d1c72afeac5e3f193cefe91801ee9a9c9..f0dc06ef5546b148fe20d3b1061c7eae0d262cce 100644
--- a/merge-base.c
+++ b/merge-base.c
@@ -247,10 +247,12 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 			usage(merge_base_usage);
 		argc--; argv++;
 	}
-	if (argc != 3 ||
-	    get_sha1(argv[1], rev1key) ||
-	    get_sha1(argv[2], rev2key))
+	if (argc != 3)
 		usage(merge_base_usage);
+	if (get_sha1(argv[1], rev1key))
+		die("Not a valid object name %s", argv[1]);
+	if (get_sha1(argv[2], rev2key))
+		die("Not a valid object name %s", argv[2]);
 	rev1 = lookup_commit_reference(rev1key);
 	rev2 = lookup_commit_reference(rev2key);
 	if (!rev1 || !rev2)
diff --git a/merge-tree.c b/merge-tree.c
index cc7b5bd891a213adcc18a44fb9d9ff6d7946cbb3..9dcaab7a85fdb63b2140923a95b216917bfc0993 100644
--- a/merge-tree.c
+++ b/merge-tree.c
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ static void *get_tree_descriptor(struct tree_desc *desc, const char *rev)
 	unsigned char sha1[20];
 	void *buf;
 
-	if (get_sha1(rev, sha1) < 0)
+	if (get_sha1(rev, sha1))
 		die("unknown rev %s", rev);
 	buf = fill_tree_descriptor(desc, sha1);
 	if (!buf)
diff --git a/read-tree.c b/read-tree.c
index 26f4f7e32308d6e60d6a6e2c294bda322b34fc05..e926e4c880363469c5abf766127acc466fb5e438 100644
--- a/read-tree.c
+++ b/read-tree.c
@@ -794,8 +794,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		if (1 < index_only + update)
 			usage(read_tree_usage);
 
-		if (get_sha1(arg, sha1) < 0)
-			usage(read_tree_usage);
+		if (get_sha1(arg, sha1))
+			die("Not a valid object name %s", arg);
 		if (list_tree(sha1) < 0)
 			die("failed to unpack tree object %s", arg);
 		stage++;
diff --git a/revision.c b/revision.c
index f8ee38e54d52661cf91842e9f2fd14f74983a5d6..2294b16ea2aa0b508073e7800ccb5975a2254301 100644
--- a/revision.c
+++ b/revision.c
@@ -794,7 +794,7 @@ int setup_revisions(int argc, const char **argv, struct rev_info *revs, const ch
 			local_flags = UNINTERESTING;
 			arg++;
 		}
-		if (get_sha1(arg, sha1) < 0) {
+		if (get_sha1(arg, sha1)) {
 			int j;
 
 			if (seen_dashdash || local_flags)
@@ -820,7 +820,7 @@ int setup_revisions(int argc, const char **argv, struct rev_info *revs, const ch
 	if (def && !revs->pending_objects) {
 		unsigned char sha1[20];
 		struct object *object;
-		if (get_sha1(def, sha1) < 0)
+		if (get_sha1(def, sha1))
 			die("bad default revision '%s'", def);
 		object = get_reference(revs, def, sha1, 0);
 		add_pending_object(revs, object, def);
diff --git a/ssh-upload.c b/ssh-upload.c
index b675a0b1f1df7d313f8201d59ad25b1c3d53a2f4..2da66618fcdd6a0f5af35c9f30554a65eb427427 100644
--- a/ssh-upload.c
+++ b/ssh-upload.c
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	commit_id = argv[arg];
 	url = argv[arg + 1];
 	if (get_sha1(commit_id, sha1))
-		usage(ssh_push_usage);
+		die("Not a valid object name %s", commit_id);
 	memcpy(hex, sha1_to_hex(sha1), sizeof(hex));
 	argv[arg] = hex;
 
diff --git a/tar-tree.c b/tar-tree.c
index fc60a90873d1928ce3ada6d26f0a0ae571d43773..33087366c350655fe92837ba0fe0b3ac80865f33 100644
--- a/tar-tree.c
+++ b/tar-tree.c
@@ -321,8 +321,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		strbuf_append_string(&current_path, "/");
 		/* FALLTHROUGH */
 	case 2:
-		if (get_sha1(argv[1], sha1) < 0)
-			usage(tar_tree_usage);
+		if (get_sha1(argv[1], sha1))
+			die("Not a valid object name %s", argv[1]);
 		break;
 	default:
 		usage(tar_tree_usage);
diff --git a/unpack-file.c b/unpack-file.c
index 23a85623019c3b7a465fba86132df3f4b75d94a5..ccddf1d4b0cf7fd3a699d8b33cf5bc4c5c4435b7 100644
--- a/unpack-file.c
+++ b/unpack-file.c
@@ -27,8 +27,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 {
 	unsigned char sha1[20];
 
-	if (argc != 2 || get_sha1(argv[1], sha1))
+	if (argc != 2)
 		usage("git-unpack-file <sha1>");
+	if (get_sha1(argv[1], sha1))
+		die("Not a valid object name %s", argv[1]);
 
 	setup_git_directory();
 	git_config(git_default_config);
diff --git a/update-ref.c b/update-ref.c
index ba4bf5153efb38914f66658c59784b58d8b69a0a..fd487421cd36763dd94f5439b3c40d0ed97c2c96 100644
--- a/update-ref.c
+++ b/update-ref.c
@@ -32,10 +32,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	refname = argv[1];
 	value = argv[2];
 	oldval = argv[3];
-	if (get_sha1(value, sha1) < 0)
+	if (get_sha1(value, sha1))
 		die("%s: not a valid SHA1", value);
 	memset(oldsha1, 0, 20);
-	if (oldval && get_sha1(oldval, oldsha1) < 0)
+	if (oldval && get_sha1(oldval, oldsha1))
 		die("%s: not a valid old SHA1", oldval);
 
 	path = resolve_ref(git_path("%s", refname), currsha1, !!oldval);