diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index aa258a6bcfe105cdb872c6d77cd9bd19c84e8dc5..6669bf0c6c9a0b42f74e2ed189350a6a9f11f17d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 /git-bundle
 /git-cat-file
 /git-check-attr
+/git-check-ignore
 /git-check-ref-format
 /git-checkout
 /git-checkout-index
diff --git a/Documentation/git-check-ignore.txt b/Documentation/git-check-ignore.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..854e4d0c425a9396bdb71dc84093f43156b04cd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/git-check-ignore.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+git-check-ignore(1)
+===================
+
+NAME
+----
+git-check-ignore - Debug gitignore / exclude files
+
+
+SYNOPSIS
+--------
+[verse]
+'git check-ignore' [options] pathname...
+'git check-ignore' [options] --stdin < <list-of-paths>
+
+DESCRIPTION
+-----------
+
+For each pathname given via the command-line or from a file via
+`--stdin`, show the pattern from .gitignore (or other input files to
+the exclude mechanism) that decides if the pathname is excluded or
+included.  Later patterns within a file take precedence over earlier
+ones.
+
+OPTIONS
+-------
+-q, --quiet::
+	Don't output anything, just set exit status.  This is only
+	valid with a single pathname.
+
+-v, --verbose::
+	Also output details about the matching pattern (if any)
+	for each given pathname.
+
+--stdin::
+	Read file names from stdin instead of from the command-line.
+
+-z::
+	The output format is modified to be machine-parseable (see
+	below).  If `--stdin` is also given, input paths are separated
+	with a NUL character instead of a linefeed character.
+
+OUTPUT
+------
+
+By default, any of the given pathnames which match an ignore pattern
+will be output, one per line.  If no pattern matches a given path,
+nothing will be output for that path; this means that path will not be
+ignored.
+
+If `--verbose` is specified, the output is a series of lines of the form:
+
+<source> <COLON> <linenum> <COLON> <pattern> <HT> <pathname>
+
+<pathname> is the path of a file being queried, <pattern> is the
+matching pattern, <source> is the pattern's source file, and <linenum>
+is the line number of the pattern within that source.  If the pattern
+contained a `!` prefix or `/` suffix, it will be preserved in the
+output.  <source> will be an absolute path when referring to the file
+configured by `core.excludesfile`, or relative to the repository root
+when referring to `.git/info/exclude` or a per-directory exclude file.
+
+If `-z` is specified, the pathnames in the output are delimited by the
+null character; if `--verbose` is also specified then null characters
+are also used instead of colons and hard tabs:
+
+<source> <NULL> <linenum> <NULL> <pattern> <NULL> <pathname> <NULL>
+
+
+EXIT STATUS
+-----------
+
+0::
+	One or more of the provided paths is ignored.
+
+1::
+	None of the provided paths are ignored.
+
+128::
+	A fatal error was encountered.
+
+SEE ALSO
+--------
+linkgit:gitignore[5]
+linkgit:gitconfig[5]
+linkgit:git-ls-files[5]
+
+GIT
+---
+Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
diff --git a/Documentation/gitignore.txt b/Documentation/gitignore.txt
index 91a6438031949d83600abc791676bbf0397a0ddc..0da205fd97a8b3bf35ec4f920d555e24a75ad768 100644
--- a/Documentation/gitignore.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gitignore.txt
@@ -184,8 +184,10 @@ The second .gitignore prevents git from ignoring
 
 SEE ALSO
 --------
-linkgit:git-rm[1], linkgit:git-update-index[1],
-linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5]
+linkgit:git-rm[1],
+linkgit:git-update-index[1],
+linkgit:gitrepository-layout[5],
+linkgit:git-check-ignore[1]
 
 GIT
 ---
diff --git a/Documentation/technical/api-directory-listing.txt b/Documentation/technical/api-directory-listing.txt
index 944fc39fac8b26ceaee781fe4a18b9ba2d78ac9d..9d3e3527e4f2b149170352e35a2fae32670a3478 100644
--- a/Documentation/technical/api-directory-listing.txt
+++ b/Documentation/technical/api-directory-listing.txt
@@ -67,11 +67,13 @@ marked. If you to exclude files, make sure you have loaded index first.
 * Prepare `struct dir_struct dir` and clear it with `memset(&dir, 0,
   sizeof(dir))`.
 
-* Call `add_exclude()` to add single exclude pattern,
-  `add_excludes_from_file()` to add patterns from a file
-  (e.g. `.git/info/exclude`), and/or set `dir.exclude_per_dir`.  A
-  short-hand function `setup_standard_excludes()` can be used to set up
-  the standard set of exclude settings.
+* To add single exclude pattern, call `add_exclude_list()` and then
+  `add_exclude()`.
+
+* To add patterns from a file (e.g. `.git/info/exclude`), call
+  `add_excludes_from_file()` , and/or set `dir.exclude_per_dir`.  A
+  short-hand function `setup_standard_excludes()` can be used to set
+  up the standard set of exclude settings.
 
 * Set options described in the Data Structure section above.
 
@@ -79,4 +81,6 @@ marked. If you to exclude files, make sure you have loaded index first.
 
 * Use `dir.entries[]`.
 
+* Call `clear_directory()` when none of the contained elements are no longer in use.
+
 (JC)
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index fd635acb2e4f05672e899129ae483ee421a59e2d..11e85a639652f8b47aaad8113fcc2776eae982e5 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -666,6 +666,7 @@ LIB_H += pack-revindex.h
 LIB_H += pack.h
 LIB_H += parse-options.h
 LIB_H += patch-ids.h
+LIB_H += pathspec.h
 LIB_H += pkt-line.h
 LIB_H += progress.h
 LIB_H += prompt.h
@@ -789,6 +790,7 @@ LIB_OBJS += parse-options-cb.o
 LIB_OBJS += patch-delta.o
 LIB_OBJS += patch-ids.o
 LIB_OBJS += path.o
+LIB_OBJS += pathspec.o
 LIB_OBJS += pkt-line.o
 LIB_OBJS += preload-index.o
 LIB_OBJS += pretty.o
@@ -854,6 +856,7 @@ BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/branch.o
 BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/bundle.o
 BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/cat-file.o
 BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/check-attr.o
+BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/check-ignore.o
 BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/check-ref-format.o
 BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/checkout-index.o
 BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/checkout.o
diff --git a/builtin.h b/builtin.h
index 7e7bbd665a905b0fdf9ce5351f6f09dfd3dd7e8a..faef55913634a21a757b4814f855ed834c32915e 100644
--- a/builtin.h
+++ b/builtin.h
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ extern int cmd_cat_file(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix);
 extern int cmd_checkout(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix);
 extern int cmd_checkout_index(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix);
 extern int cmd_check_attr(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix);
+extern int cmd_check_ignore(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix);
 extern int cmd_check_ref_format(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix);
 extern int cmd_cherry(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix);
 extern int cmd_cherry_pick(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix);
diff --git a/builtin/add.c b/builtin/add.c
index 075312afcd8813c3a7dbf08f6be519a37498fe4f..7cb6cca56dc58d02d075bf6042115f00265a9b68 100644
--- a/builtin/add.c
+++ b/builtin/add.c
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "builtin.h"
 #include "dir.h"
+#include "pathspec.h"
 #include "exec_cmd.h"
 #include "cache-tree.h"
 #include "run-command.h"
@@ -97,39 +98,6 @@ int add_files_to_cache(const char *prefix, const char **pathspec, int flags)
 	return !!data.add_errors;
 }
 
-static void fill_pathspec_matches(const char **pathspec, char *seen, int specs)
-{
-	int num_unmatched = 0, i;
-
-	/*
-	 * Since we are walking the index as if we were walking the directory,
-	 * we have to mark the matched pathspec as seen; otherwise we will
-	 * mistakenly think that the user gave a pathspec that did not match
-	 * anything.
-	 */
-	for (i = 0; i < specs; i++)
-		if (!seen[i])
-			num_unmatched++;
-	if (!num_unmatched)
-		return;
-	for (i = 0; i < active_nr; i++) {
-		struct cache_entry *ce = active_cache[i];
-		match_pathspec(pathspec, ce->name, ce_namelen(ce), 0, seen);
-	}
-}
-
-static char *find_used_pathspec(const char **pathspec)
-{
-	char *seen;
-	int i;
-
-	for (i = 0; pathspec[i];  i++)
-		; /* just counting */
-	seen = xcalloc(i, 1);
-	fill_pathspec_matches(pathspec, seen, i);
-	return seen;
-}
-
 static char *prune_directory(struct dir_struct *dir, const char **pathspec, int prefix)
 {
 	char *seen;
@@ -149,10 +117,14 @@ static char *prune_directory(struct dir_struct *dir, const char **pathspec, int
 			*dst++ = entry;
 	}
 	dir->nr = dst - dir->entries;
-	fill_pathspec_matches(pathspec, seen, specs);
+	add_pathspec_matches_against_index(pathspec, seen, specs);
 	return seen;
 }
 
+/*
+ * Checks the index to see whether any path in pathspec refers to
+ * something inside a submodule.  If so, dies with an error message.
+ */
 static void treat_gitlinks(const char **pathspec)
 {
 	int i;
@@ -160,24 +132,8 @@ static void treat_gitlinks(const char **pathspec)
 	if (!pathspec || !*pathspec)
 		return;
 
-	for (i = 0; i < active_nr; i++) {
-		struct cache_entry *ce = active_cache[i];
-		if (S_ISGITLINK(ce->ce_mode)) {
-			int len = ce_namelen(ce), j;
-			for (j = 0; pathspec[j]; j++) {
-				int len2 = strlen(pathspec[j]);
-				if (len2 <= len || pathspec[j][len] != '/' ||
-				    memcmp(ce->name, pathspec[j], len))
-					continue;
-				if (len2 == len + 1)
-					/* strip trailing slash */
-					pathspec[j] = xstrndup(ce->name, len);
-				else
-					die (_("Path '%s' is in submodule '%.*s'"),
-						pathspec[j], len, ce->name);
-			}
-		}
-	}
+	for (i = 0; pathspec[i]; i++)
+		pathspec[i] = check_path_for_gitlink(pathspec[i]);
 }
 
 static void refresh(int verbose, const char **pathspec)
@@ -197,17 +153,19 @@ static void refresh(int verbose, const char **pathspec)
         free(seen);
 }
 
-static const char **validate_pathspec(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
+/*
+ * Normalizes argv relative to prefix, via get_pathspec(), and then
+ * runs die_if_path_beyond_symlink() on each path in the normalized
+ * list.
+ */
+static const char **validate_pathspec(const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 {
 	const char **pathspec = get_pathspec(prefix, argv);
 
 	if (pathspec) {
 		const char **p;
 		for (p = pathspec; *p; p++) {
-			if (has_symlink_leading_path(*p, strlen(*p))) {
-				int len = prefix ? strlen(prefix) : 0;
-				die(_("'%s' is beyond a symbolic link"), *p + len);
-			}
+			die_if_path_beyond_symlink(*p, prefix);
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -248,7 +206,7 @@ int interactive_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix, int patch)
 	const char **pathspec = NULL;
 
 	if (argc) {
-		pathspec = validate_pathspec(argc, argv, prefix);
+		pathspec = validate_pathspec(argv, prefix);
 		if (!pathspec)
 			return -1;
 	}
@@ -415,7 +373,7 @@ int cmd_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		fprintf(stderr, _("Maybe you wanted to say 'git add .'?\n"));
 		return 0;
 	}
-	pathspec = validate_pathspec(argc, argv, prefix);
+	pathspec = validate_pathspec(argv, prefix);
 
 	if (read_cache() < 0)
 		die(_("index file corrupt"));
@@ -448,7 +406,7 @@ int cmd_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 
 		path_exclude_check_init(&check, &dir);
 		if (!seen)
-			seen = find_used_pathspec(pathspec);
+			seen = find_pathspecs_matching_against_index(pathspec);
 		for (i = 0; pathspec[i]; i++) {
 			if (!seen[i] && pathspec[i][0]
 			    && !file_exists(pathspec[i])) {
diff --git a/builtin/check-ignore.c b/builtin/check-ignore.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..709535ce09fd3876e48e6e7b81bc2f6654e04c1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builtin/check-ignore.c
@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+#include "builtin.h"
+#include "cache.h"
+#include "dir.h"
+#include "quote.h"
+#include "pathspec.h"
+#include "parse-options.h"
+
+static int quiet, verbose, stdin_paths;
+static const char * const check_ignore_usage[] = {
+"git check-ignore [options] pathname...",
+"git check-ignore [options] --stdin < <list-of-paths>",
+NULL
+};
+
+static int null_term_line;
+
+static const struct option check_ignore_options[] = {
+	OPT__QUIET(&quiet, N_("suppress progress reporting")),
+	OPT__VERBOSE(&verbose, N_("be verbose")),
+	OPT_GROUP(""),
+	OPT_BOOLEAN(0, "stdin", &stdin_paths,
+		    N_("read file names from stdin")),
+	OPT_BOOLEAN('z', NULL, &null_term_line,
+		    N_("input paths are terminated by a null character")),
+	OPT_END()
+};
+
+static void output_exclude(const char *path, struct exclude *exclude)
+{
+	char *bang  = exclude->flags & EXC_FLAG_NEGATIVE  ? "!" : "";
+	char *slash = exclude->flags & EXC_FLAG_MUSTBEDIR ? "/" : "";
+	if (!null_term_line) {
+		if (!verbose) {
+			write_name_quoted(path, stdout, '\n');
+		} else {
+			quote_c_style(exclude->el->src, NULL, stdout, 0);
+			printf(":%d:%s%s%s\t",
+			       exclude->srcpos,
+			       bang, exclude->pattern, slash);
+			quote_c_style(path, NULL, stdout, 0);
+			fputc('\n', stdout);
+		}
+	} else {
+		if (!verbose) {
+			printf("%s%c", path, '\0');
+		} else {
+			printf("%s%c%d%c%s%s%s%c%s%c",
+			       exclude->el->src, '\0',
+			       exclude->srcpos, '\0',
+			       bang, exclude->pattern, slash, '\0',
+			       path, '\0');
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+static int check_ignore(const char *prefix, const char **pathspec)
+{
+	struct dir_struct dir;
+	const char *path, *full_path;
+	char *seen;
+	int num_ignored = 0, dtype = DT_UNKNOWN, i;
+	struct path_exclude_check check;
+	struct exclude *exclude;
+
+	/* read_cache() is only necessary so we can watch out for submodules. */
+	if (read_cache() < 0)
+		die(_("index file corrupt"));
+
+	memset(&dir, 0, sizeof(dir));
+	dir.flags |= DIR_COLLECT_IGNORED;
+	setup_standard_excludes(&dir);
+
+	if (!pathspec || !*pathspec) {
+		if (!quiet)
+			fprintf(stderr, "no pathspec given.\n");
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	path_exclude_check_init(&check, &dir);
+	/*
+	 * look for pathspecs matching entries in the index, since these
+	 * should not be ignored, in order to be consistent with
+	 * 'git status', 'git add' etc.
+	 */
+	seen = find_pathspecs_matching_against_index(pathspec);
+	for (i = 0; pathspec[i]; i++) {
+		path = pathspec[i];
+		full_path = prefix_path(prefix, prefix
+					? strlen(prefix) : 0, path);
+		full_path = check_path_for_gitlink(full_path);
+		die_if_path_beyond_symlink(full_path, prefix);
+		if (!seen[i] && path[0]) {
+			exclude = last_exclude_matching_path(&check, full_path,
+							     -1, &dtype);
+			if (exclude) {
+				if (!quiet)
+					output_exclude(path, exclude);
+				num_ignored++;
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	free(seen);
+	clear_directory(&dir);
+	path_exclude_check_clear(&check);
+
+	return num_ignored;
+}
+
+static int check_ignore_stdin_paths(const char *prefix)
+{
+	struct strbuf buf, nbuf;
+	char **pathspec = NULL;
+	size_t nr = 0, alloc = 0;
+	int line_termination = null_term_line ? 0 : '\n';
+	int num_ignored;
+
+	strbuf_init(&buf, 0);
+	strbuf_init(&nbuf, 0);
+	while (strbuf_getline(&buf, stdin, line_termination) != EOF) {
+		if (line_termination && buf.buf[0] == '"') {
+			strbuf_reset(&nbuf);
+			if (unquote_c_style(&nbuf, buf.buf, NULL))
+				die("line is badly quoted");
+			strbuf_swap(&buf, &nbuf);
+		}
+		ALLOC_GROW(pathspec, nr + 1, alloc);
+		pathspec[nr] = xcalloc(strlen(buf.buf) + 1, sizeof(*buf.buf));
+		strcpy(pathspec[nr++], buf.buf);
+	}
+	ALLOC_GROW(pathspec, nr + 1, alloc);
+	pathspec[nr] = NULL;
+	num_ignored = check_ignore(prefix, (const char **)pathspec);
+	maybe_flush_or_die(stdout, "attribute to stdout");
+	strbuf_release(&buf);
+	strbuf_release(&nbuf);
+	free(pathspec);
+	return num_ignored;
+}
+
+int cmd_check_ignore(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
+{
+	int num_ignored;
+
+	git_config(git_default_config, NULL);
+
+	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, check_ignore_options,
+			     check_ignore_usage, 0);
+
+	if (stdin_paths) {
+		if (argc > 0)
+			die(_("cannot specify pathnames with --stdin"));
+	} else {
+		if (null_term_line)
+			die(_("-z only makes sense with --stdin"));
+		if (argc == 0)
+			die(_("no path specified"));
+	}
+	if (quiet) {
+		if (argc > 1)
+			die(_("--quiet is only valid with a single pathname"));
+		if (verbose)
+			die(_("cannot have both --quiet and --verbose"));
+	}
+
+	if (stdin_paths) {
+		num_ignored = check_ignore_stdin_paths(prefix);
+	} else {
+		num_ignored = check_ignore(prefix, argv);
+		maybe_flush_or_die(stdout, "ignore to stdout");
+	}
+
+	return !num_ignored;
+}
diff --git a/builtin/clean.c b/builtin/clean.c
index f4b760bf3dcb2371da6ae9d77f2f8fb1c0fa9eb9..04e396b17acc2443a663dd085ef812c3c2746d27 100644
--- a/builtin/clean.c
+++ b/builtin/clean.c
@@ -153,6 +153,7 @@ int cmd_clean(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	static const char **pathspec;
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 	struct string_list exclude_list = STRING_LIST_INIT_NODUP;
+	struct exclude_list *el;
 	const char *qname;
 	char *seen = NULL;
 	struct option options[] = {
@@ -205,9 +206,9 @@ int cmd_clean(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (!ignored)
 		setup_standard_excludes(&dir);
 
+	el = add_exclude_list(&dir, EXC_CMDL, "--exclude option");
 	for (i = 0; i < exclude_list.nr; i++)
-		add_exclude(exclude_list.items[i].string, "", 0,
-			    &dir.exclude_list[EXC_CMDL]);
+		add_exclude(exclude_list.items[i].string, "", 0, el, -(i+1));
 
 	pathspec = get_pathspec(prefix, argv);
 
diff --git a/builtin/ls-files.c b/builtin/ls-files.c
index 373c573449b5771f9b56d7d4ce04e4c0b3957cd9..175e6e3e72003387bfa4f78dbd0ed10c02c4e318 100644
--- a/builtin/ls-files.c
+++ b/builtin/ls-files.c
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ static int error_unmatch;
 static char *ps_matched;
 static const char *with_tree;
 static int exc_given;
+static int exclude_args;
 
 static const char *tag_cached = "";
 static const char *tag_unmerged = "";
@@ -420,10 +421,10 @@ static int option_parse_z(const struct option *opt,
 static int option_parse_exclude(const struct option *opt,
 				const char *arg, int unset)
 {
-	struct exclude_list *list = opt->value;
+	struct string_list *exclude_list = opt->value;
 
 	exc_given = 1;
-	add_exclude(arg, "", 0, list);
+	string_list_append(exclude_list, arg);
 
 	return 0;
 }
@@ -452,9 +453,11 @@ static int option_parse_exclude_standard(const struct option *opt,
 
 int cmd_ls_files(int argc, const char **argv, const char *cmd_prefix)
 {
-	int require_work_tree = 0, show_tag = 0;
+	int require_work_tree = 0, show_tag = 0, i;
 	const char *max_prefix;
 	struct dir_struct dir;
+	struct exclude_list *el;
+	struct string_list exclude_list = STRING_LIST_INIT_NODUP;
 	struct option builtin_ls_files_options[] = {
 		{ OPTION_CALLBACK, 'z', NULL, NULL, NULL,
 			N_("paths are separated with NUL character"),
@@ -488,7 +491,7 @@ int cmd_ls_files(int argc, const char **argv, const char *cmd_prefix)
 			N_("show unmerged files in the output")),
 		OPT_BOOLEAN(0, "resolve-undo", &show_resolve_undo,
 			    N_("show resolve-undo information")),
-		{ OPTION_CALLBACK, 'x', "exclude", &dir.exclude_list[EXC_CMDL], N_("pattern"),
+		{ OPTION_CALLBACK, 'x', "exclude", &exclude_list, N_("pattern"),
 			N_("skip files matching pattern"),
 			0, option_parse_exclude },
 		{ OPTION_CALLBACK, 'X', "exclude-from", &dir, N_("file"),
@@ -525,6 +528,10 @@ int cmd_ls_files(int argc, const char **argv, const char *cmd_prefix)
 
 	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, builtin_ls_files_options,
 			ls_files_usage, 0);
+	el = add_exclude_list(&dir, EXC_CMDL, "--exclude option");
+	for (i = 0; i < exclude_list.nr; i++) {
+		add_exclude(exclude_list.items[i].string, "", 0, el, --exclude_args);
+	}
 	if (show_tag || show_valid_bit) {
 		tag_cached = "H ";
 		tag_unmerged = "M ";
diff --git a/command-list.txt b/command-list.txt
index 7e8cfec29d9e00cd6dfb26bca1f1295f64ae53fd..bf83303c48dc5cfbccfc4a31b347dcdec197d7d4 100644
--- a/command-list.txt
+++ b/command-list.txt
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ git-branch                              mainporcelain common
 git-bundle                              mainporcelain
 git-cat-file                            plumbinginterrogators
 git-check-attr                          purehelpers
+git-check-ignore                        purehelpers
 git-checkout                            mainporcelain common
 git-checkout-index                      plumbingmanipulators
 git-check-ref-format                    purehelpers
diff --git a/contrib/completion/git-completion.bash b/contrib/completion/git-completion.bash
index 14dd5e7ca272350b3fa13d6fc8da3ccb46e12227..7147d64af20f8db8daa65958d68adb0802605303 100644
--- a/contrib/completion/git-completion.bash
+++ b/contrib/completion/git-completion.bash
@@ -563,6 +563,7 @@ __git_list_porcelain_commands ()
 		archimport)       : import;;
 		cat-file)         : plumbing;;
 		check-attr)       : plumbing;;
+		check-ignore)     : plumbing;;
 		check-ref-format) : plumbing;;
 		checkout-index)   : plumbing;;
 		commit-tree)      : plumbing;;
diff --git a/dir.c b/dir.c
index 9dde68a2f3a1a325d2c5b90fa4d20dbf7670652c..cf1e6b0082381670809a4293c4a49cfef681d756 100644
--- a/dir.c
+++ b/dir.c
@@ -194,12 +194,19 @@ static int match_one(const char *match, const char *name, int namelen)
 }
 
 /*
- * Given a name and a list of pathspecs, see if the name matches
- * any of the pathspecs.  The caller is also interested in seeing
- * all pathspec matches some names it calls this function with
- * (otherwise the user could have mistyped the unmatched pathspec),
- * and a mark is left in seen[] array for pathspec element that
- * actually matched anything.
+ * Given a name and a list of pathspecs, returns the nature of the
+ * closest (i.e. most specific) match of the name to any of the
+ * pathspecs.
+ *
+ * The caller typically calls this multiple times with the same
+ * pathspec and seen[] array but with different name/namelen
+ * (e.g. entries from the index) and is interested in seeing if and
+ * how each pathspec matches all the names it calls this function
+ * with.  A mark is left in the seen[] array for each pathspec element
+ * indicating the closest type of match that element achieved, so if
+ * seen[n] remains zero after multiple invocations, that means the nth
+ * pathspec did not match any names, which could indicate that the
+ * user mistyped the nth pathspec.
  */
 int match_pathspec(const char **pathspec, const char *name, int namelen,
 		int prefix, char *seen)
@@ -269,12 +276,19 @@ static int match_pathspec_item(const struct pathspec_item *item, int prefix,
 }
 
 /*
- * Given a name and a list of pathspecs, see if the name matches
- * any of the pathspecs.  The caller is also interested in seeing
- * all pathspec matches some names it calls this function with
- * (otherwise the user could have mistyped the unmatched pathspec),
- * and a mark is left in seen[] array for pathspec element that
- * actually matched anything.
+ * Given a name and a list of pathspecs, returns the nature of the
+ * closest (i.e. most specific) match of the name to any of the
+ * pathspecs.
+ *
+ * The caller typically calls this multiple times with the same
+ * pathspec and seen[] array but with different name/namelen
+ * (e.g. entries from the index) and is interested in seeing if and
+ * how each pathspec matches all the names it calls this function
+ * with.  A mark is left in the seen[] array for each pathspec element
+ * indicating the closest type of match that element achieved, so if
+ * seen[n] remains zero after multiple invocations, that means the nth
+ * pathspec did not match any names, which could indicate that the
+ * user mistyped the nth pathspec.
  */
 int match_pathspec_depth(const struct pathspec *ps,
 			 const char *name, int namelen,
@@ -379,7 +393,7 @@ void parse_exclude_pattern(const char **pattern,
 }
 
 void add_exclude(const char *string, const char *base,
-		 int baselen, struct exclude_list *el)
+		 int baselen, struct exclude_list *el, int srcpos)
 {
 	struct exclude *x;
 	int patternlen;
@@ -403,8 +417,10 @@ void add_exclude(const char *string, const char *base,
 	x->base = base;
 	x->baselen = baselen;
 	x->flags = flags;
+	x->srcpos = srcpos;
 	ALLOC_GROW(el->excludes, el->nr + 1, el->alloc);
 	el->excludes[el->nr++] = x;
+	x->el = el;
 }
 
 static void *read_skip_worktree_file_from_index(const char *path, size_t *size)
@@ -441,20 +457,21 @@ void clear_exclude_list(struct exclude_list *el)
 	for (i = 0; i < el->nr; i++)
 		free(el->excludes[i]);
 	free(el->excludes);
+	free(el->filebuf);
 
 	el->nr = 0;
 	el->excludes = NULL;
+	el->filebuf = NULL;
 }
 
 int add_excludes_from_file_to_list(const char *fname,
 				   const char *base,
 				   int baselen,
-				   char **buf_p,
 				   struct exclude_list *el,
 				   int check_index)
 {
 	struct stat st;
-	int fd, i;
+	int fd, i, lineno = 1;
 	size_t size = 0;
 	char *buf, *entry;
 
@@ -492,25 +509,43 @@ int add_excludes_from_file_to_list(const char *fname,
 		close(fd);
 	}
 
-	if (buf_p)
-		*buf_p = buf;
+	el->filebuf = buf;
 	entry = buf;
 	for (i = 0; i < size; i++) {
 		if (buf[i] == '\n') {
 			if (entry != buf + i && entry[0] != '#') {
 				buf[i - (i && buf[i-1] == '\r')] = 0;
-				add_exclude(entry, base, baselen, el);
+				add_exclude(entry, base, baselen, el, lineno);
 			}
+			lineno++;
 			entry = buf + i + 1;
 		}
 	}
 	return 0;
 }
 
+struct exclude_list *add_exclude_list(struct dir_struct *dir,
+				      int group_type, const char *src)
+{
+	struct exclude_list *el;
+	struct exclude_list_group *group;
+
+	group = &dir->exclude_list_group[group_type];
+	ALLOC_GROW(group->el, group->nr + 1, group->alloc);
+	el = &group->el[group->nr++];
+	memset(el, 0, sizeof(*el));
+	el->src = src;
+	return el;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Used to set up core.excludesfile and .git/info/exclude lists.
+ */
 void add_excludes_from_file(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *fname)
 {
-	if (add_excludes_from_file_to_list(fname, "", 0, NULL,
-					   &dir->exclude_list[EXC_FILE], 0) < 0)
+	struct exclude_list *el;
+	el = add_exclude_list(dir, EXC_FILE, fname);
+	if (add_excludes_from_file_to_list(fname, "", 0, el, 0) < 0)
 		die("cannot use %s as an exclude file", fname);
 }
 
@@ -520,6 +555,7 @@ void add_excludes_from_file(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *fname)
  */
 static void prep_exclude(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *base, int baselen)
 {
+	struct exclude_list_group *group;
 	struct exclude_list *el;
 	struct exclude_stack *stk = NULL;
 	int current;
@@ -528,17 +564,21 @@ static void prep_exclude(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *base, int baselen)
 	    (baselen + strlen(dir->exclude_per_dir) >= PATH_MAX))
 		return; /* too long a path -- ignore */
 
-	/* Pop the directories that are not the prefix of the path being checked. */
-	el = &dir->exclude_list[EXC_DIRS];
+	group = &dir->exclude_list_group[EXC_DIRS];
+
+	/* Pop the exclude lists from the EXCL_DIRS exclude_list_group
+	 * which originate from directories not in the prefix of the
+	 * path being checked. */
 	while ((stk = dir->exclude_stack) != NULL) {
 		if (stk->baselen <= baselen &&
 		    !strncmp(dir->basebuf, base, stk->baselen))
 			break;
+		el = &group->el[dir->exclude_stack->exclude_ix];
 		dir->exclude_stack = stk->prev;
-		while (stk->exclude_ix < el->nr)
-			free(el->excludes[--el->nr]);
-		free(stk->filebuf);
+		free((char *)el->src); /* see strdup() below */
+		clear_exclude_list(el);
 		free(stk);
+		group->nr--;
 	}
 
 	/* Read from the parent directories and push them down. */
@@ -559,13 +599,22 @@ static void prep_exclude(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *base, int baselen)
 		}
 		stk->prev = dir->exclude_stack;
 		stk->baselen = cp - base;
-		stk->exclude_ix = el->nr;
 		memcpy(dir->basebuf + current, base + current,
 		       stk->baselen - current);
 		strcpy(dir->basebuf + stk->baselen, dir->exclude_per_dir);
+		/*
+		 * dir->basebuf gets reused by the traversal, but we
+		 * need fname to remain unchanged to ensure the src
+		 * member of each struct exclude correctly
+		 * back-references its source file.  Other invocations
+		 * of add_exclude_list provide stable strings, so we
+		 * strdup() and free() here in the caller.
+		 */
+		el = add_exclude_list(dir, EXC_DIRS, strdup(dir->basebuf));
+		stk->exclude_ix = group->nr - 1;
 		add_excludes_from_file_to_list(dir->basebuf,
 					       dir->basebuf, stk->baselen,
-					       &stk->filebuf, el, 1);
+					       el, 1);
 		dir->exclude_stack = stk;
 		current = stk->baselen;
 	}
@@ -712,18 +761,23 @@ static struct exclude *last_exclude_matching(struct dir_struct *dir,
 					     int *dtype_p)
 {
 	int pathlen = strlen(pathname);
-	int st;
+	int i, j;
+	struct exclude_list_group *group;
 	struct exclude *exclude;
 	const char *basename = strrchr(pathname, '/');
 	basename = (basename) ? basename+1 : pathname;
 
 	prep_exclude(dir, pathname, basename-pathname);
-	for (st = EXC_CMDL; st <= EXC_FILE; st++) {
-		exclude = last_exclude_matching_from_list(
-			pathname, pathlen, basename, dtype_p,
-			&dir->exclude_list[st]);
-		if (exclude)
-			return exclude;
+
+	for (i = EXC_CMDL; i <= EXC_FILE; i++) {
+		group = &dir->exclude_list_group[i];
+		for (j = group->nr - 1; j >= 0; j--) {
+			exclude = last_exclude_matching_from_list(
+				pathname, pathlen, basename, dtype_p,
+				&group->el[j]);
+			if (exclude)
+				return exclude;
+		}
 	}
 	return NULL;
 }
@@ -1627,3 +1681,33 @@ int limit_pathspec_to_literal(void)
 		flag = git_env_bool(GIT_LITERAL_PATHSPECS_ENVIRONMENT, 0);
 	return flag;
 }
+
+/*
+ * Frees memory within dir which was allocated for exclude lists and
+ * the exclude_stack.  Does not free dir itself.
+ */
+void clear_directory(struct dir_struct *dir)
+{
+	int i, j;
+	struct exclude_list_group *group;
+	struct exclude_list *el;
+	struct exclude_stack *stk;
+
+	for (i = EXC_CMDL; i <= EXC_FILE; i++) {
+		group = &dir->exclude_list_group[i];
+		for (j = 0; j < group->nr; j++) {
+			el = &group->el[j];
+			if (i == EXC_DIRS)
+				free((char *)el->src);
+			clear_exclude_list(el);
+		}
+		free(group->el);
+	}
+
+	stk = dir->exclude_stack;
+	while (stk) {
+		struct exclude_stack *prev = stk->prev;
+		free(stk);
+		stk = prev;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/dir.h b/dir.h
index ae1bc467ae909e6db151b055e212ded45fac34f6..c3eb4b520effb63e73653194e4266c0ef628cccd 100644
--- a/dir.h
+++ b/dir.h
@@ -16,21 +16,41 @@ struct dir_entry {
 #define EXC_FLAG_NEGATIVE 16
 
 /*
- * Each .gitignore file will be parsed into patterns which are then
- * appended to the relevant exclude_list (either EXC_DIRS or
- * EXC_FILE).  exclude_lists are also used to represent the list of
- * --exclude values passed via CLI args (EXC_CMDL).
+ * Each excludes file will be parsed into a fresh exclude_list which
+ * is appended to the relevant exclude_list_group (either EXC_DIRS or
+ * EXC_FILE).  An exclude_list within the EXC_CMDL exclude_list_group
+ * can also be used to represent the list of --exclude values passed
+ * via CLI args.
  */
 struct exclude_list {
 	int nr;
 	int alloc;
+
+	/* remember pointer to exclude file contents so we can free() */
+	char *filebuf;
+
+	/* origin of list, e.g. path to filename, or descriptive string */
+	const char *src;
+
 	struct exclude {
+		/*
+		 * This allows callers of last_exclude_matching() etc.
+		 * to determine the origin of the matching pattern.
+		 */
+		struct exclude_list *el;
+
 		const char *pattern;
 		int patternlen;
 		int nowildcardlen;
 		const char *base;
 		int baselen;
 		int flags;
+
+		/*
+		 * Counting starts from 1 for line numbers in ignore files,
+		 * and from -1 decrementing for patterns from CLI args.
+		 */
+		int srcpos;
 	} **excludes;
 };
 
@@ -42,9 +62,13 @@ struct exclude_list {
  */
 struct exclude_stack {
 	struct exclude_stack *prev; /* the struct exclude_stack for the parent directory */
-	char *filebuf; /* remember pointer to per-directory exclude file contents so we can free() */
 	int baselen;
-	int exclude_ix;
+	int exclude_ix; /* index of exclude_list within EXC_DIRS exclude_list_group */
+};
+
+struct exclude_list_group {
+	int nr, alloc;
+	struct exclude_list *el;
 };
 
 struct dir_struct {
@@ -62,16 +86,23 @@ struct dir_struct {
 
 	/* Exclude info */
 	const char *exclude_per_dir;
-	struct exclude_list exclude_list[3];
+
 	/*
-	 * We maintain three exclude pattern lists:
+	 * We maintain three groups of exclude pattern lists:
+	 *
 	 * EXC_CMDL lists patterns explicitly given on the command line.
 	 * EXC_DIRS lists patterns obtained from per-directory ignore files.
-	 * EXC_FILE lists patterns from fallback ignore files.
+	 * EXC_FILE lists patterns from fallback ignore files, e.g.
+	 *   - .git/info/exclude
+	 *   - core.excludesfile
+	 *
+	 * Each group contains multiple exclude lists, a single list
+	 * per source.
 	 */
 #define EXC_CMDL 0
 #define EXC_DIRS 1
 #define EXC_FILE 2
+	struct exclude_list_group exclude_list_group[3];
 
 	/*
 	 * Temporary variables which are used during loading of the
@@ -85,6 +116,12 @@ struct dir_struct {
 	char basebuf[PATH_MAX];
 };
 
+/*
+ * The ordering of these constants is significant, with
+ * higher-numbered match types signifying "closer" (i.e. more
+ * specific) matches which will override lower-numbered match types
+ * when populating the seen[] array.
+ */
 #define MATCHED_RECURSIVELY 1
 #define MATCHED_FNMATCH 2
 #define MATCHED_EXACTLY 3
@@ -129,13 +166,16 @@ extern struct exclude *last_exclude_matching_path(struct path_exclude_check *, c
 extern int is_path_excluded(struct path_exclude_check *, const char *, int namelen, int *dtype);
 
 
+extern struct exclude_list *add_exclude_list(struct dir_struct *dir,
+					     int group_type, const char *src);
 extern int add_excludes_from_file_to_list(const char *fname, const char *base, int baselen,
-					  char **buf_p, struct exclude_list *el, int check_index);
+					  struct exclude_list *el, int check_index);
 extern void add_excludes_from_file(struct dir_struct *, const char *fname);
 extern void parse_exclude_pattern(const char **string, int *patternlen, int *flags, int *nowildcardlen);
 extern void add_exclude(const char *string, const char *base,
-			int baselen, struct exclude_list *el);
+			int baselen, struct exclude_list *el, int srcpos);
 extern void clear_exclude_list(struct exclude_list *el);
+extern void clear_directory(struct dir_struct *dir);
 extern int file_exists(const char *);
 
 extern int is_inside_dir(const char *dir);
diff --git a/git.c b/git.c
index ed66c660d15010af9a8b0c2ea1da8839e316e1db..b10c18b0419904631d7e8fa4a1fd11e8533b3034 100644
--- a/git.c
+++ b/git.c
@@ -313,6 +313,7 @@ static void handle_internal_command(int argc, const char **argv)
 		{ "bundle", cmd_bundle, RUN_SETUP_GENTLY },
 		{ "cat-file", cmd_cat_file, RUN_SETUP },
 		{ "check-attr", cmd_check_attr, RUN_SETUP },
+		{ "check-ignore", cmd_check_ignore, RUN_SETUP | NEED_WORK_TREE },
 		{ "check-ref-format", cmd_check_ref_format },
 		{ "checkout", cmd_checkout, RUN_SETUP | NEED_WORK_TREE },
 		{ "checkout-index", cmd_checkout_index,
diff --git a/pathspec.c b/pathspec.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..284f3970a31eb86a121712267e36ff162452590d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pathspec.c
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+#include "cache.h"
+#include "dir.h"
+#include "pathspec.h"
+
+/*
+ * Finds which of the given pathspecs match items in the index.
+ *
+ * For each pathspec, sets the corresponding entry in the seen[] array
+ * (which should be specs items long, i.e. the same size as pathspec)
+ * to the nature of the "closest" (i.e. most specific) match found for
+ * that pathspec in the index, if it was a closer type of match than
+ * the existing entry.  As an optimization, matching is skipped
+ * altogether if seen[] already only contains non-zero entries.
+ *
+ * If seen[] has not already been written to, it may make sense
+ * to use find_pathspecs_matching_against_index() instead.
+ */
+void add_pathspec_matches_against_index(const char **pathspec,
+					char *seen, int specs)
+{
+	int num_unmatched = 0, i;
+
+	/*
+	 * Since we are walking the index as if we were walking the directory,
+	 * we have to mark the matched pathspec as seen; otherwise we will
+	 * mistakenly think that the user gave a pathspec that did not match
+	 * anything.
+	 */
+	for (i = 0; i < specs; i++)
+		if (!seen[i])
+			num_unmatched++;
+	if (!num_unmatched)
+		return;
+	for (i = 0; i < active_nr; i++) {
+		struct cache_entry *ce = active_cache[i];
+		match_pathspec(pathspec, ce->name, ce_namelen(ce), 0, seen);
+	}
+}
+
+/*
+ * Finds which of the given pathspecs match items in the index.
+ *
+ * This is a one-shot wrapper around add_pathspec_matches_against_index()
+ * which allocates, populates, and returns a seen[] array indicating the
+ * nature of the "closest" (i.e. most specific) matches which each of the
+ * given pathspecs achieves against all items in the index.
+ */
+char *find_pathspecs_matching_against_index(const char **pathspec)
+{
+	char *seen;
+	int i;
+
+	for (i = 0; pathspec[i];  i++)
+		; /* just counting */
+	seen = xcalloc(i, 1);
+	add_pathspec_matches_against_index(pathspec, seen, i);
+	return seen;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Check the index to see whether path refers to a submodule, or
+ * something inside a submodule.  If the former, returns the path with
+ * any trailing slash stripped.  If the latter, dies with an error
+ * message.
+ */
+const char *check_path_for_gitlink(const char *path)
+{
+	int i, path_len = strlen(path);
+	for (i = 0; i < active_nr; i++) {
+		struct cache_entry *ce = active_cache[i];
+		if (S_ISGITLINK(ce->ce_mode)) {
+			int ce_len = ce_namelen(ce);
+			if (path_len <= ce_len || path[ce_len] != '/' ||
+			    memcmp(ce->name, path, ce_len))
+				/* path does not refer to this
+				 * submodule or anything inside it */
+				continue;
+			if (path_len == ce_len + 1) {
+				/* path refers to submodule;
+				 * strip trailing slash */
+				return xstrndup(ce->name, ce_len);
+			} else {
+				die (_("Path '%s' is in submodule '%.*s'"),
+				     path, ce_len, ce->name);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return path;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Dies if the given path refers to a file inside a symlinked
+ * directory in the index.
+ */
+void die_if_path_beyond_symlink(const char *path, const char *prefix)
+{
+	if (has_symlink_leading_path(path, strlen(path))) {
+		int len = prefix ? strlen(prefix) : 0;
+		die(_("'%s' is beyond a symbolic link"), path + len);
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pathspec.h b/pathspec.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..db0184a1acda155fa2b6d6fa07b6a87dc0683e57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pathspec.h
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#ifndef PATHSPEC_H
+#define PATHSPEC_H
+
+extern char *find_pathspecs_matching_against_index(const char **pathspec);
+extern void add_pathspec_matches_against_index(const char **pathspec, char *seen, int specs);
+extern const char *check_path_for_gitlink(const char *path);
+extern void die_if_path_beyond_symlink(const char *path, const char *prefix);
+
+#endif /* PATHSPEC_H */
diff --git a/setup.c b/setup.c
index f108c4b990c0e4f6a98c1fe34d3031040c84195a..1ccfafaa7a85875338a49953518207b74dca62c4 100644
--- a/setup.c
+++ b/setup.c
@@ -246,6 +246,25 @@ static const char *prefix_pathspec(const char *prefix, int prefixlen, const char
 		return prefix_path(prefix, prefixlen, copyfrom);
 }
 
+/*
+ * N.B. get_pathspec() is deprecated in favor of the "struct pathspec"
+ * based interface - see pathspec_magic above.
+ *
+ * Arguments:
+ *  - prefix - a path relative to the root of the working tree
+ *  - pathspec - a list of paths underneath the prefix path
+ *
+ * Iterates over pathspec, prepending each path with prefix,
+ * and return the resulting list.
+ *
+ * If pathspec is empty, return a singleton list containing prefix.
+ *
+ * If pathspec and prefix are both empty, return an empty list.
+ *
+ * This is typically used by built-in commands such as add.c, in order
+ * to normalize argv arguments provided to the built-in into a list of
+ * paths to process, all relative to the root of the working tree.
+ */
 const char **get_pathspec(const char *prefix, const char **pathspec)
 {
 	const char *entry = *pathspec;
diff --git a/t/t0008-ignores.sh b/t/t0008-ignores.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d7df7198c4379216616a8a0de06bc4f5ec724a42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t0008-ignores.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,637 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description=check-ignore
+
+. ./test-lib.sh
+
+init_vars () {
+	global_excludes="$(pwd)/global-excludes"
+}
+
+enable_global_excludes () {
+	init_vars &&
+	git config core.excludesfile "$global_excludes"
+}
+
+expect_in () {
+	dest="$HOME/expected-$1" text="$2"
+	if test -z "$text"
+	then
+		>"$dest" # avoid newline
+	else
+		echo "$text" >"$dest"
+	fi
+}
+
+expect () {
+	expect_in stdout "$1"
+}
+
+expect_from_stdin () {
+	cat >"$HOME/expected-stdout"
+}
+
+test_stderr () {
+	expected="$1"
+	expect_in stderr "$1" &&
+	test_cmp "$HOME/expected-stderr" "$HOME/stderr"
+}
+
+stderr_contains () {
+	regexp="$1"
+	if grep "$regexp" "$HOME/stderr"
+	then
+		return 0
+	else
+		echo "didn't find /$regexp/ in $HOME/stderr"
+		cat "$HOME/stderr"
+		return 1
+	fi
+}
+
+stderr_empty_on_success () {
+	expect_code="$1"
+	if test $expect_code = 0
+	then
+		test_stderr ""
+	else
+		# If we expect failure then stderr might or might not be empty
+		# due to --quiet - the caller can check its contents
+		return 0
+	fi
+}
+
+test_check_ignore () {
+	args="$1" expect_code="${2:-0}" global_args="$3"
+
+	init_vars &&
+	rm -f "$HOME/stdout" "$HOME/stderr" "$HOME/cmd" &&
+	echo git $global_args check-ignore $quiet_opt $verbose_opt $args \
+		>"$HOME/cmd" &&
+	test_expect_code "$expect_code" \
+		git $global_args check-ignore $quiet_opt $verbose_opt $args \
+		>"$HOME/stdout" 2>"$HOME/stderr" &&
+	test_cmp "$HOME/expected-stdout" "$HOME/stdout" &&
+	stderr_empty_on_success "$expect_code"
+}
+
+test_expect_success_multi () {
+	prereq=
+	if test $# -eq 4
+	then
+		prereq=$1
+		shift
+	fi
+	testname="$1" expect_verbose="$2" code="$3"
+
+	expect=$( echo "$expect_verbose" | sed -e 's/.*	//' )
+
+	test_expect_success $prereq "$testname" '
+		expect "$expect" &&
+		eval "$code"
+	'
+
+	for quiet_opt in '-q' '--quiet'
+	do
+		test_expect_success $prereq "$testname${quiet_opt:+ with $quiet_opt}" "
+			expect '' &&
+			$code
+		"
+	done
+	quiet_opt=
+
+	for verbose_opt in '-v' '--verbose'
+	do
+		test_expect_success $prereq "$testname${verbose_opt:+ with $verbose_opt}" "
+			expect '$expect_verbose' &&
+			$code
+		"
+	done
+	verbose_opt=
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'setup' '
+	init_vars &&
+	mkdir -p a/b/ignored-dir a/submodule b &&
+	if test_have_prereq SYMLINKS
+	then
+		ln -s b a/symlink
+	fi &&
+	(
+		cd a/submodule &&
+		git init &&
+		echo a >a &&
+		git add a &&
+		git commit -m"commit in submodule"
+	) &&
+	git add a/submodule &&
+	cat <<-\EOF >.gitignore &&
+		one
+		ignored-*
+	EOF
+	for dir in . a
+	do
+		: >$dir/not-ignored &&
+		: >$dir/ignored-and-untracked &&
+		: >$dir/ignored-but-in-index
+	done &&
+	git add -f ignored-but-in-index a/ignored-but-in-index &&
+	cat <<-\EOF >a/.gitignore &&
+		two*
+		*three
+	EOF
+	cat <<-\EOF >a/b/.gitignore &&
+		four
+		five
+		# this comment should affect the line numbers
+		six
+		ignored-dir/
+		# and so should this blank line:
+
+		!on*
+		!two
+	EOF
+	echo "seven" >a/b/ignored-dir/.gitignore &&
+	test -n "$HOME" &&
+	cat <<-\EOF >"$global_excludes" &&
+		globalone
+		!globaltwo
+		globalthree
+	EOF
+	cat <<-\EOF >>.git/info/exclude
+		per-repo
+	EOF
+'
+
+############################################################################
+#
+# test invalid inputs
+
+test_expect_success_multi 'empty command line' '' '
+	test_check_ignore "" 128 &&
+	stderr_contains "fatal: no path specified"
+'
+
+test_expect_success_multi '--stdin with empty STDIN' '' '
+	test_check_ignore "--stdin" 1 </dev/null &&
+	if test -n "$quiet_opt"; then
+		test_stderr ""
+	else
+		test_stderr "no pathspec given."
+	fi
+'
+
+test_expect_success '-q with multiple args' '
+	expect "" &&
+	test_check_ignore "-q one two" 128 &&
+	stderr_contains "fatal: --quiet is only valid with a single pathname"
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--quiet with multiple args' '
+	expect "" &&
+	test_check_ignore "--quiet one two" 128 &&
+	stderr_contains "fatal: --quiet is only valid with a single pathname"
+'
+
+for verbose_opt in '-v' '--verbose'
+do
+	for quiet_opt in '-q' '--quiet'
+	do
+		test_expect_success "$quiet_opt $verbose_opt" "
+			expect '' &&
+			test_check_ignore '$quiet_opt $verbose_opt foo' 128 &&
+			stderr_contains 'fatal: cannot have both --quiet and --verbose'
+		"
+	done
+done
+
+test_expect_success '--quiet with multiple args' '
+	expect "" &&
+	test_check_ignore "--quiet one two" 128 &&
+	stderr_contains "fatal: --quiet is only valid with a single pathname"
+'
+
+test_expect_success_multi 'erroneous use of --' '' '
+	test_check_ignore "--" 128 &&
+	stderr_contains "fatal: no path specified"
+'
+
+test_expect_success_multi '--stdin with superfluous arg' '' '
+	test_check_ignore "--stdin foo" 128 &&
+	stderr_contains "fatal: cannot specify pathnames with --stdin"
+'
+
+test_expect_success_multi '--stdin -z with superfluous arg' '' '
+	test_check_ignore "--stdin -z foo" 128 &&
+	stderr_contains "fatal: cannot specify pathnames with --stdin"
+'
+
+test_expect_success_multi '-z without --stdin' '' '
+	test_check_ignore "-z" 128 &&
+	stderr_contains "fatal: -z only makes sense with --stdin"
+'
+
+test_expect_success_multi '-z without --stdin and superfluous arg' '' '
+	test_check_ignore "-z foo" 128 &&
+	stderr_contains "fatal: -z only makes sense with --stdin"
+'
+
+test_expect_success_multi 'needs work tree' '' '
+	(
+		cd .git &&
+		test_check_ignore "foo" 128
+	) &&
+	stderr_contains "fatal: This operation must be run in a work tree"
+'
+
+############################################################################
+#
+# test standard ignores
+
+# First make sure that the presence of a file in the working tree
+# does not impact results, but that the presence of a file in the
+# index does.
+
+for subdir in '' 'a/'
+do
+	if test -z "$subdir"
+	then
+		where="at top-level"
+	else
+		where="in subdir $subdir"
+	fi
+
+	test_expect_success_multi "non-existent file $where not ignored" '' "
+		test_check_ignore '${subdir}non-existent' 1
+	"
+
+	test_expect_success_multi "non-existent file $where ignored" \
+		".gitignore:1:one	${subdir}one" "
+		test_check_ignore '${subdir}one'
+	"
+
+	test_expect_success_multi "existing untracked file $where not ignored" '' "
+		test_check_ignore '${subdir}not-ignored' 1
+	"
+
+	test_expect_success_multi "existing tracked file $where not ignored" '' "
+		test_check_ignore '${subdir}ignored-but-in-index' 1
+	"
+
+	test_expect_success_multi "existing untracked file $where ignored" \
+		".gitignore:2:ignored-*	${subdir}ignored-and-untracked" "
+		test_check_ignore '${subdir}ignored-and-untracked'
+	"
+done
+
+# Having established the above, from now on we mostly test against
+# files which do not exist in the working tree or index.
+
+test_expect_success 'sub-directory local ignore' '
+	expect "a/3-three" &&
+	test_check_ignore "a/3-three a/three-not-this-one"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'sub-directory local ignore with --verbose'  '
+	expect "a/.gitignore:2:*three	a/3-three" &&
+	test_check_ignore "--verbose a/3-three a/three-not-this-one"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'local ignore inside a sub-directory' '
+	expect "3-three" &&
+	(
+		cd a &&
+		test_check_ignore "3-three three-not-this-one"
+	)
+'
+test_expect_success 'local ignore inside a sub-directory with --verbose' '
+	expect "a/.gitignore:2:*three	3-three" &&
+	(
+		cd a &&
+		test_check_ignore "--verbose 3-three three-not-this-one"
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success_multi 'nested include' \
+	'a/b/.gitignore:8:!on*	a/b/one' '
+	test_check_ignore "a/b/one"
+'
+
+############################################################################
+#
+# test ignored sub-directories
+
+test_expect_success_multi 'ignored sub-directory' \
+	'a/b/.gitignore:5:ignored-dir/	a/b/ignored-dir' '
+	test_check_ignore "a/b/ignored-dir"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'multiple files inside ignored sub-directory' '
+	expect_from_stdin <<-\EOF &&
+		a/b/ignored-dir/foo
+		a/b/ignored-dir/twoooo
+		a/b/ignored-dir/seven
+	EOF
+	test_check_ignore "a/b/ignored-dir/foo a/b/ignored-dir/twoooo a/b/ignored-dir/seven"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'multiple files inside ignored sub-directory with -v' '
+	expect_from_stdin <<-\EOF &&
+		a/b/.gitignore:5:ignored-dir/	a/b/ignored-dir/foo
+		a/b/.gitignore:5:ignored-dir/	a/b/ignored-dir/twoooo
+		a/b/.gitignore:5:ignored-dir/	a/b/ignored-dir/seven
+	EOF
+	test_check_ignore "-v a/b/ignored-dir/foo a/b/ignored-dir/twoooo a/b/ignored-dir/seven"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'cd to ignored sub-directory' '
+	expect_from_stdin <<-\EOF &&
+		foo
+		twoooo
+		../one
+		seven
+		../../one
+	EOF
+	(
+		cd a/b/ignored-dir &&
+		test_check_ignore "foo twoooo ../one seven ../../one"
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'cd to ignored sub-directory with -v' '
+	expect_from_stdin <<-\EOF &&
+		a/b/.gitignore:5:ignored-dir/	foo
+		a/b/.gitignore:5:ignored-dir/	twoooo
+		a/b/.gitignore:8:!on*	../one
+		a/b/.gitignore:5:ignored-dir/	seven
+		.gitignore:1:one	../../one
+	EOF
+	(
+		cd a/b/ignored-dir &&
+		test_check_ignore "-v foo twoooo ../one seven ../../one"
+	)
+'
+
+############################################################################
+#
+# test handling of symlinks
+
+test_expect_success_multi SYMLINKS 'symlink' '' '
+	test_check_ignore "a/symlink" 1
+'
+
+test_expect_success_multi SYMLINKS 'beyond a symlink' '' '
+	test_check_ignore "a/symlink/foo" 128 &&
+	test_stderr "fatal: '\''a/symlink/foo'\'' is beyond a symbolic link"
+'
+
+test_expect_success_multi SYMLINKS 'beyond a symlink from subdirectory' '' '
+	(
+		cd a &&
+		test_check_ignore "symlink/foo" 128
+	) &&
+	test_stderr "fatal: '\''symlink/foo'\'' is beyond a symbolic link"
+'
+
+############################################################################
+#
+# test handling of submodules
+
+test_expect_success_multi 'submodule' '' '
+	test_check_ignore "a/submodule/one" 128 &&
+	test_stderr "fatal: Path '\''a/submodule/one'\'' is in submodule '\''a/submodule'\''"
+'
+
+test_expect_success_multi 'submodule from subdirectory' '' '
+	(
+		cd a &&
+		test_check_ignore "submodule/one" 128
+	) &&
+	test_stderr "fatal: Path '\''a/submodule/one'\'' is in submodule '\''a/submodule'\''"
+'
+
+############################################################################
+#
+# test handling of global ignore files
+
+test_expect_success 'global ignore not yet enabled' '
+	expect_from_stdin <<-\EOF &&
+		.git/info/exclude:7:per-repo	per-repo
+		a/.gitignore:2:*three	a/globalthree
+		.git/info/exclude:7:per-repo	a/per-repo
+	EOF
+	test_check_ignore "-v globalone per-repo a/globalthree a/per-repo not-ignored a/globaltwo"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'global ignore' '
+	enable_global_excludes &&
+	expect_from_stdin <<-\EOF &&
+		globalone
+		per-repo
+		globalthree
+		a/globalthree
+		a/per-repo
+		globaltwo
+	EOF
+	test_check_ignore "globalone per-repo globalthree a/globalthree a/per-repo not-ignored globaltwo"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'global ignore with -v' '
+	enable_global_excludes &&
+	expect_from_stdin <<-EOF &&
+		$global_excludes:1:globalone	globalone
+		.git/info/exclude:7:per-repo	per-repo
+		$global_excludes:3:globalthree	globalthree
+		a/.gitignore:2:*three	a/globalthree
+		.git/info/exclude:7:per-repo	a/per-repo
+		$global_excludes:2:!globaltwo	globaltwo
+	EOF
+	test_check_ignore "-v globalone per-repo globalthree a/globalthree a/per-repo not-ignored globaltwo"
+'
+
+############################################################################
+#
+# test --stdin
+
+cat <<-\EOF >stdin
+	one
+	not-ignored
+	a/one
+	a/not-ignored
+	a/b/on
+	a/b/one
+	a/b/one one
+	"a/b/one two"
+	"a/b/one\"three"
+	a/b/not-ignored
+	a/b/two
+	a/b/twooo
+	globaltwo
+	a/globaltwo
+	a/b/globaltwo
+	b/globaltwo
+EOF
+cat <<-\EOF >expected-default
+	one
+	a/one
+	a/b/on
+	a/b/one
+	a/b/one one
+	a/b/one two
+	"a/b/one\"three"
+	a/b/two
+	a/b/twooo
+	globaltwo
+	a/globaltwo
+	a/b/globaltwo
+	b/globaltwo
+EOF
+cat <<-EOF >expected-verbose
+	.gitignore:1:one	one
+	.gitignore:1:one	a/one
+	a/b/.gitignore:8:!on*	a/b/on
+	a/b/.gitignore:8:!on*	a/b/one
+	a/b/.gitignore:8:!on*	a/b/one one
+	a/b/.gitignore:8:!on*	a/b/one two
+	a/b/.gitignore:8:!on*	"a/b/one\"three"
+	a/b/.gitignore:9:!two	a/b/two
+	a/.gitignore:1:two*	a/b/twooo
+	$global_excludes:2:!globaltwo	globaltwo
+	$global_excludes:2:!globaltwo	a/globaltwo
+	$global_excludes:2:!globaltwo	a/b/globaltwo
+	$global_excludes:2:!globaltwo	b/globaltwo
+EOF
+
+sed -e 's/^"//' -e 's/\\//' -e 's/"$//' stdin | \
+	tr "\n" "\0" >stdin0
+sed -e 's/^"//' -e 's/\\//' -e 's/"$//' expected-default | \
+	tr "\n" "\0" >expected-default0
+sed -e 's/	"/	/' -e 's/\\//' -e 's/"$//' expected-verbose | \
+	tr ":\t\n" "\0" >expected-verbose0
+
+test_expect_success '--stdin' '
+	expect_from_stdin <expected-default &&
+	test_check_ignore "--stdin" <stdin
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--stdin -q' '
+	expect "" &&
+	test_check_ignore "-q --stdin" <stdin
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--stdin -v' '
+	expect_from_stdin <expected-verbose &&
+	test_check_ignore "-v --stdin" <stdin
+'
+
+for opts in '--stdin -z' '-z --stdin'
+do
+	test_expect_success "$opts" "
+		expect_from_stdin <expected-default0 &&
+		test_check_ignore '$opts' <stdin0
+	"
+
+	test_expect_success "$opts -q" "
+		expect "" &&
+		test_check_ignore '-q $opts' <stdin0
+	"
+
+	test_expect_success "$opts -v" "
+		expect_from_stdin <expected-verbose0 &&
+		test_check_ignore '-v $opts' <stdin0
+	"
+done
+
+cat <<-\EOF >stdin
+	../one
+	../not-ignored
+	one
+	not-ignored
+	b/on
+	b/one
+	b/one one
+	"b/one two"
+	"b/one\"three"
+	b/two
+	b/not-ignored
+	b/twooo
+	../globaltwo
+	globaltwo
+	b/globaltwo
+	../b/globaltwo
+EOF
+cat <<-\EOF >expected-default
+	../one
+	one
+	b/on
+	b/one
+	b/one one
+	b/one two
+	"b/one\"three"
+	b/two
+	b/twooo
+	../globaltwo
+	globaltwo
+	b/globaltwo
+	../b/globaltwo
+EOF
+cat <<-EOF >expected-verbose
+	.gitignore:1:one	../one
+	.gitignore:1:one	one
+	a/b/.gitignore:8:!on*	b/on
+	a/b/.gitignore:8:!on*	b/one
+	a/b/.gitignore:8:!on*	b/one one
+	a/b/.gitignore:8:!on*	b/one two
+	a/b/.gitignore:8:!on*	"b/one\"three"
+	a/b/.gitignore:9:!two	b/two
+	a/.gitignore:1:two*	b/twooo
+	$global_excludes:2:!globaltwo	../globaltwo
+	$global_excludes:2:!globaltwo	globaltwo
+	$global_excludes:2:!globaltwo	b/globaltwo
+	$global_excludes:2:!globaltwo	../b/globaltwo
+EOF
+
+sed -e 's/^"//' -e 's/\\//' -e 's/"$//' stdin | \
+	tr "\n" "\0" >stdin0
+sed -e 's/^"//' -e 's/\\//' -e 's/"$//' expected-default | \
+	tr "\n" "\0" >expected-default0
+sed -e 's/	"/	/' -e 's/\\//' -e 's/"$//' expected-verbose | \
+	tr ":\t\n" "\0" >expected-verbose0
+
+test_expect_success '--stdin from subdirectory' '
+	expect_from_stdin <expected-default &&
+	(
+		cd a &&
+		test_check_ignore "--stdin" <../stdin
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--stdin from subdirectory with -v' '
+	expect_from_stdin <expected-verbose &&
+	(
+		cd a &&
+		test_check_ignore "--stdin -v" <../stdin
+	)
+'
+
+for opts in '--stdin -z' '-z --stdin'
+do
+	test_expect_success "$opts from subdirectory" '
+		expect_from_stdin <expected-default0 &&
+		(
+			cd a &&
+			test_check_ignore "'"$opts"'" <../stdin0
+		)
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "$opts from subdirectory with -v" '
+		expect_from_stdin <expected-verbose0 &&
+		(
+			cd a &&
+			test_check_ignore "'"$opts"' -v" <../stdin0
+		)
+	'
+done
+
+
+test_done
diff --git a/unpack-trees.c b/unpack-trees.c
index 0e1a196ace33110e2bb74cde90d6f62358413ead..09e53df3b2a39e7ec8c7d601c5b8b8ae4de39b9a 100644
--- a/unpack-trees.c
+++ b/unpack-trees.c
@@ -1020,7 +1020,7 @@ int unpack_trees(unsigned len, struct tree_desc *t, struct unpack_trees_options
 	if (!core_apply_sparse_checkout || !o->update)
 		o->skip_sparse_checkout = 1;
 	if (!o->skip_sparse_checkout) {
-		if (add_excludes_from_file_to_list(git_path("info/sparse-checkout"), "", 0, NULL, &el, 0) < 0)
+		if (add_excludes_from_file_to_list(git_path("info/sparse-checkout"), "", 0, &el, 0) < 0)
 			o->skip_sparse_checkout = 1;
 		else
 			o->el = &el;