diff --git a/builtin-apply.c b/builtin-apply.c
index 01c9d60642d0faa9ea91d0d39b32985890e1ec7f..740623e6c09cbf85bd8d54aac560dc2c5015078b 100644
--- a/builtin-apply.c
+++ b/builtin-apply.c
@@ -178,14 +178,13 @@ static void say_patch_name(FILE *output, const char *pre, struct patch *patch, c
 #define CHUNKSIZE (8192)
 #define SLOP (16)
 
-static void *read_patch_file(int fd, unsigned long *sizep)
+static void *read_patch_file(int fd, size_t *sizep)
 {
 	struct strbuf buf;
 
 	strbuf_init(&buf, 0);
 	if (strbuf_read(&buf, fd, 0) < 0)
 		die("git-apply: read returned %s", strerror(errno));
-	*sizep = buf.len;
 
 	/*
 	 * Make sure that we have some slop in the buffer
@@ -194,7 +193,7 @@ static void *read_patch_file(int fd, unsigned long *sizep)
 	 */
 	strbuf_grow(&buf, SLOP);
 	memset(buf.buf + buf.len, 0, SLOP);
-	return strbuf_detach(&buf);
+	return strbuf_detach(&buf, sizep);
 }
 
 static unsigned long linelen(const char *buffer, unsigned long size)
@@ -253,7 +252,7 @@ static char *find_name(const char *line, char *def, int p_value, int terminate)
 				 */
 				strbuf_remove(&name, 0, cp - name.buf);
 				free(def);
-				return name.buf;
+				return strbuf_detach(&name, NULL);
 			}
 		}
 		strbuf_release(&name);
@@ -607,7 +606,7 @@ static char *git_header_name(char *line, int llen)
 			if (strcmp(cp + 1, first.buf))
 				goto free_and_fail1;
 			strbuf_release(&sp);
-			return first.buf;
+			return strbuf_detach(&first, NULL);
 		}
 
 		/* unquoted second */
@@ -618,7 +617,7 @@ static char *git_header_name(char *line, int llen)
 		if (line + llen - cp != first.len + 1 ||
 		    memcmp(first.buf, cp, first.len))
 			goto free_and_fail1;
-		return first.buf;
+		return strbuf_detach(&first, NULL);
 
 	free_and_fail1:
 		strbuf_release(&first);
@@ -655,7 +654,7 @@ static char *git_header_name(char *line, int llen)
 			    isspace(name[len])) {
 				/* Good */
 				strbuf_remove(&sp, 0, np - sp.buf);
-				return sp.buf;
+				return strbuf_detach(&sp, NULL);
 			}
 
 		free_and_fail2:
@@ -1968,8 +1967,7 @@ static int apply_data(struct patch *patch, struct stat *st, struct cache_entry *
 
 	if (apply_fragments(&buf, patch) < 0)
 		return -1; /* note with --reject this succeeds. */
-	patch->result = buf.buf;
-	patch->resultsize = buf.len;
+	patch->result = strbuf_detach(&buf, &patch->resultsize);
 
 	if (0 < patch->is_delete && patch->resultsize)
 		return error("removal patch leaves file contents");
diff --git a/builtin-archive.c b/builtin-archive.c
index 843a9e37bbb5b7274e928499d3b7935399216e65..04385dea05110053db72e30a77e6d4a10bc7875b 100644
--- a/builtin-archive.c
+++ b/builtin-archive.c
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ static void format_subst(const struct commit *commit,
 	struct strbuf fmt;
 
 	if (src == buf->buf)
-		to_free = strbuf_detach(buf);
+		to_free = strbuf_detach(buf, NULL);
 	strbuf_init(&fmt, 0);
 	for (;;) {
 		const char *b, *c;
@@ -153,8 +153,7 @@ void *sha1_file_to_archive(const char *path, const unsigned char *sha1,
 		strbuf_attach(&buf, buffer, *sizep, *sizep + 1);
 		convert_to_working_tree(path, buf.buf, buf.len, &buf);
 		convert_to_archive(path, buf.buf, buf.len, &buf, commit);
-		*sizep = buf.len;
-		buffer = buf.buf;
+		buffer = strbuf_detach(&buf, sizep);
 	}
 
 	return buffer;
diff --git a/builtin-fetch--tool.c b/builtin-fetch--tool.c
index 349b59c25865fb8ea3946c4176cc2aa08869af1e..1e43d792216248c1abe3504c239ccd325f8d5ef1 100644
--- a/builtin-fetch--tool.c
+++ b/builtin-fetch--tool.c
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ static char *get_stdin(void)
 	if (strbuf_read(&buf, 0, 1024) < 0) {
 		die("error reading standard input: %s", strerror(errno));
 	}
-	return strbuf_detach(&buf);
+	return strbuf_detach(&buf, NULL);
 }
 
 static void show_new(enum object_type type, unsigned char *sha1_new)
diff --git a/commit.c b/commit.c
index 55b08ec0b93040785792afbe0c4013fe410a9d40..62cc74d7a9a2e7cddd5048602e4c793269287add 100644
--- a/commit.c
+++ b/commit.c
@@ -663,7 +663,7 @@ static char *replace_encoding_header(char *buf, const char *encoding)
 					  len - strlen("encoding \n"),
 					  encoding, strlen(encoding));
 	}
-	return tmp.buf;
+	return strbuf_detach(&tmp, NULL);
 }
 
 static char *logmsg_reencode(const struct commit *commit,
diff --git a/convert.c b/convert.c
index 79c9df2e918efe16da825895708c4ac6f08bfc62..0d5e909c696dac8b900713a992c72cd9cacf94e3 100644
--- a/convert.c
+++ b/convert.c
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ static int crlf_to_worktree(const char *path, const char *src, size_t len,
 
 	/* are we "faking" in place editing ? */
 	if (src == buf->buf)
-		to_free = strbuf_detach(buf);
+		to_free = strbuf_detach(buf, NULL);
 
 	strbuf_grow(buf, len + stats.lf - stats.crlf);
 	for (;;) {
@@ -464,7 +464,7 @@ static int ident_to_worktree(const char *path, const char *src, size_t len,
 
 	/* are we "faking" in place editing ? */
 	if (src == buf->buf)
-		to_free = strbuf_detach(buf);
+		to_free = strbuf_detach(buf, NULL);
 	hash_sha1_file(src, len, "blob", sha1);
 
 	strbuf_grow(buf, len + cnt * 43);
diff --git a/diff.c b/diff.c
index fb6d077f06338271f16bfabb3e0c45f000de15ac..ab575191d11801f023655fe6cf718bfa5fa04c9b 100644
--- a/diff.c
+++ b/diff.c
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ static char *quote_two(const char *one, const char *two)
 		strbuf_addstr(&res, one);
 		strbuf_addstr(&res, two);
 	}
-	return res.buf;
+	return strbuf_detach(&res, NULL);
 }
 
 static const char *external_diff(void)
@@ -662,7 +662,7 @@ static char *pprint_rename(const char *a, const char *b)
 		quote_c_style(a, &name, NULL, 0);
 		strbuf_addstr(&name, " => ");
 		quote_c_style(b, &name, NULL, 0);
-		return name.buf;
+		return strbuf_detach(&name, NULL);
 	}
 
 	/* Find common prefix */
@@ -710,7 +710,7 @@ static char *pprint_rename(const char *a, const char *b)
 		strbuf_addch(&name, '}');
 		strbuf_add(&name, a + len_a - sfx_length, sfx_length);
 	}
-	return name.buf;
+	return strbuf_detach(&name, NULL);
 }
 
 struct diffstat_t {
@@ -827,7 +827,7 @@ static void show_stats(struct diffstat_t* data, struct diff_options *options)
 			strbuf_init(&buf, 0);
 			if (quote_c_style(file->name, &buf, NULL, 0)) {
 				free(file->name);
-				file->name = buf.buf;
+				file->name = strbuf_detach(&buf, NULL);
 			} else {
 				strbuf_release(&buf);
 			}
@@ -1519,8 +1519,7 @@ static int populate_from_stdin(struct diff_filespec *s)
 				     strerror(errno));
 
 	s->should_munmap = 0;
-	s->size = buf.len;
-	s->data = strbuf_detach(&buf);
+	s->data = strbuf_detach(&buf, &s->size);
 	s->should_free = 1;
 	return 0;
 }
@@ -1612,8 +1611,7 @@ int diff_populate_filespec(struct diff_filespec *s, int size_only)
 		if (convert_to_git(s->path, s->data, s->size, &buf)) {
 			munmap(s->data, s->size);
 			s->should_munmap = 0;
-			s->data = buf.buf;
-			s->size = buf.len;
+			s->data = strbuf_detach(&buf, &s->size);
 			s->should_free = 1;
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/entry.c b/entry.c
index 4a8c73bfaee14c84866f1a20b7fcd8421d3812f1..98f5f6d4ecfc0dabae9a920bdf3beadbf20abcaf 100644
--- a/entry.c
+++ b/entry.c
@@ -120,8 +120,7 @@ static int write_entry(struct cache_entry *ce, char *path, const struct checkout
 		strbuf_init(&buf, 0);
 		if (convert_to_working_tree(ce->name, new, size, &buf)) {
 			free(new);
-			new = buf.buf;
-			size = buf.len;
+			new = strbuf_detach(&buf, &size);
 		}
 
 		if (to_tempfile) {
diff --git a/fast-import.c b/fast-import.c
index a870a44e3d1a266f856738ac1242158482dc59dc..e9c80be4cd3f2833dd227e3d2f3c69e2145935e2 100644
--- a/fast-import.c
+++ b/fast-import.c
@@ -1562,7 +1562,7 @@ static int read_next_command(void)
 		} else {
 			struct recent_command *rc;
 
-			strbuf_detach(&command_buf);
+			strbuf_detach(&command_buf, NULL);
 			stdin_eof = strbuf_getline(&command_buf, stdin, '\n');
 			if (stdin_eof)
 				return EOF;
diff --git a/imap-send.c b/imap-send.c
index e95cdde062b0741fa8c73ddc87ada2fbfab8921f..a429a76a6385bb7d7935cfaddec9cfc8508c77e5 100644
--- a/imap-send.c
+++ b/imap-send.c
@@ -1180,7 +1180,7 @@ read_message( FILE *f, msg_data_t *msg )
 	} while (!feof(f));
 
 	msg->len  = buf.len;
-	msg->data = strbuf_detach(&buf);
+	msg->data = strbuf_detach(&buf, NULL);
 	return msg->len;
 }
 
diff --git a/quote.c b/quote.c
index 800fd88c9ae9979bf44c91fea54c092cdafdb33c..482be05b7af159b9b47095fedfbdfa3bda65c748 100644
--- a/quote.c
+++ b/quote.c
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ void sq_quote_buf(struct strbuf *dst, const char *src)
 	char *to_free = NULL;
 
 	if (dst->buf == src)
-		to_free = strbuf_detach(dst);
+		to_free = strbuf_detach(dst, NULL);
 
 	strbuf_addch(dst, '\'');
 	while (*src) {
diff --git a/sha1_file.c b/sha1_file.c
index 385c5d891af9b7c79dd93e0e6777b0975ff5dbef..753742a47cad1b27dc0d52ce7097cf106e4a40be 100644
--- a/sha1_file.c
+++ b/sha1_file.c
@@ -2340,8 +2340,7 @@ int index_fd(unsigned char *sha1, int fd, struct stat *st, int write_object,
 		strbuf_init(&nbuf, 0);
 		if (convert_to_git(path, buf, size, &nbuf)) {
 			munmap(buf, size);
-			size = nbuf.len;
-			buf = nbuf.buf;
+			buf = strbuf_detach(&nbuf, &size);
 			re_allocated = 1;
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/strbuf.c b/strbuf.c
index d1e338bfb695322cf2c90fa39bc8d482a3ade297..0e431daa6158108130b34c0b3a61f1875c70b023 100644
--- a/strbuf.c
+++ b/strbuf.c
@@ -1,27 +1,33 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 
+/*
+ * Used as the default ->buf value, so that people can always assume
+ * buf is non NULL and ->buf is NUL terminated even for a freshly
+ * initialized strbuf.
+ */
+char strbuf_slopbuf[1];
+
 void strbuf_init(struct strbuf *sb, size_t hint)
 {
-	memset(sb, 0, sizeof(*sb));
+	sb->alloc = sb->len = 0;
+	sb->buf = strbuf_slopbuf;
 	if (hint)
 		strbuf_grow(sb, hint);
 }
 
 void strbuf_release(struct strbuf *sb)
 {
-	free(sb->buf);
-	memset(sb, 0, sizeof(*sb));
-}
-
-void strbuf_reset(struct strbuf *sb)
-{
-	if (sb->len)
-		strbuf_setlen(sb, 0);
+	if (sb->alloc) {
+		free(sb->buf);
+		strbuf_init(sb, 0);
+	}
 }
 
-char *strbuf_detach(struct strbuf *sb)
+char *strbuf_detach(struct strbuf *sb, size_t *sz)
 {
-	char *res = sb->buf;
+	char *res = sb->alloc ? sb->buf : NULL;
+	if (sz)
+		*sz = sb->len;
 	strbuf_init(sb, 0);
 	return res;
 }
@@ -40,6 +46,8 @@ void strbuf_grow(struct strbuf *sb, size_t extra)
 {
 	if (sb->len + extra + 1 <= sb->len)
 		die("you want to use way too much memory");
+	if (!sb->alloc)
+		sb->buf = NULL;
 	ALLOC_GROW(sb->buf, sb->len + extra + 1, sb->alloc);
 }
 
diff --git a/strbuf.h b/strbuf.h
index 5657e3db1401dda1eea7d8be2bd36ec36502b187..6deec78479ec9bf4c7dec0bcd4030534b887d92a 100644
--- a/strbuf.h
+++ b/strbuf.h
@@ -10,8 +10,7 @@
  * 1. the ->buf member is always malloc-ed, hence strbuf's can be used to
  *    build complex strings/buffers whose final size isn't easily known.
  *
- *    It is legal to copy the ->buf pointer away. Though if you want to reuse
- *    the strbuf after that, setting ->buf to NULL isn't legal.
+ *    It is NOT legal to copy the ->buf pointer away.
  *    `strbuf_detach' is the operation that detachs a buffer from its shell
  *    while keeping the shell valid wrt its invariants.
  *
@@ -41,19 +40,19 @@
 
 #include <assert.h>
 
+extern char strbuf_slopbuf[];
 struct strbuf {
 	size_t alloc;
 	size_t len;
 	char *buf;
 };
 
-#define STRBUF_INIT  { 0, 0, NULL }
+#define STRBUF_INIT  { 0, 0, strbuf_slopbuf }
 
 /*----- strbuf life cycle -----*/
 extern void strbuf_init(struct strbuf *, size_t);
 extern void strbuf_release(struct strbuf *);
-extern void strbuf_reset(struct strbuf *);
-extern char *strbuf_detach(struct strbuf *);
+extern char *strbuf_detach(struct strbuf *, size_t *);
 extern void strbuf_attach(struct strbuf *, void *, size_t, size_t);
 static inline void strbuf_swap(struct strbuf *a, struct strbuf *b) {
 	struct strbuf tmp = *a;
@@ -75,6 +74,7 @@ static inline void strbuf_setlen(struct strbuf *sb, size_t len) {
 	sb->len = len;
 	sb->buf[len] = '\0';
 }
+#define strbuf_reset(sb)  strbuf_setlen(sb, 0)
 
 /*----- content related -----*/
 extern void strbuf_rtrim(struct strbuf *);