diff --git a/builtin/prune.c b/builtin/prune.c
index b99b635e44f6145395b5c761505099c0a0f5b6cc..6cb99443c1a1773b6a8207dfbcc6d1e053e70ce4 100644
--- a/builtin/prune.c
+++ b/builtin/prune.c
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@ static int prune_tmp_object(const char *path, const char *filename)
 		return error("Could not stat '%s'", fullpath);
 	if (st.st_mtime > expire)
 		return 0;
-	printf("Removing stale temporary file %s\n", fullpath);
+	if (show_only || verbose)
+		printf("Removing stale temporary file %s\n", fullpath);
 	if (!show_only)
 		unlink_or_warn(fullpath);
 	return 0;