diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 4579eab43bafc2221c6a2ee8fb4d05140ee57e18..13ed57fd0866f3e31cf6bbfb94260de5f9f3dd4b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -939,7 +939,7 @@ BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/verify-tag.o
 BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/worktree.o
 BUILTIN_OBJS += builtin/write-tree.o
 
-GITLIBS = $(LIB_FILE) $(XDIFF_LIB)
+GITLIBS = common-main.o $(LIB_FILE) $(XDIFF_LIB)
 EXTLIBS =
 
 GIT_USER_AGENT = git/$(GIT_VERSION)
@@ -1572,7 +1572,15 @@ TCLTK_PATH_SQ = $(subst ','\'',$(TCLTK_PATH))
 DIFF_SQ = $(subst ','\'',$(DIFF))
 PERLLIB_EXTRA_SQ = $(subst ','\'',$(PERLLIB_EXTRA))
 
-LIBS = $(GITLIBS) $(EXTLIBS)
+# We must filter out any object files from $(GITLIBS),
+# as it is typically used like:
+#
+#   foo: foo.o $(GITLIBS)
+#	$(CC) $(filter %.o,$^) $(LIBS)
+#
+# where we use it as a dependency. Since we also pull object files
+# from the dependency list, that would make each entry appear twice.
+LIBS = $(filter-out %.o, $(GITLIBS)) $(EXTLIBS)
 
 BASIC_CFLAGS += -DSHA1_HEADER='$(SHA1_HEADER_SQ)' \
 	$(COMPAT_CFLAGS)
@@ -1708,8 +1716,8 @@ git.sp git.s git.o: EXTRA_CPPFLAGS = \
 	'-DGIT_INFO_PATH="$(infodir_relative_SQ)"'
 
 git$X: git.o GIT-LDFLAGS $(BUILTIN_OBJS) $(GITLIBS)
-	$(QUIET_LINK)$(CC) $(ALL_CFLAGS) -o $@ $(ALL_LDFLAGS) git.o \
-		$(BUILTIN_OBJS) $(LIBS)
+	$(QUIET_LINK)$(CC) $(ALL_CFLAGS) -o $@ $(ALL_LDFLAGS) \
+		$(filter %.o,$^) $(LIBS)
 
 help.sp help.s help.o: common-cmds.h
 
@@ -1902,6 +1910,7 @@ TEST_OBJS := $(patsubst %$X,%.o,$(TEST_PROGRAMS))
 OBJECTS := $(LIB_OBJS) $(BUILTIN_OBJS) $(PROGRAM_OBJS) $(TEST_OBJS) \
 	$(XDIFF_OBJS) \
 	$(VCSSVN_OBJS) \
+	common-main.o \
 	git.o
 ifndef NO_CURL
 	OBJECTS += http.o http-walker.o remote-curl.o
diff --git a/common-main.c b/common-main.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..44a29e8b13cb5203e2d35c99b8e2b5fec49f6981
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common-main.c
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+#include "cache.h"
+#include "exec_cmd.h"
+
+/*
+ * Many parts of Git have subprograms communicate via pipe, expect the
+ * upstream of a pipe to die with SIGPIPE when the downstream of a
+ * pipe does not need to read all that is written.  Some third-party
+ * programs that ignore or block SIGPIPE for their own reason forget
+ * to restore SIGPIPE handling to the default before spawning Git and
+ * break this carefully orchestrated machinery.
+ *
+ * Restore the way SIGPIPE is handled to default, which is what we
+ * expect.
+ */
+static void restore_sigpipe_to_default(void)
+{
+	sigset_t unblock;
+
+	sigemptyset(&unblock);
+	sigaddset(&unblock, SIGPIPE);
+	sigprocmask(SIG_UNBLOCK, &unblock, NULL);
+	signal(SIGPIPE, SIG_DFL);
+}
+
+int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+{
+	/*
+	 * Always open file descriptors 0/1/2 to avoid clobbering files
+	 * in die().  It also avoids messing up when the pipes are dup'ed
+	 * onto stdin/stdout/stderr in the child processes we spawn.
+	 */
+	sanitize_stdfds();
+
+	git_setup_gettext();
+
+	argv[0] = git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
+
+	restore_sigpipe_to_default();
+
+	return cmd_main(argc, argv);
+}
diff --git a/compat/mingw.h b/compat/mingw.h
index ef22cbb05d140a210bd348ea1234fc60cdf09da8..95e128fcfd45e98c091256265c7d9bda95ec733f 100644
--- a/compat/mingw.h
+++ b/compat/mingw.h
@@ -538,7 +538,7 @@ extern CRITICAL_SECTION pinfo_cs;
 void mingw_startup(void);
 #define main(c,v) dummy_decl_mingw_main(void); \
 static int mingw_main(c,v); \
-int main(int argc, char **argv) \
+int main(int argc, const char **argv) \
 { \
 	mingw_startup(); \
 	return mingw_main(__argc, (void *)__argv); \
diff --git a/credential-cache--daemon.c b/credential-cache--daemon.c
index 1f14d56e98834e73dce91f3a20c3e3795ba6fb37..1e5f16a3a1272d4a87478525585951d76307750a 100644
--- a/credential-cache--daemon.c
+++ b/credential-cache--daemon.c
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ static void init_socket_directory(const char *path)
 	free(path_copy);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	const char *socket_path;
 	int ignore_sighup = 0;
diff --git a/credential-cache.c b/credential-cache.c
index 86e21de49be4d48defd3e9da5cde170291bca600..cc8a6ee19214b12758fc3d4b39ff4a07f4442d91 100644
--- a/credential-cache.c
+++ b/credential-cache.c
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ static void do_cache(const char *socket, const char *action, int timeout,
 	strbuf_release(&buf);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	char *socket_path = NULL;
 	int timeout = 900;
diff --git a/credential-store.c b/credential-store.c
index 57141679abdaa804282a0cc2d808e7c6687d924a..55ca1b1334319924dcbbf69ec39b2335e6a452aa 100644
--- a/credential-store.c
+++ b/credential-store.c
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ static void lookup_credential(const struct string_list *fns, struct credential *
 			return; /* Found credential */
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	const char * const usage[] = {
 		"git credential-store [<options>] <action>",
diff --git a/daemon.c b/daemon.c
index a84495113e4c4e85243937ad0306a17981003c7b..425aad0507f48ca07b11faa05828ea841bdd302f 100644
--- a/daemon.c
+++ b/daemon.c
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "pkt-line.h"
-#include "exec_cmd.h"
 #include "run-command.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "string-list.h"
@@ -32,7 +31,7 @@ static const char daemon_usage[] =
 "           [<directory>...]";
 
 /* List of acceptable pathname prefixes */
-static char **ok_paths;
+static const char **ok_paths;
 static int strict_paths;
 
 /* If this is set, git-daemon-export-ok is not required */
@@ -240,7 +239,7 @@ static const char *path_ok(const char *directory, struct hostinfo *hi)
 	}
 
 	if ( ok_paths && *ok_paths ) {
-		char **pp;
+		const char **pp;
 		int pathlen = strlen(path);
 
 		/* The validation is done on the paths after enter_repo
@@ -1194,7 +1193,7 @@ static int serve(struct string_list *listen_addr, int listen_port,
 	return service_loop(&socklist);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int listen_port = 0;
 	struct string_list listen_addr = STRING_LIST_INIT_NODUP;
@@ -1204,12 +1203,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	struct credentials *cred = NULL;
 	int i;
 
-	git_setup_gettext();
-
-	git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
-
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
-		char *arg = argv[i];
+		const char *arg = argv[i];
 		const char *v;
 
 		if (skip_prefix(arg, "--listen=", &v)) {
@@ -1383,8 +1378,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	if (detach) {
 		if (daemonize())
 			die("--detach not supported on this platform");
-	} else
-		sanitize_stdfds();
+	}
 
 	if (pid_file)
 		write_file(pid_file, "%"PRIuMAX, (uintmax_t) getpid());
diff --git a/fast-import.c b/fast-import.c
index c504ef752db124e21156be5b92360dbe432e568f..84a13756cc6387d7546ebda8d3c92a6c49a53cf8 100644
--- a/fast-import.c
+++ b/fast-import.c
@@ -164,7 +164,6 @@ Format of STDIN stream:
 #include "refs.h"
 #include "csum-file.h"
 #include "quote.h"
-#include "exec_cmd.h"
 #include "dir.h"
 
 #define PACK_ID_BITS 16
@@ -300,7 +299,7 @@ static int failure;
 static FILE *pack_edges;
 static unsigned int show_stats = 1;
 static int global_argc;
-static char **global_argv;
+static const char **global_argv;
 
 /* Memory pools */
 static size_t mem_pool_alloc = 2*1024*1024 - sizeof(struct mem_pool);
@@ -3384,14 +3383,10 @@ static void parse_argv(void)
 		read_marks();
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	unsigned int i;
 
-	git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
-
-	git_setup_gettext();
-
 	if (argc == 2 && !strcmp(argv[1], "-h"))
 		usage(fast_import_usage);
 
diff --git a/git-compat-util.h b/git-compat-util.h
index 49d4029b8dddcb06dc6bea3d5f47c020785e3ddf..1930444ef092f2b5834d12b73b4d2d0c050f3551 100644
--- a/git-compat-util.h
+++ b/git-compat-util.h
@@ -1045,3 +1045,5 @@ struct tm *git_gmtime_r(const time_t *, struct tm *);
 #endif
 
 #endif
+
+extern int cmd_main(int, const char **);
diff --git a/git.c b/git.c
index 968a8a464588f10c5c1564440e06d5e5afe8d37a..0f1937fd0c23da7c316540b8f9a6b05746011506 100644
--- a/git.c
+++ b/git.c
@@ -609,48 +609,15 @@ static int run_argv(int *argcp, const char ***argv)
 	return done_alias;
 }
 
-/*
- * Many parts of Git have subprograms communicate via pipe, expect the
- * upstream of a pipe to die with SIGPIPE when the downstream of a
- * pipe does not need to read all that is written.  Some third-party
- * programs that ignore or block SIGPIPE for their own reason forget
- * to restore SIGPIPE handling to the default before spawning Git and
- * break this carefully orchestrated machinery.
- *
- * Restore the way SIGPIPE is handled to default, which is what we
- * expect.
- */
-static void restore_sigpipe_to_default(void)
-{
-	sigset_t unblock;
-
-	sigemptyset(&unblock);
-	sigaddset(&unblock, SIGPIPE);
-	sigprocmask(SIG_UNBLOCK, &unblock, NULL);
-	signal(SIGPIPE, SIG_DFL);
-}
-
-int main(int argc, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
-	const char **argv = (const char **) av;
 	const char *cmd;
 	int done_help = 0;
 
-	cmd = git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
+	cmd = argv[0];
 	if (!cmd)
 		cmd = "git-help";
 
-	/*
-	 * Always open file descriptors 0/1/2 to avoid clobbering files
-	 * in die().  It also avoids messing up when the pipes are dup'ed
-	 * onto stdin/stdout/stderr in the child processes we spawn.
-	 */
-	sanitize_stdfds();
-
-	restore_sigpipe_to_default();
-
-	git_setup_gettext();
-
 	trace_command_performance(argv);
 
 	/*
diff --git a/http-backend.c b/http-backend.c
index 214881459d828101fa0927321c5a8facb3a540f0..0d59499a51d7f1eecf5b28254b624a991f0e1db4 100644
--- a/http-backend.c
+++ b/http-backend.c
@@ -632,7 +632,7 @@ static struct service_cmd {
 	{"POST", "/git-receive-pack$", service_rpc}
 };
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	char *method = getenv("REQUEST_METHOD");
 	char *dir;
@@ -640,9 +640,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	char *cmd_arg = NULL;
 	int i;
 
-	git_setup_gettext();
-
-	git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
 	set_die_routine(die_webcgi);
 	set_die_is_recursing_routine(die_webcgi_recursing);
 
diff --git a/http-fetch.c b/http-fetch.c
index ba3ea106708de01fc933e6743ab109bef2697f75..3b556d66196277b2730f7e3d366a28a9d5ad1c56 100644
--- a/http-fetch.c
+++ b/http-fetch.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 static const char http_fetch_usage[] = "git http-fetch "
 "[-c] [-t] [-a] [-v] [--recover] [-w ref] [--stdin] commit-id url";
 
-int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct walker *walker;
 	int commits_on_stdin = 0;
@@ -22,10 +22,6 @@ int main(int argc, const char **argv)
 	int get_verbosely = 0;
 	int get_recover = 0;
 
-	git_setup_gettext();
-
-	git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
-
 	while (arg < argc && argv[arg][0] == '-') {
 		if (argv[arg][1] == 't') {
 			get_tree = 1;
diff --git a/http-push.c b/http-push.c
index d0b29ac982028a26c97ebd24f1b3f2cbf188e503..704b1c837c9feaa1215e5fd9767c04275a4c1beb 100644
--- a/http-push.c
+++ b/http-push.c
@@ -1692,12 +1692,12 @@ static void run_request_queue(void)
 #endif
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct transfer_request *request;
 	struct transfer_request *next_request;
 	int nr_refspec = 0;
-	char **refspec = NULL;
+	const char **refspec = NULL;
 	struct remote_lock *ref_lock = NULL;
 	struct remote_lock *info_ref_lock = NULL;
 	struct rev_info revs;
@@ -1709,15 +1709,11 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	int new_refs;
 	struct ref *ref, *local_refs;
 
-	git_setup_gettext();
-
-	git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
-
 	repo = xcalloc(1, sizeof(*repo));
 
 	argv++;
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++, argv++) {
-		char *arg = *argv;
+		const char *arg = *argv;
 
 		if (*arg == '-') {
 			if (!strcmp(arg, "--all")) {
diff --git a/imap-send.c b/imap-send.c
index 938c6915858b93b7c860e49e906c45e0e2ea5d03..9cbe27fcd44d81465ac20bf99cc6efadb36f4097 100644
--- a/imap-send.c
+++ b/imap-send.c
@@ -1494,16 +1494,12 @@ static int curl_append_msgs_to_imap(struct imap_server_conf *server,
 }
 #endif
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct strbuf all_msgs = STRBUF_INIT;
 	int total;
 	int nongit_ok;
 
-	git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
-
-	git_setup_gettext();
-
 	setup_git_directory_gently(&nongit_ok);
 	git_imap_config();
 
diff --git a/remote-curl.c b/remote-curl.c
index 672b382e5aaf25654f9095e68f45062baed3f397..6b83b7783e9c62fcf623acd0ba034dd1c0b9bd10 100644
--- a/remote-curl.c
+++ b/remote-curl.c
@@ -984,14 +984,11 @@ static void parse_push(struct strbuf *buf)
 	free(specs);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 	int nongit;
 
-	git_setup_gettext();
-
-	git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
 	setup_git_directory_gently(&nongit);
 	if (argc < 2) {
 		error("remote-curl: usage: git remote-curl <remote> [<url>]");
diff --git a/remote-testsvn.c b/remote-testsvn.c
index f05ff45298207258c257c2118206fbbfa0a4c670..f87bf851ba75af9229b1a9171191673af330505b 100644
--- a/remote-testsvn.c
+++ b/remote-testsvn.c
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ static int do_command(struct strbuf *line)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT, url_sb = STRBUF_INIT,
 			private_ref_sb = STRBUF_INIT, marksfilename_sb = STRBUF_INIT,
@@ -292,7 +292,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	static struct remote *remote;
 	const char *url_in;
 
-	git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
 	setup_git_directory();
 	if (argc < 2 || argc > 3) {
 		usage("git-remote-svn <remote-name> [<url>]");
diff --git a/sh-i18n--envsubst.c b/sh-i18n--envsubst.c
index 2842a22d7fdda33d62d617d5ba9b826ad428c17e..e06b2c1311f72d1023b34c937ab48cd56ae8e206 100644
--- a/sh-i18n--envsubst.c
+++ b/sh-i18n--envsubst.c
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ static void note_variables (const char *string);
 static void subst_from_stdin (void);
 
 int
-main (int argc, char *argv[])
+cmd_main (int argc, const char *argv[])
 {
   /* Default values for command line options.  */
   /* unsigned short int show_variables = 0; */
diff --git a/shell.c b/shell.c
index c5439a63e9678e1dc3dfa7d4e1f2a97c331e54d6..464ee1a201ff014c390ddfd653088f7dffd13a84 100644
--- a/shell.c
+++ b/shell.c
@@ -138,24 +138,13 @@ static struct commands {
 	{ NULL },
 };
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	char *prog;
 	const char **user_argv;
 	struct commands *cmd;
 	int count;
 
-	git_setup_gettext();
-
-	git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
-
-	/*
-	 * Always open file descriptors 0/1/2 to avoid clobbering files
-	 * in die().  It also avoids messing up when the pipes are dup'ed
-	 * onto stdin/stdout/stderr in the child processes we spawn.
-	 */
-	sanitize_stdfds();
-
 	/*
 	 * Special hack to pretend to be a CVS server
 	 */
diff --git a/show-index.c b/show-index.c
index acf8d5445ad96aacf6d2c3ccc2d77a3815291228..1ead41e21131fcb3facc71c8e1d96bf5b65dbe8d 100644
--- a/show-index.c
+++ b/show-index.c
@@ -4,15 +4,13 @@
 static const char show_index_usage[] =
 "git show-index";
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int i;
 	unsigned nr;
 	unsigned int version;
 	static unsigned int top_index[256];
 
-	git_setup_gettext();
-
 	if (argc != 1)
 		usage(show_index_usage);
 	if (fread(top_index, 2 * 4, 1, stdin) != 1)
diff --git a/t/helper/test-chmtime.c b/t/helper/test-chmtime.c
index dfe8a83261b3623e64f99ddf8dc775616771ec4d..e760256406fa9c2fe0f9b2cde0ffb97ff11c6cab 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-chmtime.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-chmtime.c
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ static int timespec_arg(const char *arg, long int *set_time, int *set_eq)
 	return 1;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	static int verbose;
 
diff --git a/t/helper/test-config.c b/t/helper/test-config.c
index 6a775522105d9bfc5c1c60f36944bc43e64badef..d143cd72223dec9c947fbf84d0f72945745a09c6 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-config.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-config.c
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
  */
 
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int i, val;
 	const char *v;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-ctype.c b/t/helper/test-ctype.c
index 707a821f03d59b1b3685b380fa4f3e83535c5342..bb72c47df570d9c07ae4567fd6d31ea49fe49656 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-ctype.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-ctype.c
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ static int is_in(const char *s, int ch)
 #define LOWER "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"
 #define UPPER "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	TEST_CLASS(isdigit, DIGIT);
 	TEST_CLASS(isspace, " \n\r\t");
diff --git a/t/helper/test-date.c b/t/helper/test-date.c
index d9ab3609094df80a1e3afc3d24d8fd158c96e496..506054bcd5dfbd76c8aec85382f35794514b9db9 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-date.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-date.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ static const char *usage_msg = "\n"
 "  test-date parse [date]...\n"
 "  test-date approxidate [date]...\n";
 
-static void show_relative_dates(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
+static void show_relative_dates(const char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 {
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 
@@ -18,13 +18,13 @@ static void show_relative_dates(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 	strbuf_release(&buf);
 }
 
-static void show_dates(char **argv, const char *format)
+static void show_dates(const char **argv, const char *format)
 {
 	struct date_mode mode;
 
 	parse_date_format(format, &mode);
 	for (; *argv; argv++) {
-		char *arg = *argv;
+		char *arg;
 		time_t t;
 		int tz;
 
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ static void show_dates(char **argv, const char *format)
 		 * Do not use our normal timestamp parsing here, as the point
 		 * is to test the formatting code in isolation.
 		 */
-		t = strtol(arg, &arg, 10);
+		t = strtol(*argv, &arg, 10);
 		while (*arg == ' ')
 			arg++;
 		tz = atoi(arg);
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ static void show_dates(char **argv, const char *format)
 	}
 }
 
-static void parse_dates(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
+static void parse_dates(const char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 {
 	struct strbuf result = STRBUF_INIT;
 
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ static void parse_dates(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 	strbuf_release(&result);
 }
 
-static void parse_approxidate(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
+static void parse_approxidate(const char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 {
 	for (; *argv; argv++) {
 		time_t t;
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ static void parse_approxidate(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 	}
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct timeval now;
 	const char *x;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-delta.c b/t/helper/test-delta.c
index 4595cd6433f9fd543791ee5a8a59a9112b50c046..59937dc1be1c4f0b3d80e3ef3a86e09bff3703b6 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-delta.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-delta.c
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 static const char usage_str[] =
 	"test-delta (-d|-p) <from_file> <data_file> <out_file>";
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int fd;
 	struct stat st;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-dump-cache-tree.c b/t/helper/test-dump-cache-tree.c
index bb53c0aa655c7a2df09638024b304a79e8b07fc6..44f3290258a003317e4aad4f90d17ce5529e3b07 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-dump-cache-tree.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-dump-cache-tree.c
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ static int dump_cache_tree(struct cache_tree *it,
 	return errs;
 }
 
-int main(int ac, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	struct index_state istate;
 	struct cache_tree *another = cache_tree();
diff --git a/t/helper/test-dump-split-index.c b/t/helper/test-dump-split-index.c
index 861d28c9b6c1b4d95f74ffbd95bc279ea0d377eb..d1689248b4937fbecaf16129c4016814554b983d 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-dump-split-index.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-dump-split-index.c
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ static void show_bit(size_t pos, void *data)
 	printf(" %d", (int)pos);
 }
 
-int main(int ac, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	struct split_index *si;
 	int i;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-dump-untracked-cache.c b/t/helper/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
index 0a1c28524668f02d3aa4d073c0c6991652cbf850..50112cc8586c75cf9f9b5fac65ea2f7dbc1a69e2 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ static void dump(struct untracked_cache_dir *ucd, struct strbuf *base)
 	strbuf_setlen(base, len);
 }
 
-int main(int ac, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	struct untracked_cache *uc;
 	struct strbuf base = STRBUF_INIT;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-fake-ssh.c b/t/helper/test-fake-ssh.c
index 980de216e10990a6406cae6e0b023c5fee7de488..12beee99ad2f4e70e804b21895522d6d362929d2 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-fake-ssh.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-fake-ssh.c
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #include "run-command.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	const char *trash_directory = getenv("TRASH_DIRECTORY");
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-genrandom.c b/t/helper/test-genrandom.c
index 54824d075421e792f337beb5cdce170a33b00e68..8d11d22d98649900b6d558cc174e2af1dbff9948 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-genrandom.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-genrandom.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	unsigned long count, next = 0;
 	unsigned char *c;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-hashmap.c b/t/helper/test-hashmap.c
index cc2891dd971edfa70733eb327d12ccb66fd09f3e..7aa9440e274fb443a30b3f61a241f4fea1601f10 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-hashmap.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-hashmap.c
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ static void perf_hashmap(unsigned int method, unsigned int rounds)
  *
  * perfhashmap method rounds -> test hashmap.[ch] performance
  */
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	char line[1024];
 	struct hashmap map;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-index-version.c b/t/helper/test-index-version.c
index 05d4699c4a6cf32b2b6291e275dafa2744fe19d6..f569f6b7eff87227f82dbe6390fd31fb970a5fca 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-index-version.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-index-version.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct cache_header hdr;
 	int version;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-line-buffer.c b/t/helper/test-line-buffer.c
index 1e58f0476f3465f9b8b361cc4776abf5c051430b..81575fe2ab91b550067ce8180650b003bdd939b7 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-line-buffer.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-line-buffer.c
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ static void handle_line(const char *line, struct line_buffer *stdin_buf)
 	handle_command(line, arg + 1, stdin_buf);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct line_buffer stdin_buf = LINE_BUFFER_INIT;
 	struct line_buffer file_buf = LINE_BUFFER_INIT;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-match-trees.c b/t/helper/test-match-trees.c
index d446b8eaca727dfa9c1b0928f2b8c9af286f2702..e9395028630bf26390366065aa07bc7b2827eb73 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-match-trees.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-match-trees.c
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "tree.h"
 
-int main(int ac, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	struct object_id hash1, hash2, shifted;
 	struct tree *one, *two;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-mergesort.c b/t/helper/test-mergesort.c
index ea3b959e94ff6f53726d4fce955bca1181a3be07..335cf6b6264cdaf9563736fbcfa40e7a3006a432 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-mergesort.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-mergesort.c
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ static int compare_strings(const void *a, const void *b)
 	return strcmp(x->text, y->text);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct line *line, *p = NULL, *lines = NULL;
 	struct strbuf sb = STRBUF_INIT;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-mktemp.c b/t/helper/test-mktemp.c
index c8c54213a3916c4adffd7396a37ed83e88af34fb..89d9b2f7bee05ff5c9fde31ba6798651ccee2947 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-mktemp.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-mktemp.c
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  */
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	if (argc != 2)
 		usage("Expected 1 parameter defining the temporary file template");
diff --git a/t/helper/test-parse-options.c b/t/helper/test-parse-options.c
index 8a1235d03e2daab4b9e90d31c5da6708e5c712f2..d51d29251eb2cf5adeba1d4f94ff2ce100421560 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-parse-options.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-parse-options.c
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ static void show(struct string_list *expect, int *status, const char *fmt, ...)
 	strbuf_release(&buf);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	const char *prefix = "prefix/";
 	const char *usage[] = {
diff --git a/t/helper/test-path-utils.c b/t/helper/test-path-utils.c
index ba805b374c57a4e5ad2e6e4a4b9071a11c165afa..1ebe0f750c648cd4d92983c11ace9e8a86327dd1 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-path-utils.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-path-utils.c
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ static struct test_data dirname_data[] = {
 	{ NULL,              NULL     }
 };
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	if (argc == 3 && !strcmp(argv[1], "normalize_path_copy")) {
 		char *buf = xmallocz(strlen(argv[2]));
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	}
 
 	if (argc >= 4 && !strcmp(argv[1], "prefix_path")) {
-		char *prefix = argv[2];
+		const char *prefix = argv[2];
 		int prefix_len = strlen(prefix);
 		int nongit_ok;
 		setup_git_directory_gently(&nongit_ok);
diff --git a/t/helper/test-prio-queue.c b/t/helper/test-prio-queue.c
index 7be72f0086ba4b80cecf9f324bd5152a8531cdbd..ae58fff35972a09c08a47d2bc0abb67c96ba20eb 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-prio-queue.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-prio-queue.c
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ static void show(int *v)
 	free(v);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct prio_queue pq = { intcmp };
 
diff --git a/t/helper/test-read-cache.c b/t/helper/test-read-cache.c
index b25bcf139b2bf61292eb9910cb4f92d8ce7763bd..2a7990efc31d042121122a17890c623d7714c128 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-read-cache.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-read-cache.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 
-int main (int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int i, cnt = 1;
 	if (argc == 2)
diff --git a/t/helper/test-regex.c b/t/helper/test-regex.c
index eff26f534fc21e3d77bc3d6cf76fce2b5a74e981..b5ea8a97c54e1737d91dec894c1cc02e1baf64e5 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-regex.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-regex.c
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ static int test_regex_bug(void)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	const char *pat;
 	const char *str;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-revision-walking.c b/t/helper/test-revision-walking.c
index 3d0313354b3e100fe3624b58c61af7cc7e0f8e7b..b8e6fe1d007449d30dd30ccd4319b26f151bbf23 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-revision-walking.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-revision-walking.c
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ static int run_revision_walk(void)
 	return got_revision;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	if (argc < 2)
 		return 1;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-run-command.c b/t/helper/test-run-command.c
index 6bb53da3c0faef2989d749d3df5c26ca3cd76b4a..d24d157379f30cafdeeb772e82bf5ee4c862272c 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-run-command.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-run-command.c
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ static int task_finished(int result,
 	return 1;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct child_process proc = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
 	int jobs;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-scrap-cache-tree.c b/t/helper/test-scrap-cache-tree.c
index 6efee31a4867b4ff8493161376e5a9cfdd48fe44..5b2fd0990894dd59a074ded5822bbcf215a989aa 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-scrap-cache-tree.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-scrap-cache-tree.c
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 
 static struct lock_file index_lock;
 
-int main(int ac, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	hold_locked_index(&index_lock, 1);
 	if (read_cache() < 0)
diff --git a/t/helper/test-sha1-array.c b/t/helper/test-sha1-array.c
index 60ea1d5f14e2572df5716da5815143ed26a5be4b..09f77909716326bdb76a79d3c32d10b74702e1d5 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-sha1-array.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-sha1-array.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ static void print_sha1(const unsigned char sha1[20], void *data)
 	puts(sha1_to_hex(sha1));
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct sha1_array array = SHA1_ARRAY_INIT;
 	struct strbuf line = STRBUF_INIT;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-sha1.c b/t/helper/test-sha1.c
index e57eae10bf73baac79fd8b95ddb0ff1b4c8c0cd6..a1c13f54eca0db7d11a5df134d565171d70b8cce 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-sha1.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-sha1.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 
-int main(int ac, char **av)
+int cmd_main(int ac, const char **av)
 {
 	git_SHA_CTX ctx;
 	unsigned char sha1[20];
diff --git a/t/helper/test-sigchain.c b/t/helper/test-sigchain.c
index e499fce60ff50069ace6174ef9fa3ca4aff0cdc8..b71edbd4429184b59b4bd1355d5cfb53970a1876 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-sigchain.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-sigchain.c
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ X(two)
 X(three)
 #undef X
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv) {
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv) {
 	sigchain_push(SIGTERM, one);
 	sigchain_push(SIGTERM, two);
 	sigchain_push(SIGTERM, three);
diff --git a/t/helper/test-string-list.c b/t/helper/test-string-list.c
index 14bdf9d2153a98d0b2a5d03395c1adcc166f8a07..4a68967bd126e5ab74ec2b39113cce58e7c021bf 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-string-list.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-string-list.c
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ static int prefix_cb(struct string_list_item *item, void *cb_data)
 	return starts_with(item->string, prefix);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	if (argc == 5 && !strcmp(argv[1], "split")) {
 		struct string_list list = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-submodule-config.c b/t/helper/test-submodule-config.c
index a4e4098a0fc55f804524e4333a4e1685e38ad2a8..2a50217bf5957733f6920260d1b4ad8abf69fd57 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-submodule-config.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-submodule-config.c
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #include "submodule-config.h"
 #include "submodule.h"
 
-static void die_usage(int argc, char **argv, const char *msg)
+static void die_usage(int argc, const char **argv, const char *msg)
 {
 	fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", msg);
 	fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s [<commit> <submodulepath>] ...\n", argv[0]);
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@ static int git_test_config(const char *var, const char *value, void *cb)
 	return parse_submodule_config_option(var, value);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
-	char **arg = argv;
+	const char **arg = argv;
 	int my_argc = argc;
 	int output_url = 0;
 	int lookup_name = 0;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-subprocess.c b/t/helper/test-subprocess.c
index 56881a032471752ca16880d98ea1510e16d38eed..30c5765bfc3590421c21bc2350eed882752de3a0 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-subprocess.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-subprocess.c
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "run-command.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct child_process cp = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
 	int nogit = 0;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-svn-fe.c b/t/helper/test-svn-fe.c
index 120ec96b0dbd94e7be9ffc81d0fb87ccbd30a7df..7667c0803f1231152190a1a5b4c61a2fb2677048 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-svn-fe.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-svn-fe.c
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 static const char test_svnfe_usage[] =
 	"test-svn-fe (<dumpfile> | [-d] <preimage> <delta> <len>)";
 
-static int apply_delta(int argc, char *argv[])
+static int apply_delta(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	struct line_buffer preimage = LINE_BUFFER_INIT;
 	struct line_buffer delta = LINE_BUFFER_INIT;
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ static int apply_delta(int argc, char *argv[])
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	if (argc == 2) {
 		if (svndump_init(argv[1]))
diff --git a/t/helper/test-urlmatch-normalization.c b/t/helper/test-urlmatch-normalization.c
index 090bf219a7d499ae246f80c0d478eb37fdef8f8f..49b6e836be257c0689601bf17138439cff0d61a0 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-urlmatch-normalization.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-urlmatch-normalization.c
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 #include "urlmatch.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	const char usage[] = "test-urlmatch-normalization [-p | -l] <url1> | <url1> <url2>";
 	char *url1, *url2;
diff --git a/t/helper/test-wildmatch.c b/t/helper/test-wildmatch.c
index 578b164fe603f11dfe67e25be36a6ab38aa6d645..52be876fed3bcc3bb5a1def5de8febe8b29c0ec4 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-wildmatch.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-wildmatch.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	int i;
 	for (i = 2; i < argc; i++) {
diff --git a/upload-pack.c b/upload-pack.c
index 44d63fba4168db1f741747f824439d9234315578..26746f67e2387f91c4e7052a2d5224c271a8174b 100644
--- a/upload-pack.c
+++ b/upload-pack.c
@@ -813,20 +813,17 @@ static int upload_pack_config(const char *var, const char *value, void *unused)
 	return parse_hide_refs_config(var, value, "uploadpack");
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
-	char *dir;
+	const char *dir;
 	int i;
 	int strict = 0;
 
-	git_setup_gettext();
-
 	packet_trace_identity("upload-pack");
-	git_extract_argv0_path(argv[0]);
 	check_replace_refs = 0;
 
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
-		char *arg = argv[i];
+		const char *arg = argv[i];
 
 		if (arg[0] != '-')
 			break;