diff --git a/Documentation/git-grep.txt b/Documentation/git-grep.txt
index fbd23944814..d55456ae93f 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-grep.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-grep.txt
@@ -24,13 +24,13 @@ OPTIONS
 
 <option>...::
 	Either an option to pass to `grep` or `git-ls-files`.
-
-	The following are the specific `git-ls-files` options
-	that may be given: `-o`, `--cached`, `--deleted`, `--others`,
-	`--killed`, `--ignored`, `--modified`, `--exclude=*`,
-	`--exclude-from=*`, and `--exclude-per-directory=*`.
-
-	All other options will be passed to `grep`.
++
+The following are the specific `git-ls-files` options
+that may be given: `-o`, `--cached`, `--deleted`, `--others`,
+`--killed`, `--ignored`, `--modified`, `--exclude=\*`,
+`--exclude-from=\*`, and `--exclude-per-directory=\*`.
++
+All other options will be passed to `grep`.
 
 <pattern>::
 	The pattern to look for.  The first non option is taken
diff --git a/Documentation/git-whatchanged.txt b/Documentation/git-whatchanged.txt
index f02f939baa9..641cb7ea97f 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-whatchanged.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-whatchanged.txt
@@ -47,9 +47,9 @@ OPTIONS
 	By default, differences for merge commits are not shown.
 	With this flag, show differences to that commit from all
 	of its parents.
-
-	However, it is not very useful in general, although it
-	*is* useful on a file-by-file basis.
++
+However, it is not very useful in general, although it
+*is* useful on a file-by-file basis.
 
 Examples
 --------
diff --git a/Documentation/git.txt b/Documentation/git.txt
index de3934d098d..fe34f50dc51 100644
--- a/Documentation/git.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git.txt
@@ -521,16 +521,14 @@ HEAD::
 	a valid head 'name'
 	(i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/heads/<head>`).
 
-<snap>::
-	a valid snapshot 'name'
-	(i.e. the contents of `$GIT_DIR/refs/snap/<snap>`).
-
 
 File/Directory Structure
 ------------------------
 
 Please see link:repository-layout.html[repository layout] document.
 
+Read link:hooks.html[hooks] for more details about each hook.
+
 Higher level SCMs may provide and manage additional information in the
 `$GIT_DIR`.
 
diff --git a/Documentation/hooks.txt b/Documentation/hooks.txt
index 4ad1920ec10..3824a9517cc 100644
--- a/Documentation/hooks.txt
+++ b/Documentation/hooks.txt
@@ -97,16 +97,31 @@ send out a commit notification e-mail.
 update
 ------
 
-This hook is invoked by `git-receive-pack`, which is invoked
-when a `git push` is done against the repository.  It takes
-three parameters, name of the ref being updated, old object name
-stored in the ref, and the new objectname to be stored in the
-ref.  Exiting with non-zero status from this hook prevents
-`git-receive-pack` from updating the ref.
+This hook is invoked by `git-receive-pack` on the remote repository,
+which is happens when a `git push` is done on a local repository.
+Just before updating the ref on the remote repository, the update hook
+is invoked.  It's exit status determins the success or failure of
+the ref update.
 
-This can be used to prevent 'forced' update on certain refs by
+The hook executes once for each ref to be updated, and takes
+three parameters:
+    - the name of the ref being updated,
+    - the old object name stored in the ref,
+    - and the new objectname to be stored in the ref.
+
+A zero exit from the update hook allows the ref to be updated.
+Exiting with a non-zero status prevents `git-receive-pack`
+from updating the ref.
+
+This hook can be used to prevent 'forced' update on certain refs by
 making sure that the object name is a commit object that is a
 descendant of the commit object named by the old object name.
+That is, to enforce a "fast forward only" policy.
+
+It could also be used to log the old..new status.  However, it
+does not know the entire set of branches, so it would end up
+firing one e-mail per ref when used naively, though.
+
 Another use suggested on the mailing list is to use this hook to
 implement access control which is finer grained than the one
 based on filesystem group.
@@ -115,20 +130,30 @@ The standard output of this hook is sent to /dev/null; if you
 want to report something to the git-send-pack on the other end,
 you can redirect your output to your stderr.
 
+
 post-update
 -----------
 
-This hook is invoked by `git-receive-pack`, which is invoked
-when a `git push` is done against the repository.  It takes
-variable number of parameters; each of which is the name of ref
-that was actually updated.
+This hook is invoked by `git-receive-pack` on the remote repository,
+which is happens when a `git push` is done on a local repository.
+It executes on the remote repository once after all the refs have
+been updated.
+
+It takes a variable number of parameters, each of which is the
+name of ref that was actually updated.
 
 This hook is meant primarily for notification, and cannot affect
 the outcome of `git-receive-pack`.
 
+The post-update hook can tell what are the heads that were pushed,
+but it does not know what their original and updated values are,
+so it is a poor place to do log old..new.
+
 The default post-update hook, when enabled, runs
 `git-update-server-info` to keep the information used by dumb
-transport up-to-date.
+transports (eg, http) up-to-date.  If you are publishing
+a git repository that is accessible via http, you should
+probably enable this hook.
 
 The standard output of this hook is sent to /dev/null; if you
 want to report something to the git-send-pack on the other end,
diff --git a/Documentation/repository-layout.txt b/Documentation/repository-layout.txt
index 1f19bf86dd1..98fbe7db527 100644
--- a/Documentation/repository-layout.txt
+++ b/Documentation/repository-layout.txt
@@ -89,6 +89,8 @@ hooks::
 	commands.  A handful of sample hooks are installed when
 	`git init-db` is run, but all of them are disabled by
 	default.  To enable, they need to be made executable.
+	Read link:hooks.html[hooks] for more details about
+	each hook.
 
 index::
 	The current index file for the repository.  It is
diff --git a/apply.c b/apply.c
index 2da225a8eca..c50b3a60464 100644
--- a/apply.c
+++ b/apply.c
@@ -693,7 +693,7 @@ static int parse_range(const char *line, int len, int offset, const char *expect
 	line += digits;
 	len -= digits;
 
-	*p2 = *p1;
+	*p2 = 1;
 	if (*line == ',') {
 		digits = parse_num(line+1, p2);
 		if (!digits)
@@ -901,6 +901,8 @@ static int parse_fragment(char *line, unsigned long size, struct patch *patch, s
 			break;
 		}
 	}
+	if (oldlines || newlines)
+		return -1;
 	/* If a fragment ends with an incomplete line, we failed to include
 	 * it in the above loop because we hit oldlines == newlines == 0
 	 * before seeing it.
diff --git a/commit-tree.c b/commit-tree.c
index 88871b022d4..16c17871334 100644
--- a/commit-tree.c
+++ b/commit-tree.c
@@ -125,7 +125,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	while (fgets(comment, sizeof(comment), stdin) != NULL)
 		add_buffer(&buffer, &size, "%s", comment);
 
-	write_sha1_file(buffer, size, "commit", commit_sha1);
-	printf("%s\n", sha1_to_hex(commit_sha1));
-	return 0;
+	if (!write_sha1_file(buffer, size, "commit", commit_sha1)) {
+		printf("%s\n", sha1_to_hex(commit_sha1));
+		return 0;
+	}
+	else
+		return 1;
 }
diff --git a/git-send-email.perl b/git-send-email.perl
index 7c8d51223fd..b220d11cc1e 100755
--- a/git-send-email.perl
+++ b/git-send-email.perl
@@ -307,6 +307,7 @@ $subject = $initial_subject;
 foreach my $t (@files) {
 	open(F,"<",$t) or die "can't open file $t";
 
+	my $author_not_sender = undef;
 	@cc = @initial_cc;
 	my $found_mbox = 0;
 	my $header_done = 0;
@@ -321,7 +322,12 @@ foreach my $t (@files) {
 					$subject = $1;
 
 				} elsif (/^(Cc|From):\s+(.*)$/) {
-					next if ($2 eq $from && $suppress_from);
+					if ($2 eq $from) {
+						next if ($suppress_from);
+					}
+					else {
+						$author_not_sender = $2;
+					}
 					printf("(mbox) Adding cc: %s from line '%s'\n",
 						$2, $_) unless $quiet;
 					push @cc, $2;
@@ -360,6 +366,9 @@ foreach my $t (@files) {
 		}
 	}
 	close F;
+	if (defined $author_not_sender) {
+		$message = "From: $author_not_sender\n\n$message";
+	}
 
 	$cc = join(", ", unique_email_list(@cc));
 
diff --git a/t/t5000-tar-tree.sh b/t/t5000-tar-tree.sh
index adc5e937de1..278eb667011 100755
--- a/t/t5000-tar-tree.sh
+++ b/t/t5000-tar-tree.sh
@@ -34,6 +34,9 @@ test_expect_success \
      mkdir a/bin &&
      cp /bin/sh a/bin &&
      ln -s a a/l1 &&
+     (p=long_path_to_a_file && cd a &&
+      for depth in 1 2 3 4 5; do mkdir $p && cd $p; done &&
+      echo text >file_with_long_path) &&
      (cd a && find .) | sort >a.lst'
 
 test_expect_success \
diff --git a/tar-tree.c b/tar-tree.c
index 92035f51d84..8d9e31c2061 100644
--- a/tar-tree.c
+++ b/tar-tree.c
@@ -1,37 +1,23 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2005 Rene Scharfe
+ * Copyright (c) 2005, 2006 Rene Scharfe
  */
 #include <time.h>
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "diff.h"
 #include "commit.h"
+#include "strbuf.h"
+#include "tar.h"
 
 #define RECORDSIZE	(512)
 #define BLOCKSIZE	(RECORDSIZE * 20)
 
-#define TYPEFLAG_AUTO		'\0'
-#define TYPEFLAG_REG		'0'
-#define TYPEFLAG_LNK		'2'
-#define TYPEFLAG_DIR		'5'
-#define TYPEFLAG_GLOBAL_HEADER	'g'
-#define TYPEFLAG_EXT_HEADER	'x'
-
-#define EXT_HEADER_PATH		1
-#define EXT_HEADER_LINKPATH	2
-
 static const char tar_tree_usage[] = "git-tar-tree <key> [basedir]";
 
 static char block[BLOCKSIZE];
 static unsigned long offset;
 
-static const char *basedir;
 static time_t archive_time;
 
-struct path_prefix {
-	struct path_prefix *prev;
-	const char *name;
-};
-
 /* tries hard to write, either succeeds or dies in the attempt */
 static void reliable_write(void *buf, unsigned long size)
 {
@@ -119,230 +105,170 @@ static void write_blocked(void *buf, unsigned long size)
 	write_if_needed();
 }
 
-static void append_string(char **p, const char *s)
+static void strbuf_append_string(struct strbuf *sb, const char *s)
 {
-	unsigned int len = strlen(s);
-	memcpy(*p, s, len);
-	*p += len;
-}
-
-static void append_char(char **p, char c)
-{
-	**p = c;
-	*p += 1;
-}
-
-static void append_path_prefix(char **buffer, struct path_prefix *prefix)
-{
-	if (!prefix)
-		return;
-	append_path_prefix(buffer, prefix->prev);
-	append_string(buffer, prefix->name);
-	append_char(buffer, '/');
-}
-
-static unsigned int path_prefix_len(struct path_prefix *prefix)
-{
-	if (!prefix)
-		return 0;
-	return path_prefix_len(prefix->prev) + strlen(prefix->name) + 1;
-}
-
-static void append_path(char **p, int is_dir, const char *basepath,
-                        struct path_prefix *prefix, const char *path)
-{
-	if (basepath) {
-		append_string(p, basepath);
-		append_char(p, '/');
+	int slen = strlen(s);
+	int total = sb->len + slen;
+	if (total > sb->alloc) {
+		sb->buf = xrealloc(sb->buf, total);
+		sb->alloc = total;
 	}
-	append_path_prefix(p, prefix);
-	append_string(p, path);
-	if (is_dir)
-		append_char(p, '/');
+	memcpy(sb->buf + sb->len, s, slen);
+	sb->len = total;
 }
 
-static unsigned int path_len(int is_dir, const char *basepath,
-                             struct path_prefix *prefix, const char *path)
+/*
+ * pax extended header records have the format "%u %s=%s\n".  %u contains
+ * the size of the whole string (including the %u), the first %s is the
+ * keyword, the second one is the value.  This function constructs such a
+ * string and appends it to a struct strbuf.
+ */
+static void strbuf_append_ext_header(struct strbuf *sb, const char *keyword,
+                                     const char *value, unsigned int valuelen)
 {
-	unsigned int len = 0;
-	if (basepath)
-		len += strlen(basepath) + 1;
-	len += path_prefix_len(prefix) + strlen(path);
-	if (is_dir)
-		len++;
-	return len;
-}
+	char *p;
+	int len, total, tmp;
 
-static void append_extended_header_prefix(char **p, unsigned int size,
-                                          const char *keyword)
-{
-	int len = sprintf(*p, "%u %s=", size, keyword);
-	*p += len;
-}
-
-static unsigned int extended_header_len(const char *keyword,
-                                        unsigned int valuelen)
-{
 	/* "%u %s=%s\n" */
-	unsigned int len = 1 + 1 + strlen(keyword) + 1 + valuelen + 1;
-	if (len > 9)
+	len = 1 + 1 + strlen(keyword) + 1 + valuelen + 1;
+	for (tmp = len; tmp > 9; tmp /= 10)
 		len++;
-	if (len > 99)
-		len++;
-	return len;
-}
 
-static void append_extended_header(char **p, const char *keyword,
-                                   const char *value, unsigned int len)
-{
-	unsigned int size = extended_header_len(keyword, len);
-	append_extended_header_prefix(p, size, keyword);
-	memcpy(*p, value, len);
-	*p += len;
-	append_char(p, '\n');
-}
-
-static void write_header(const unsigned char *, char, const char *, struct path_prefix *,
-                         const char *, unsigned int, void *, unsigned long);
-
-/* stores a pax extended header directly in the block buffer */
-static void write_extended_header(const char *headerfilename, int is_dir,
-                                  unsigned int flags, const char *basepath,
-                                  struct path_prefix *prefix,
-                                  const char *path, unsigned int namelen,
-                                  void *content, unsigned int contentsize)
-{
-	char *buffer, *p;
-	unsigned int pathlen, size, linkpathlen = 0;
-
-	size = pathlen = extended_header_len("path", namelen);
-	if (flags & EXT_HEADER_LINKPATH) {
-		linkpathlen = extended_header_len("linkpath", contentsize);
-		size += linkpathlen;
+	total = sb->len + len;
+	if (total > sb->alloc) {
+		sb->buf = xrealloc(sb->buf, total);
+		sb->alloc = total;
 	}
-	write_header(NULL, TYPEFLAG_EXT_HEADER, NULL, NULL, headerfilename,
-	             0100600, NULL, size);
 
-	buffer = p = malloc(size);
-	if (!buffer)
-		die("git-tar-tree: %s", strerror(errno));
-	append_extended_header_prefix(&p, pathlen, "path");
-	append_path(&p, is_dir, basepath, prefix, path);
-	append_char(&p, '\n');
-	if (flags & EXT_HEADER_LINKPATH)
-		append_extended_header(&p, "linkpath", content, contentsize);
-	write_blocked(buffer, size);
-	free(buffer);
+	p = sb->buf;
+	p += sprintf(p, "%u %s=", len, keyword);
+	memcpy(p, value, valuelen);
+	p += valuelen;
+	*p = '\n';
+	sb->len = total;
+}
+
+static unsigned int ustar_header_chksum(const struct ustar_header *header)
+{
+	char *p = (char *)header;
+	unsigned int chksum = 0;
+	while (p < header->chksum)
+		chksum += *p++;
+	chksum += sizeof(header->chksum) * ' ';
+	p += sizeof(header->chksum);
+	while (p < (char *)header + sizeof(struct ustar_header))
+		chksum += *p++;
+	return chksum;
+}
+
+static int get_path_prefix(const struct strbuf *path, int maxlen)
+{
+	int i = path->len;
+	if (i > maxlen)
+		i = maxlen;
+	while (i > 0 && path->buf[i] != '/')
+		i--;
+	return i;
+}
+
+static void write_entry(const unsigned char *sha1, struct strbuf *path,
+                        unsigned int mode, void *buffer, unsigned long size)
+{
+	struct ustar_header header;
+	struct strbuf ext_header;
+
+	memset(&header, 0, sizeof(header));
+	ext_header.buf = NULL;
+	ext_header.len = ext_header.alloc = 0;
+
+	if (!sha1) {
+		*header.typeflag = TYPEFLAG_GLOBAL_HEADER;
+		mode = 0100666;
+		strcpy(header.name, "pax_global_header");
+	} else if (!path) {
+		*header.typeflag = TYPEFLAG_EXT_HEADER;
+		mode = 0100666;
+		sprintf(header.name, "%s.paxheader", sha1_to_hex(sha1));
+	} else {
+		if (S_ISDIR(mode)) {
+			*header.typeflag = TYPEFLAG_DIR;
+			mode |= 0777;
+		} else if (S_ISLNK(mode)) {
+			*header.typeflag = TYPEFLAG_LNK;
+			mode |= 0777;
+		} else if (S_ISREG(mode)) {
+			*header.typeflag = TYPEFLAG_REG;
+			mode |= (mode & 0100) ? 0777 : 0666;
+		} else {
+			error("unsupported file mode: 0%o (SHA1: %s)",
+			      mode, sha1_to_hex(sha1));
+			return;
+		}
+		if (path->len > sizeof(header.name)) {
+			int plen = get_path_prefix(path, sizeof(header.prefix));
+			int rest = path->len - plen - 1;
+			if (plen > 0 && rest <= sizeof(header.name)) {
+				memcpy(header.prefix, path->buf, plen);
+				memcpy(header.name, path->buf + plen + 1, rest);
+			} else {
+				sprintf(header.name, "%s.data",
+				        sha1_to_hex(sha1));
+				strbuf_append_ext_header(&ext_header, "path",
+				                         path->buf, path->len);
+			}
+		} else
+			memcpy(header.name, path->buf, path->len);
+	}
+
+	if (S_ISLNK(mode) && buffer) {
+		if (size > sizeof(header.linkname)) {
+			sprintf(header.linkname, "see %s.paxheader",
+			        sha1_to_hex(sha1));
+			strbuf_append_ext_header(&ext_header, "linkpath",
+			                         buffer, size);
+		} else
+			memcpy(header.linkname, buffer, size);
+	}
+
+	sprintf(header.mode, "%07o", mode & 07777);
+	sprintf(header.size, "%011lo", S_ISREG(mode) ? size : 0);
+	sprintf(header.mtime, "%011lo", archive_time);
+
+	/* XXX: should we provide more meaningful info here? */
+	sprintf(header.uid, "%07o", 0);
+	sprintf(header.gid, "%07o", 0);
+	strncpy(header.uname, "git", 31);
+	strncpy(header.gname, "git", 31);
+	sprintf(header.devmajor, "%07o", 0);
+	sprintf(header.devminor, "%07o", 0);
+
+	memcpy(header.magic, "ustar", 6);
+	memcpy(header.version, "00", 2);
+
+	sprintf(header.chksum, "%07o", ustar_header_chksum(&header));
+
+	if (ext_header.len > 0) {
+		write_entry(sha1, NULL, 0, ext_header.buf, ext_header.len);
+		free(ext_header.buf);
+	}
+	write_blocked(&header, sizeof(header));
+	if (S_ISREG(mode) && buffer && size > 0)
+		write_blocked(buffer, size);
 }
 
 static void write_global_extended_header(const unsigned char *sha1)
 {
-	char *p;
-	unsigned int size;
-
-	size = extended_header_len("comment", 40);
-	write_header(NULL, TYPEFLAG_GLOBAL_HEADER, NULL, NULL,
-	             "pax_global_header", 0100600, NULL, size);
-
-	p = get_record();
-	append_extended_header(&p, "comment", sha1_to_hex(sha1), 40);
-	write_if_needed();
+	struct strbuf ext_header;
+	ext_header.buf = NULL;
+	ext_header.len = ext_header.alloc = 0;
+	strbuf_append_ext_header(&ext_header, "comment", sha1_to_hex(sha1), 40);
+	write_entry(NULL, NULL, 0, ext_header.buf, ext_header.len);
+	free(ext_header.buf);
 }
 
-/* stores a ustar header directly in the block buffer */
-static void write_header(const unsigned char *sha1, char typeflag, const char *basepath,
-                         struct path_prefix *prefix, const char *path,
-                         unsigned int mode, void *buffer, unsigned long size)
+static void traverse_tree(struct tree_desc *tree, struct strbuf *path)
 {
-	unsigned int namelen; 
-	char *header = NULL;
-	unsigned int checksum = 0;
-	int i;
-	unsigned int ext_header = 0;
-
-	if (typeflag == TYPEFLAG_AUTO) {
-		if (S_ISDIR(mode))
-			typeflag = TYPEFLAG_DIR;
-		else if (S_ISLNK(mode))
-			typeflag = TYPEFLAG_LNK;
-		else
-			typeflag = TYPEFLAG_REG;
-	}
-
-	namelen = path_len(S_ISDIR(mode), basepath, prefix, path);
-	if (namelen > 100)
-		ext_header |= EXT_HEADER_PATH;
-	if (typeflag == TYPEFLAG_LNK && size > 100)
-		ext_header |= EXT_HEADER_LINKPATH;
-
-	/* the extended header must be written before the normal one */
-	if (ext_header) {
-		char headerfilename[51];
-		sprintf(headerfilename, "%s.paxheader", sha1_to_hex(sha1));
-		write_extended_header(headerfilename, S_ISDIR(mode),
-		                      ext_header, basepath, prefix, path,
-		                      namelen, buffer, size);
-	}
-
-	header = get_record();
-
-	if (ext_header) {
-		sprintf(header, "%s.data", sha1_to_hex(sha1));
-	} else {
-		char *p = header;
-		append_path(&p, S_ISDIR(mode), basepath, prefix, path);
-	}
-
-	if (typeflag == TYPEFLAG_LNK) {
-		if (ext_header & EXT_HEADER_LINKPATH) {
-			sprintf(&header[157], "see %s.paxheader",
-			        sha1_to_hex(sha1));
-		} else {
-			if (buffer)
-				strncpy(&header[157], buffer, size);
-		}
-	}
-
-	if (S_ISDIR(mode))
-		mode |= 0777;
-	else if (S_ISREG(mode))
-		mode |= (mode & 0100) ? 0777 : 0666;
-	else if (S_ISLNK(mode))
-		mode |= 0777;
-	sprintf(&header[100], "%07o", mode & 07777);
-
-	/* XXX: should we provide more meaningful info here? */
-	sprintf(&header[108], "%07o", 0);	/* uid */
-	sprintf(&header[116], "%07o", 0);	/* gid */
-	strncpy(&header[265], "git", 31);	/* uname */
-	strncpy(&header[297], "git", 31);	/* gname */
-
-	if (S_ISDIR(mode) || S_ISLNK(mode))
-		size = 0;
-	sprintf(&header[124], "%011lo", size);
-	sprintf(&header[136], "%011lo", archive_time);
-
-	header[156] = typeflag;
-
-	memcpy(&header[257], "ustar", 6);
-	memcpy(&header[263], "00", 2);
-
-	sprintf(&header[329], "%07o", 0);	/* devmajor */
-	sprintf(&header[337], "%07o", 0);	/* devminor */
-
-	memset(&header[148], ' ', 8);
-	for (i = 0; i < RECORDSIZE; i++)
-		checksum += header[i];
-	sprintf(&header[148], "%07o", checksum & 0x1fffff);
-
-	write_if_needed();
-}
-
-static void traverse_tree(struct tree_desc *tree,
-			  struct path_prefix *prefix)
-{
-	struct path_prefix this_prefix;
-	this_prefix.prev = prefix;
+	int pathlen = path->len;
 
 	while (tree->size) {
 		const char *name;
@@ -358,16 +284,19 @@ static void traverse_tree(struct tree_desc *tree,
 		eltbuf = read_sha1_file(sha1, elttype, &eltsize);
 		if (!eltbuf)
 			die("cannot read %s", sha1_to_hex(sha1));
-		write_header(sha1, TYPEFLAG_AUTO, basedir, 
-			     prefix, name, mode, eltbuf, eltsize);
+
+		path->len = pathlen;
+		strbuf_append_string(path, name);
+		if (S_ISDIR(mode))
+			strbuf_append_string(path, "/");
+
+		write_entry(sha1, path, mode, eltbuf, eltsize);
+
 		if (S_ISDIR(mode)) {
 			struct tree_desc subtree;
 			subtree.buf = eltbuf;
 			subtree.size = eltsize;
-			this_prefix.name = name;
-			traverse_tree(&subtree, &this_prefix);
-		} else if (!S_ISLNK(mode)) {
-			write_blocked(eltbuf, eltsize);
+			traverse_tree(&subtree, path);
 		}
 		free(eltbuf);
 	}
@@ -375,16 +304,22 @@ static void traverse_tree(struct tree_desc *tree,
 
 int main(int argc, char **argv)
 {
-	unsigned char sha1[20];
+	unsigned char sha1[20], tree_sha1[20];
 	struct commit *commit;
 	struct tree_desc tree;
+	struct strbuf current_path;
+
+	current_path.buf = xmalloc(PATH_MAX);
+	current_path.alloc = PATH_MAX;
+	current_path.len = current_path.eof = 0;
 
 	setup_git_directory();
 	git_config(git_default_config);
 
 	switch (argc) {
 	case 3:
-		basedir = argv[2];
+		strbuf_append_string(&current_path, argv[2]);
+		strbuf_append_string(&current_path, "/");
 		/* FALLTHROUGH */
 	case 2:
 		if (get_sha1(argv[1], sha1) < 0)
@@ -398,17 +333,19 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	if (commit) {
 		write_global_extended_header(commit->object.sha1);
 		archive_time = commit->date;
-	}
-	tree.buf = read_object_with_reference(sha1, "tree", &tree.size, NULL);
+	} else
+		archive_time = time(NULL);
+
+	tree.buf = read_object_with_reference(sha1, "tree", &tree.size,
+	                                      tree_sha1);
 	if (!tree.buf)
 		die("not a reference to a tag, commit or tree object: %s",
 		    sha1_to_hex(sha1));
-	if (!archive_time)
-		archive_time = time(NULL);
-	if (basedir)
-		write_header((unsigned char *)"0", TYPEFLAG_DIR, NULL, NULL,
-			basedir, 040777, NULL, 0);
-	traverse_tree(&tree, NULL);
+
+	if (current_path.len > 0)
+		write_entry(tree_sha1, &current_path, 040777, NULL, 0);
+	traverse_tree(&tree, &current_path);
 	write_trailer();
+	free(current_path.buf);
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/tar.h b/tar.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3467705e9b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tar.h
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#define TYPEFLAG_AUTO		'\0'
+#define TYPEFLAG_REG		'0'
+#define TYPEFLAG_LNK		'2'
+#define TYPEFLAG_DIR		'5'
+#define TYPEFLAG_GLOBAL_HEADER	'g'
+#define TYPEFLAG_EXT_HEADER	'x'
+
+struct ustar_header {
+	char name[100];		/*   0 */
+	char mode[8];		/* 100 */
+	char uid[8];		/* 108 */
+	char gid[8];		/* 116 */
+	char size[12];		/* 124 */
+	char mtime[12];		/* 136 */
+	char chksum[8];		/* 148 */
+	char typeflag[1];	/* 156 */
+	char linkname[100];	/* 157 */
+	char magic[6];		/* 257 */
+	char version[2];	/* 263 */
+	char uname[32];		/* 265 */
+	char gname[32];		/* 297 */
+	char devmajor[8];	/* 329 */
+	char devminor[8];	/* 337 */
+	char prefix[155];	/* 345 */
+};
