diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index e11e626d05..15f37d58e9 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -943,7 +943,7 @@ 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 := $(patsubst test-%$X,test-%.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 0000000000..2b96bbf436
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common-main.c
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#include "git-compat-util.h"
+
+int main(int argc, char **av)
+{
+	/*
+	 * This const trickery is explained in
+	 * 84d32bf7678259c08406571cd6ce4b7a6724dcba
+	 */
+	const char **argv = (const char **)av;
+
+	return cmd_main(argc, argv);
+}
diff --git a/credential-cache--daemon.c b/credential-cache--daemon.c
index 291c0fd5e9..a4bf2366ab 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 86e21de49b..cc8a6ee192 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 57141679ab..55ca1b1334 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 8d45c336f5..e6b86d2153 100644
--- a/daemon.c
+++ b/daemon.c
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ 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 +240,7 @@ 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
@@ -1178,7 +1178,7 @@ 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;
@@ -1193,7 +1193,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	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)) {
diff --git a/fast-import.c b/fast-import.c
index 9fc7093406..bd649268b2 100644
--- a/fast-import.c
+++ b/fast-import.c
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ 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);
@@ -3381,7 +3381,7 @@ static void parse_argv(void)
 		read_marks();
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	unsigned int i;
 
diff --git a/git-compat-util.h b/git-compat-util.h
index 1f8b5f3b1f..91e366d1dd 100644
--- a/git-compat-util.h
+++ b/git-compat-util.h
@@ -1043,3 +1043,5 @@ 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 968a8a4645..e2444046f5 100644
--- a/git.c
+++ b/git.c
@@ -630,9 +630,8 @@ static void restore_sigpipe_to_default(void)
 	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;
 
diff --git a/http-backend.c b/http-backend.c
index 8870a2681e..3249652b3d 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;
diff --git a/http-fetch.c b/http-fetch.c
index ba3ea10670..eb559eb83b 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;
diff --git a/http-push.c b/http-push.c
index bd60668707..98228a4262 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;
@@ -1717,7 +1717,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 	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 938c691585..890e1cbb64 100644
--- a/imap-send.c
+++ b/imap-send.c
@@ -1494,7 +1494,7 @@ 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;
diff --git a/remote-curl.c b/remote-curl.c
index 15e48e25fb..6ebc2a0c11 100644
--- a/remote-curl.c
+++ b/remote-curl.c
@@ -984,7 +984,7 @@ 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;
diff --git a/remote-testsvn.c b/remote-testsvn.c
index f05ff45298..32631eb14a 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,
diff --git a/sh-i18n--envsubst.c b/sh-i18n--envsubst.c
index 2842a22d7f..e06b2c1311 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 c5439a63e9..3dd7fdcfe6 100644
--- a/shell.c
+++ b/shell.c
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ static struct commands {
 	{ NULL },
 };
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	char *prog;
 	const char **user_argv;
diff --git a/show-index.c b/show-index.c
index acf8d5445a..575f9c5894 100644
--- a/show-index.c
+++ b/show-index.c
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 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;
diff --git a/test-chmtime.c b/test-chmtime.c
index dfe8a83261..e760256406 100644
--- a/test-chmtime.c
+++ b/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/test-config.c b/test-config.c
index 6a77552210..d143cd7222 100644
--- a/test-config.c
+++ b/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/test-ctype.c b/test-ctype.c
index 707a821f03..bb72c47df5 100644
--- a/test-ctype.c
+++ b/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/test-date.c b/test-date.c
index 63f373557e..0f3cfb1721 100644
--- a/test-date.c
+++ b/test-date.c
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ static const char *usage_msg = "\n"
 "  test-date parse [date]...\n"
 "  test-date approxidate [date]...\n";
 
-static void show_dates(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
+static void show_dates(const char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 {
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ static void show_dates(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 	strbuf_release(&buf);
 }
 
-static void parse_dates(char **argv, struct timeval *now)
+static void parse_dates(const char **argv, struct timeval *now)
 {
 	struct strbuf result = STRBUF_INIT;
 
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ 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;
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ 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/test-delta.c b/test-delta.c
index 4595cd6433..59937dc1be 100644
--- a/test-delta.c
+++ b/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/test-dump-cache-tree.c b/test-dump-cache-tree.c
index bb53c0aa65..44f3290258 100644
--- a/test-dump-cache-tree.c
+++ b/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/test-dump-split-index.c b/test-dump-split-index.c
index 861d28c9b6..d1689248b4 100644
--- a/test-dump-split-index.c
+++ b/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/test-dump-untracked-cache.c b/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
index 0a1c285246..50112cc858 100644
--- a/test-dump-untracked-cache.c
+++ b/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/test-fake-ssh.c b/test-fake-ssh.c
index 980de216e1..12beee99ad 100644
--- a/test-fake-ssh.c
+++ b/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/test-genrandom.c b/test-genrandom.c
index 54824d0754..8d11d22d98 100644
--- a/test-genrandom.c
+++ b/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/test-hashmap.c b/test-hashmap.c
index cc2891dd97..7aa9440e27 100644
--- a/test-hashmap.c
+++ b/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/test-index-version.c b/test-index-version.c
index 05d4699c4a..f569f6b7ef 100644
--- a/test-index-version.c
+++ b/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/test-line-buffer.c b/test-line-buffer.c
index 1e58f0476f..81575fe2ab 100644
--- a/test-line-buffer.c
+++ b/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/test-match-trees.c b/test-match-trees.c
index 4dad7095f1..afcdc143b5 100644
--- a/test-match-trees.c
+++ b/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)
 {
 	unsigned char hash1[20], hash2[20], shifted[20];
 	struct tree *one, *two;
diff --git a/test-mergesort.c b/test-mergesort.c
index ea3b959e94..335cf6b626 100644
--- a/test-mergesort.c
+++ b/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/test-mktemp.c b/test-mktemp.c
index c8c54213a3..89d9b2f7be 100644
--- a/test-mktemp.c
+++ b/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/test-parse-options.c b/test-parse-options.c
index 2c8c8f18ed..7adae43b87 100644
--- a/test-parse-options.c
+++ b/test-parse-options.c
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ static int number_callback(const struct option *opt, const char *arg, int unset)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	const char *prefix = "prefix/";
 	const char *usage[] = {
diff --git a/test-path-utils.c b/test-path-utils.c
index ba805b374c..1ebe0f750c 100644
--- a/test-path-utils.c
+++ b/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/test-prio-queue.c b/test-prio-queue.c
index 7be72f0086..ae58fff359 100644
--- a/test-prio-queue.c
+++ b/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/test-read-cache.c b/test-read-cache.c
index b25bcf139b..2a7990efc3 100644
--- a/test-read-cache.c
+++ b/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/test-regex.c b/test-regex.c
index 0dc598ecdc..37b7f06e55 100644
--- a/test-regex.c
+++ b/test-regex.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char **argv)
+int cmd_main(int argc, const char **argv)
 {
 	char *pat = "[^={} \t]+";
 	char *str = "={}\nfred";
diff --git a/test-revision-walking.c b/test-revision-walking.c
index 3d0313354b..b8e6fe1d00 100644
--- a/test-revision-walking.c
+++ b/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/test-run-command.c b/test-run-command.c
index 30a64a98dc..c71ea4f759 100644
--- a/test-run-command.c
+++ b/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/test-scrap-cache-tree.c b/test-scrap-cache-tree.c
index 6efee31a48..5b2fd09908 100644
--- a/test-scrap-cache-tree.c
+++ b/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/test-sha1-array.c b/test-sha1-array.c
index 60ea1d5f14..09f7790971 100644
--- a/test-sha1-array.c
+++ b/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/test-sha1.c b/test-sha1.c
index e57eae10bf..a1c13f54ec 100644
--- a/test-sha1.c
+++ b/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/test-sigchain.c b/test-sigchain.c
index e499fce60f..b71edbd442 100644
--- a/test-sigchain.c
+++ b/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/test-string-list.c b/test-string-list.c
index 14bdf9d215..4a68967bd1 100644
--- a/test-string-list.c
+++ b/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/test-submodule-config.c b/test-submodule-config.c
index dab8c27768..2cffded116 100644
--- a/test-submodule-config.c
+++ b/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/test-subprocess.c b/test-subprocess.c
index 56881a0324..30c5765bfc 100644
--- a/test-subprocess.c
+++ b/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/test-svn-fe.c b/test-svn-fe.c
index 120ec96b0d..7667c0803f 100644
--- a/test-svn-fe.c
+++ b/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/test-urlmatch-normalization.c b/test-urlmatch-normalization.c
index 090bf219a7..49b6e836be 100644
--- a/test-urlmatch-normalization.c
+++ b/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/test-wildmatch.c b/test-wildmatch.c
index 578b164fe6..52be876fed 100644
--- a/test-wildmatch.c
+++ b/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 dc802a07c2..909ce68cfb 100644
--- a/upload-pack.c
+++ b/upload-pack.c
@@ -817,9 +817,9 @@ 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;
 
@@ -830,7 +830,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	check_replace_refs = 0;
 
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
-		char *arg = argv[i];
+		const char *arg = argv[i];
 
 		if (arg[0] != '-')
 			break;