diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index 3b5f0c4c00..7efba7756d 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -530,6 +530,12 @@ static inline void hashclr(unsigned char *hash)
 }
 extern int is_empty_blob_sha1(const unsigned char *sha1);
 
+#define EMPTY_TREE_SHA1_HEX \
+	"4b825dc642cb6eb9a060e54bf8d69288fbee4904"
+#define EMPTY_TREE_SHA1_BIN \
+	 "\x4b\x82\x5d\xc6\x42\xcb\x6e\xb9\xa0\x60" \
+	 "\xe5\x4b\xf8\xd6\x92\x88\xfb\xee\x49\x04"
+
 int git_mkstemp(char *path, size_t n, const char *template);
 
 /*
diff --git a/sha1_file.c b/sha1_file.c
index 0fa65baa59..75a748a644 100644
--- a/sha1_file.c
+++ b/sha1_file.c
@@ -2055,9 +2055,7 @@ static struct cached_object {
 static int cached_object_nr, cached_object_alloc;
 
 static struct cached_object empty_tree = {
-	/* empty tree sha1: 4b825dc642cb6eb9a060e54bf8d69288fbee4904 */
-	"\x4b\x82\x5d\xc6\x42\xcb\x6e\xb9\xa0\x60"
-	"\xe5\x4b\xf8\xd6\x92\x88\xfb\xee\x49\x04",
+	EMPTY_TREE_SHA1_BIN,
 	OBJ_TREE,
 	"",
 	0
diff --git a/t/t7507-commit-verbose.sh b/t/t7507-commit-verbose.sh
index 519adba80b..da5bd3b5a5 100755
--- a/t/t7507-commit-verbose.sh
+++ b/t/t7507-commit-verbose.sh
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ test_expect_success 'setup' '
 	git commit -F message
 '
 
-test_expect_failure 'initial commit shows verbose diff' '
+test_expect_success 'initial commit shows verbose diff' '
 	git commit --amend -v
 '
 
diff --git a/wt-status.c b/wt-status.c
index 6a7645ed86..3edae43ce9 100644
--- a/wt-status.c
+++ b/wt-status.c
@@ -185,31 +185,12 @@ static void wt_status_print_changed_cb(struct diff_queue_struct *q,
 		wt_status_print_trailer(s);
 }
 
-static void wt_status_print_initial(struct wt_status *s)
-{
-	int i;
-	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
-
-	if (active_nr) {
-		s->commitable = 1;
-		wt_status_print_cached_header(s);
-	}
-	for (i = 0; i < active_nr; i++) {
-		color_fprintf(s->fp, color(WT_STATUS_HEADER), "#\t");
-		color_fprintf_ln(s->fp, color(WT_STATUS_UPDATED), "new file: %s",
-				quote_path(active_cache[i]->name, -1,
-					   &buf, s->prefix));
-	}
-	if (active_nr)
-		wt_status_print_trailer(s);
-	strbuf_release(&buf);
-}
-
 static void wt_status_print_updated(struct wt_status *s)
 {
 	struct rev_info rev;
 	init_revisions(&rev, NULL);
-	setup_revisions(0, NULL, &rev, s->reference);
+	setup_revisions(0, NULL, &rev,
+		s->is_initial ? EMPTY_TREE_SHA1_HEX : s->reference);
 	rev.diffopt.output_format |= DIFF_FORMAT_CALLBACK;
 	rev.diffopt.format_callback = wt_status_print_updated_cb;
 	rev.diffopt.format_callback_data = s;
@@ -298,7 +279,8 @@ static void wt_status_print_verbose(struct wt_status *s)
 	struct rev_info rev;
 
 	init_revisions(&rev, NULL);
-	setup_revisions(0, NULL, &rev, s->reference);
+	setup_revisions(0, NULL, &rev,
+		s->is_initial ? EMPTY_TREE_SHA1_HEX : s->reference);
 	rev.diffopt.output_format |= DIFF_FORMAT_PATCH;
 	rev.diffopt.detect_rename = 1;
 	DIFF_OPT_SET(&rev.diffopt, ALLOW_TEXTCONV);
@@ -360,12 +342,9 @@ void wt_status_print(struct wt_status *s)
 		color_fprintf_ln(s->fp, color(WT_STATUS_HEADER), "#");
 		color_fprintf_ln(s->fp, color(WT_STATUS_HEADER), "# Initial commit");
 		color_fprintf_ln(s->fp, color(WT_STATUS_HEADER), "#");
-		wt_status_print_initial(s);
-	}
-	else {
-		wt_status_print_updated(s);
 	}
 
+	wt_status_print_updated(s);
 	wt_status_print_changed(s);
 	if (wt_status_submodule_summary)
 		wt_status_print_submodule_summary(s);
@@ -374,7 +353,7 @@ void wt_status_print(struct wt_status *s)
 	else if (s->commitable)
 		 fprintf(s->fp, "# Untracked files not listed (use -u option to show untracked files)\n");
 
-	if (s->verbose && !s->is_initial)
+	if (s->verbose)
 		wt_status_print_verbose(s);
 	if (!s->commitable) {
 		if (s->amend)