diff --git a/builtin/add.c b/builtin/add.c
index ab1c9e8fb7..8b2aa5bff1 100644
--- a/builtin/add.c
+++ b/builtin/add.c
@@ -238,6 +238,7 @@ static int edit_patch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 
 	argc = setup_revisions(argc, argv, &rev, NULL);
 	rev.diffopt.output_format = DIFF_FORMAT_PATCH;
+	rev.diffopt.use_color = 0;
 	DIFF_OPT_SET(&rev.diffopt, IGNORE_DIRTY_SUBMODULES);
 	out = open(file, O_CREAT | O_WRONLY, 0666);
 	if (out < 0)