patch, 13 partscredential helpers, take two

diff --git a/t/test-lib.sh b/t/test-lib.sh
index bdd9513..160479b 100644
--- a/t/test-lib.sh
+++ b/t/test-lib.sh
@@ -379,6 +379,11 @@ test_config () {
 	git config "$@"
 }
 
+test_config_global () {
+	test_when_finished "test_unconfig --global '$1'" &&
+	git config --global "$@"
+}
+
 # Use test_set_prereq to tell that a particular prerequisite is available.
 # The prerequisite can later be checked for in two ways:
 #

diff --git a/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh b/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
index 311a33c..3d6e871 100755
--- a/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
+++ b/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ test_expect_success 'cloning password-protected repository can fail' '
 
 test_expect_success 'http auth can use user/pass in URL' '
 	>askpass-query &&
-	echo wrong >askpass-reponse &&
+	echo wrong >askpass-response &&
 	git clone "$HTTPD_URL_USER_PASS/auth/repo.git" clone-auth-none &&
 	test_cmp askpass-expect-none askpass-query
 '

.gitignore, Documentation/technical/api-credentials.txt, Makefile, credential.c, credential.h, t/lib-credential.sh, t/t0300-credentials.sh, test-credential.c

diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 8572c8c..7d2fefc 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -167,6 +167,7 @@
 /gitweb/static/gitweb.js
 /gitweb/static/gitweb.min.*
 /test-chmtime
+/test-credential
 /test-ctype
 /test-date
 /test-delta
diff --git a/Documentation/technical/api-credentials.txt b/Documentation/technical/api-credentials.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3061077
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/technical/api-credentials.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+credentials API
+===============
+
+The credentials API provides an abstracted way of gathering username and
+password credentials from the user (even though credentials in the wider
+world can take many forms, in this document the word "credential" always
+refers to a username and password pair).
+
+Data Structures
+---------------
+
+`struct credential`::
+
+	This struct represents a single username/password combination
+	along with any associated context. All string fields should be
+	heap-allocated (or NULL if they are not known or not applicable).
+	The meaning of the individual context fields is the same as
+	their counterparts in the helper protocol; see the section below
+	for a description of each field.
++
+The `helpers` member of the struct is a `string_list` of helpers.  Each
+string specifies an external helper which will be run, in order, to
+either acquire or store credentials. See the section on credential
+storage helpers below.
++
+This struct should always be initialized with `CREDENTIAL_INIT` or
+`credential_init`.
+
+
+Functions
+---------
+
+`credential_init`::
+
+	Initialize a credential structure, setting all fields to empty.
+
+`credential_clear`::
+
+	Free any resources associated with the credential structure,
+	returning it to a pristine initialized state.
+
+`credential_fill`::
+
+	Attempt to fill the username and password fields of the passed
+	credential struct, first consulting storage helpers, then asking
+	the user. Guarantees that the username and password fields will
+	be filled afterwards (or die() will be called).
+
+`credential_reject`::
+
+	Inform the credential subsystem that the provided credentials
+	have been rejected. This will notify any storage helpers of the
+	rejection (which allows them to, for example, purge the invalid
+	credentials from storage), and then clear the username and
+	password fields in `struct credential`. It can then be
+	`credential_fill`-ed again.
+
+`credential_approve`::
+
+	Inform the credential subsystem that the provided credentials
+	were successfully used for authentication. This will notify any
+	storage helpers of the approval, so that they can store the
+	result to be used again.
+
+
+Credential Storage Helpers
+--------------------------
+
+Credential storage helpers are programs executed by git to fetch or save
+credentials from and to long-term storage (where "long-term" is simply
+longer than a single git process; e.g., credentials may be stored
+in-memory for a few minutes, or indefinitely on disk).
+
+Helper scripts should generally be found in the PATH, and have names of
+the form "git-credential-$HELPER". When the helper string "$HELPER" is
+passed to credential functions, they will run "git-credential-$HELPER"
+via the shell. If the first word of $HELPER contains non-alphanumeric
+characters, then $HELPER is executed as a shell command. This makes it
+possible to specify individual scripts by their full path (e.g.,
+`/path/to/helper`) or even shell snippets (`f() { do_whatever; }; f`).
+
+When a helper is executed, it will have one "operation" argument
+appended to its command line, which is one of:
+
+`get`::
+
+	Return a matching credential, if any exists.
+
+`store`::
+
+	Store the credential, if applicable to the helper.
+
+`erase`::
+
+	Remove a matching credential, if any, from the helper's storage.
+
+The details of the credential will be provided on the helper's stdin
+stream. The credential is split into a set of named attributes.
+Attributes are provided to the helper, one per line. Each attribute is
+specified by a key-value pair, separated by an `=` (equals) sign,
+followed by a newline. The key may contain any bytes except `=` or
+newline. The value may contain any bytes except a newline.  In both
+cases, all bytes are treated as-is (i.e., there is no quoting, and one
+cannot transmit a value with newline in it). The list of attributes is
+terminated by a blank line or end-of-file.
+
+Git will send the following attributes (but may not send all of
+them for a given credential; for example, a `host` attribute makes no
+sense when dealing with a non-network protocol):
+
+`protocol`::
+
+	The protocol over which the credential will be used (e.g.,
+	`https`).
+
+`host`::
+
+	The remote hostname for a network credential.
+
+`path`::
+
+	The path with which the credential will be used. E.g., for
+	accessing a remote https repository, this will be the
+	repository's path on the server.
+
+`username`::
+
+	The credential's username, if we already have one (e.g., from a
+	URL, from the user, or from a previously run helper).
+
+`password`::
+
+	The credential's password, if we are asking it to be stored.
+
+For a `get` operation, the helper should produce a list of attributes
+on stdout in the same format. A helper is free to produce a subset, or
+even no values at all if it has nothing useful to provide. Any provided
+attributes will overwrite those already known about by git.
+
+For a `store` or `erase` operation, the helper's output is ignored.
+If it fails to perform the requested operation, it may complain to
+stderr to inform the user. If it does not support the requested
+operation (e.g., a read-only store), it should silently ignore the
+request.
+
+If a helper receives any other operation, it should silently ignore the
+request. This leaves room for future operations to be added (older
+helpers will just ignore the new requests).
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index b1c80a6..5ca363b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -431,6 +431,7 @@ PROGRAM_OBJS += sh-i18n--envsubst.o
 PROGRAMS += $(patsubst %.o,git-%$X,$(PROGRAM_OBJS))
 
 TEST_PROGRAMS_NEED_X += test-chmtime
+TEST_PROGRAMS_NEED_X += test-credential
 TEST_PROGRAMS_NEED_X += test-ctype
 TEST_PROGRAMS_NEED_X += test-date
 TEST_PROGRAMS_NEED_X += test-delta
@@ -525,6 +526,7 @@ LIB_H += compat/win32/poll.h
 LIB_H += compat/win32/dirent.h
 LIB_H += connected.h
 LIB_H += convert.h
+LIB_H += credential.h
 LIB_H += csum-file.h
 LIB_H += decorate.h
 LIB_H += delta.h
@@ -609,6 +611,7 @@ LIB_OBJS += connect.o
 LIB_OBJS += connected.o
 LIB_OBJS += convert.o
 LIB_OBJS += copy.o
+LIB_OBJS += credential.o
 LIB_OBJS += csum-file.o
 LIB_OBJS += ctype.o
 LIB_OBJS += date.o
diff --git a/credential.c b/credential.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d50a611
--- /dev/null
+++ b/credential.c
@@ -0,0 +1,242 @@
+#include "cache.h"
+#include "credential.h"
+#include "string-list.h"
+#include "run-command.h"
+
+void credential_init(struct credential *c)
+{
+	memset(c, 0, sizeof(*c));
+	c->helpers.strdup_strings = 1;
+}
+
+void credential_clear(struct credential *c)
+{
+	free(c->protocol);
+	free(c->host);
+	free(c->path);
+	free(c->username);
+	free(c->password);
+	string_list_clear(&c->helpers, 0);
+
+	credential_init(c);
+}
+
+static void credential_describe(struct credential *c, struct strbuf *out)
+{
+	if (!c->protocol)
+		return;
+	strbuf_addf(out, "%s://", c->protocol);
+	if (c->username && *c->username)
+		strbuf_addf(out, "%s@", c->username);
+	if (c->host)
+		strbuf_addstr(out, c->host);
+	if (c->path)
+		strbuf_addf(out, "/%s", c->path);
+}
+
+static char *credential_ask_one(const char *what, struct credential *c)
+{
+	struct strbuf desc = STRBUF_INIT;
+	struct strbuf prompt = STRBUF_INIT;
+	char *r;
+
+	credential_describe(c, &desc);
+	if (desc.len)
+		strbuf_addf(&prompt, "%s for '%s': ", what, desc.buf);
+	else
+		strbuf_addf(&prompt, "%s: ", what);
+
+	/* FIXME: for usernames, we should do something less magical that
+	 * actually echoes the characters. However, we need to read from
+	 * /dev/tty and not stdio, which is not portable (but getpass will do
+	 * it for us). http.c uses the same workaround. */
+	r = git_getpass(prompt.buf);
+
+	strbuf_release(&desc);
+	strbuf_release(&prompt);
+	return xstrdup(r);
+}
+
+static void credential_getpass(struct credential *c)
+{
+	if (!c->username)
+		c->username = credential_ask_one("Username", c);
+	if (!c->password)
+		c->password = credential_ask_one("Password", c);
+}
+
+int credential_read(struct credential *c, FILE *fp)
+{
+	struct strbuf line = STRBUF_INIT;
+
+	while (strbuf_getline(&line, fp, '\n') != EOF) {
+		char *key = line.buf;
+		char *value = strchr(key, '=');
+
+		if (!line.len)
+			break;
+
+		if (!value) {
+			warning("invalid credential line: %s", key);
+			strbuf_release(&line);
+			return -1;
+		}
+		*value++ = '\0';
+
+		if (!strcmp(key, "username")) {
+			free(c->username);
+			c->username = xstrdup(value);
+		}
+		else if (!strcmp(key, "password")) {
+			free(c->password);
+			c->password = xstrdup(value);
+		}
+		else if (!strcmp(key, "protocol")) {
+			free(c->protocol);
+			c->protocol = xstrdup(value);
+		}
+		else if (!strcmp(key, "host")) {
+			free(c->host);
+			c->host = xstrdup(value);
+		}
+		else if (!strcmp(key, "path")) {
+			free(c->path);
+			c->path = xstrdup(value);
+		}
+		/* ignore other lines; we don't know what they mean, but
+		 * this future-proofs us when later versions of git do
+		 * learn new lines, and the helpers are updated to match */
+	}
+
+	strbuf_release(&line);
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static void credential_write_item(FILE *fp, const char *key, const char *value)
+{
+	if (!value)
+		return;
+	fprintf(fp, "%s=%s\n", key, value);
+}
+
+static void credential_write(const struct credential *c, FILE *fp)
+{
+	credential_write_item(fp, "protocol", c->protocol);
+	credential_write_item(fp, "host", c->host);
+	credential_write_item(fp, "path", c->path);
+	credential_write_item(fp, "username", c->username);
+	credential_write_item(fp, "password", c->password);
+}
+
+static int first_word_is_alnum(const char *s)
+{
+	for (; *s && *s != ' '; s++)
+		if (!isalnum(*s))
+			return 0;
+	return 1;
+}
+
+static int run_credential_helper(struct credential *c,
+				 const char *cmd,
+				 int want_output)
+{
+	struct child_process helper;
+	const char *argv[] = { NULL, NULL };
+	FILE *fp;
+
+	memset(&helper, 0, sizeof(helper));
+	argv[0] = cmd;
+	helper.argv = argv;
+	helper.use_shell = 1;
+	helper.in = -1;
+	if (want_output)
+		helper.out = -1;
+	else
+		helper.no_stdout = 1;
+
+	if (start_command(&helper) < 0)
+		return -1;
+
+	fp = xfdopen(helper.in, "w");
+	credential_write(c, fp);
+	fclose(fp);
+
+	if (want_output) {
+		int r;
+		fp = xfdopen(helper.out, "r");
+		r = credential_read(c, fp);
+		fclose(fp);
+		if (r < 0) {
+			finish_command(&helper);
+			return -1;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (finish_command(&helper))
+		return -1;
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int credential_do(struct credential *c, const char *method,
+			 const char *operation)
+{
+	struct strbuf cmd = STRBUF_INIT;
+	int r;
+
+	if (first_word_is_alnum(method))
+		strbuf_addf(&cmd, "git credential-%s", method);
+	else
+		strbuf_addstr(&cmd, method);
+	strbuf_addf(&cmd, " %s", operation);
+
+	r = run_credential_helper(c, cmd.buf, !strcmp(operation, "get"));
+
+	strbuf_release(&cmd);
+	return r;
+}
+
+void credential_fill(struct credential *c)
+{
+	int i;
+
+	if (c->username && c->password)
+		return;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < c->helpers.nr; i++) {
+		credential_do(c, c->helpers.items[i].string, "get");
+		if (c->username && c->password)
+			return;
+	}
+
+	credential_getpass(c);
+	if (!c->username && !c->password)
+		die("unable to get password from user");
+}
+
+void credential_approve(struct credential *c)
+{
+	int i;
+
+	if (c->approved)
+		return;
+	if (!c->username || !c->password)
+		return;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < c->helpers.nr; i++)
+		credential_do(c, c->helpers.items[i].string, "store");
+	c->approved = 1;
+}
+
+void credential_reject(struct credential *c)
+{
+	int i;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < c->helpers.nr; i++)
+		credential_do(c, c->helpers.items[i].string, "erase");
+
+	free(c->username);
+	c->username = NULL;
+	free(c->password);
+	c->password = NULL;
+	c->approved = 0;
+}
diff --git a/credential.h b/credential.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ea7d49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/credential.h
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#ifndef CREDENTIAL_H
+#define CREDENTIAL_H
+
+#include "string-list.h"
+
+struct credential {
+	struct string_list helpers;
+	unsigned approved:1;
+
+	char *username;
+	char *password;
+	char *protocol;
+	char *host;
+	char *path;
+};
+
+#define CREDENTIAL_INIT { STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP }
+
+void credential_init(struct credential *);
+void credential_clear(struct credential *);
+
+void credential_fill(struct credential *);
+void credential_approve(struct credential *);
+void credential_reject(struct credential *);
+
+int credential_read(struct credential *, FILE *);
+
+#endif /* CREDENTIAL_H */
diff --git a/t/lib-credential.sh b/t/lib-credential.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..54ae1f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/lib-credential.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# Try a set of credential helpers; the expected stdin,
+# stdout and stderr should be provided on stdin,
+# separated by "--".
+check() {
+	read_chunk >stdin &&
+	read_chunk >expect-stdout &&
+	read_chunk >expect-stderr &&
+	test-credential "$@" <stdin >stdout 2>stderr &&
+	test_cmp expect-stdout stdout &&
+	test_cmp expect-stderr stderr
+}
+
+read_chunk() {
+	while read line; do
+		case "$line" in
+		--) break ;;
+		*) echo "$line" ;;
+		esac
+	done
+}
+
+
+cat >askpass <<\EOF
+#!/bin/sh
+echo >&2 askpass: $*
+what=`echo $1 | cut -d" " -f1 | tr A-Z a-z | tr -cd a-z`
+echo "askpass-$what"
+EOF
+chmod +x askpass
+GIT_ASKPASS="$PWD/askpass"
+export GIT_ASKPASS
diff --git a/t/t0300-credentials.sh b/t/t0300-credentials.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..81a455f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t0300-credentials.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,195 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description='basic credential helper tests'
+. ./test-lib.sh
+. "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/lib-credential.sh
+
+test_expect_success 'setup helper scripts' '
+	cat >dump <<-\EOF &&
+	whoami=`echo $0 | sed s/.*git-credential-//`
+	echo >&2 "$whoami: $*"
+	while IFS== read key value; do
+		echo >&2 "$whoami: $key=$value"
+		eval "$key=$value"
+	done
+	EOF
+
+	cat >git-credential-useless <<-\EOF &&
+	#!/bin/sh
+	. ./dump
+	exit 0
+	EOF
+	chmod +x git-credential-useless &&
+
+	cat >git-credential-verbatim <<-\EOF &&
+	#!/bin/sh
+	user=$1; shift
+	pass=$1; shift
+	. ./dump
+	test -z "$user" || echo username=$user
+	test -z "$pass" || echo password=$pass
+	EOF
+	chmod +x git-credential-verbatim &&
+
+	PATH="$PWD:$PATH"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'credential_fill invokes helper' '
+	check fill "verbatim foo bar" <<-\EOF
+	--
+	username=foo
+	password=bar
+	--
+	verbatim: get
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'credential_fill invokes multiple helpers' '
+	check fill useless "verbatim foo bar" <<-\EOF
+	--
+	username=foo
+	password=bar
+	--
+	useless: get
+	verbatim: get
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'credential_fill stops when we get a full response' '
+	check fill "verbatim one two" "verbatim three four" <<-\EOF
+	--
+	username=one
+	password=two
+	--
+	verbatim: get
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'credential_fill continues through partial response' '
+	check fill "verbatim one \"\"" "verbatim two three" <<-\EOF
+	--
+	username=two
+	password=three
+	--
+	verbatim: get
+	verbatim: get
+	verbatim: username=one
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'credential_fill passes along metadata' '
+	check fill "verbatim one two" <<-\EOF
+	protocol=ftp
+	host=example.com
+	path=foo.git
+	--
+	username=one
+	password=two
+	--
+	verbatim: get
+	verbatim: protocol=ftp
+	verbatim: host=example.com
+	verbatim: path=foo.git
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'credential_approve calls all helpers' '
+	check approve useless "verbatim one two" <<-\EOF
+	username=foo
+	password=bar
+	--
+	--
+	useless: store
+	useless: username=foo
+	useless: password=bar
+	verbatim: store
+	verbatim: username=foo
+	verbatim: password=bar
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'do not bother storing password-less credential' '
+	check approve useless <<-\EOF
+	username=foo
+	--
+	--
+	EOF
+'
+
+
+test_expect_success 'credential_reject calls all helpers' '
+	check reject useless "verbatim one two" <<-\EOF
+	username=foo
+	password=bar
+	--
+	--
+	useless: erase
+	useless: username=foo
+	useless: password=bar
+	verbatim: erase
+	verbatim: username=foo
+	verbatim: password=bar
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'usernames can be preserved' '
+	check fill "verbatim \"\" three" <<-\EOF
+	username=one
+	--
+	username=one
+	password=three
+	--
+	verbatim: get
+	verbatim: username=one
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'usernames can be overridden' '
+	check fill "verbatim two three" <<-\EOF
+	username=one
+	--
+	username=two
+	password=three
+	--
+	verbatim: get
+	verbatim: username=one
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'do not bother completing already-full credential' '
+	check fill "verbatim three four" <<-\EOF
+	username=one
+	password=two
+	--
+	username=one
+	password=two
+	--
+	EOF
+'
+
+# We can't test the basic terminal password prompt here because
+# getpass() tries too hard to find the real terminal. But if our
+# askpass helper is run, we know the internal getpass is working.
+test_expect_success 'empty helper list falls back to internal getpass' '
+	check fill <<-\EOF
+	--
+	username=askpass-username
+	password=askpass-password
+	--
+	askpass: Username:
+	askpass: Password:
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'internal getpass does not ask for known username' '
+	check fill <<-\EOF
+	username=foo
+	--
+	username=foo
+	password=askpass-password
+	--
+	askpass: Password:
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_done
diff --git a/test-credential.c b/test-credential.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dee200e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-credential.c
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+#include "cache.h"
+#include "credential.h"
+#include "string-list.h"
+
+static const char usage_msg[] =
+"test-credential <fill|approve|reject> [helper...]";
+
+int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+{
+	const char *op;
+	struct credential c = CREDENTIAL_INIT;
+	int i;
+
+	op = argv[1];
+	if (!op)
+		usage(usage_msg);
+	for (i = 2; i < argc; i++)
+		string_list_append(&c.helpers, argv[i]);
+
+	if (credential_read(&c, stdin) < 0)
+		die("unable to read credential from stdin");
+
+	if (!strcmp(op, "fill")) {
+		credential_fill(&c);
+		if (c.username)
+			printf("username=%s\n", c.username);
+		if (c.password)
+			printf("password=%s\n", c.password);
+	}
+	else if (!strcmp(op, "approve"))
+		credential_approve(&c);
+	else if (!strcmp(op, "reject"))
+		credential_reject(&c);
+	else
+		usage(usage_msg);
+
+	return 0;
+}

Documentation/technical/api-credentials.txt, credential.c, credential.h

diff --git a/Documentation/technical/api-credentials.txt b/Documentation/technical/api-credentials.txt
index 3061077..0dca0bf 100644
--- a/Documentation/technical/api-credentials.txt
+++ b/Documentation/technical/api-credentials.txt
@@ -62,6 +62,9 @@ Functions
 	storage helpers of the approval, so that they can store the
 	result to be used again.
 
+`credential_from_url`::
+
+	Parse a URL into broken-down credential fields.
 
 Credential Storage Helpers
 --------------------------
diff --git a/credential.c b/credential.c
index d50a611..5cc4319 100644
--- a/credential.c
+++ b/credential.c
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #include "credential.h"
 #include "string-list.h"
 #include "run-command.h"
+#include "url.h"
 
 void credential_init(struct credential *c)
 {
@@ -240,3 +241,54 @@ void credential_reject(struct credential *c)
 	c->password = NULL;
 	c->approved = 0;
 }
+
+void credential_from_url(struct credential *c, const char *url)
+{
+	const char *at, *colon, *cp, *slash, *host, *proto_end;
+
+	credential_clear(c);
+
+	/*
+	 * Match one of:
+	 *   (1) proto://<host>/...
+	 *   (2) proto://<user>@<host>/...
+	 *   (3) proto://<user>:<pass>@<host>/...
+	 */
+	proto_end = strstr(url, "://");
+	if (!proto_end)
+		return;
+	cp = proto_end + 3;
+	at = strchr(cp, '@');
+	colon = strchr(cp, ':');
+	slash = strchrnul(cp, '/');
+
+	if (!at || slash <= at) {
+		/* Case (1) */
+		host = cp;
+	}
+	else if (!colon || at <= colon) {
+		/* Case (2) */
+		c->username = url_decode_mem(cp, at - cp);
+		host = at + 1;
+	} else {
+		/* Case (3) */
+		c->username = url_decode_mem(cp, colon - cp);
+		c->password = url_decode_mem(colon + 1, at - (colon + 1));
+		host = at + 1;
+	}
+
+	if (proto_end - url > 0)
+		c->protocol = xmemdupz(url, proto_end - url);
+	if (slash - host > 0)
+		c->host = url_decode_mem(host, slash - host);
+	/* Trim leading and trailing slashes from path */
+	while (*slash == '/')
+		slash++;
+	if (*slash) {
+		char *p;
+		c->path = url_decode(slash);
+		p = c->path + strlen(c->path) - 1;
+		while (p > c->path && *p == '/')
+			*p-- = '\0';
+	}
+}
diff --git a/credential.h b/credential.h
index 2ea7d49..8a6d162 100644
--- a/credential.h
+++ b/credential.h
@@ -24,5 +24,6 @@ struct credential {
 void credential_reject(struct credential *);
 
 int credential_read(struct credential *, FILE *);
+void credential_from_url(struct credential *, const char *url);
 
 #endif /* CREDENTIAL_H */

http.c, t/t5550-http-fetch.sh

diff --git a/http.c b/http.c
index e6c7597..917a1ae 100644
--- a/http.c
+++ b/http.c
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #include "sideband.h"
 #include "run-command.h"
 #include "url.h"
+#include "credential.h"
 
 int data_received;
 int active_requests;
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@
 static int curl_ftp_no_epsv;
 static const char *curl_http_proxy;
 static const char *curl_cookie_file;
-static char *user_name, *user_pass, *description;
+static struct credential http_auth = CREDENTIAL_INIT;
 static const char *user_agent;
 
 #if LIBCURL_VERSION_NUM >= 0x071700
@@ -53,7 +54,7 @@
 #define CURLOPT_KEYPASSWD CURLOPT_SSLCERTPASSWD
 #endif
 
-static char *ssl_cert_password;
+static struct credential cert_auth = CREDENTIAL_INIT;
 static int ssl_cert_password_required;
 
 static struct curl_slist *pragma_header;
@@ -139,27 +140,6 @@ static void process_curl_messages(void)
 }
 #endif
 
-static char *git_getpass_with_description(const char *what, const char *desc)
-{
-	struct strbuf prompt = STRBUF_INIT;
-	char *r;
-
-	if (desc)
-		strbuf_addf(&prompt, "%s for '%s': ", what, desc);
-	else
-		strbuf_addf(&prompt, "%s: ", what);
-	/*
-	 * NEEDSWORK: for usernames, we should do something less magical that
-	 * actually echoes the characters. However, we need to read from
-	 * /dev/tty and not stdio, which is not portable (but getpass will do
-	 * it for us). http.c uses the same workaround.
-	 */
-	r = git_getpass(prompt.buf);
-
-	strbuf_release(&prompt);
-	return xstrdup(r);
-}
-
 static int http_options(const char *var, const char *value, void *cb)
 {
 	if (!strcmp("http.sslverify", var)) {
@@ -232,11 +212,11 @@ static int http_options(const char *var, const char *value, void *cb)
 
 static void init_curl_http_auth(CURL *result)
 {
-	if (user_name) {
+	if (http_auth.username) {
 		struct strbuf up = STRBUF_INIT;
-		if (!user_pass)
-			user_pass = xstrdup(git_getpass_with_description("Password", description));
-		strbuf_addf(&up, "%s:%s", user_name, user_pass);
+		credential_fill(&http_auth);
+		strbuf_addf(&up, "%s:%s",
+			    http_auth.username, http_auth.password);
 		curl_easy_setopt(result, CURLOPT_USERPWD,
 				 strbuf_detach(&up, NULL));
 	}
@@ -244,18 +224,14 @@ static void init_curl_http_auth(CURL *result)
 
 static int has_cert_password(void)
 {
-	if (ssl_cert_password != NULL)
-		return 1;
 	if (ssl_cert == NULL || ssl_cert_password_required != 1)
 		return 0;
-	/* Only prompt the user once. */
-	ssl_cert_password_required = -1;
-	ssl_cert_password = git_getpass_with_description("Certificate Password", description);
-	if (ssl_cert_password != NULL) {
-		ssl_cert_password = xstrdup(ssl_cert_password);
-		return 1;
-	} else
-		return 0;
+	if (!cert_auth.password) {
+		cert_auth.protocol = xstrdup("cert");
+		cert_auth.path = xstrdup(ssl_cert);
+		credential_fill(&cert_auth);
+	}
+	return 1;
 }
 
 static CURL *get_curl_handle(void)
@@ -282,7 +258,7 @@ static int has_cert_password(void)
 	if (ssl_cert != NULL)
 		curl_easy_setopt(result, CURLOPT_SSLCERT, ssl_cert);
 	if (has_cert_password())
-		curl_easy_setopt(result, CURLOPT_KEYPASSWD, ssl_cert_password);
+		curl_easy_setopt(result, CURLOPT_KEYPASSWD, cert_auth.password);
 #if LIBCURL_VERSION_NUM >= 0x070903
 	if (ssl_key != NULL)
 		curl_easy_setopt(result, CURLOPT_SSLKEY, ssl_key);
@@ -324,42 +300,6 @@ static int has_cert_password(void)
 	return result;
 }
 
-static void http_auth_init(const char *url)
-{
-	const char *at, *colon, *cp, *slash, *host;
-
-	cp = strstr(url, "://");
-	if (!cp)
-		return;
-
-	/*
-	 * Ok, the URL looks like "proto://something".  Which one?
-	 * "proto://<user>:<pass>@<host>/...",
-	 * "proto://<user>@<host>/...", or just
-	 * "proto://<host>/..."?
-	 */
-	cp += 3;
-	at = strchr(cp, '@');
-	colon = strchr(cp, ':');
-	slash = strchrnul(cp, '/');
-	if (!at || slash <= at) {
-		/* No credentials, but we may have to ask for some later */
-		host = cp;
-	}
-	else if (!colon || at <= colon) {
-		/* Only username */
-		user_name = url_decode_mem(cp, at - cp);
-		user_pass = NULL;
-		host = at + 1;
-	} else {
-		user_name = url_decode_mem(cp, colon - cp);
-		user_pass = url_decode_mem(colon + 1, at - (colon + 1));
-		host = at + 1;
-	}
-
-	description = url_decode_mem(host, slash - host);
-}
-
 static void set_from_env(const char **var, const char *envname)
 {
 	const char *val = getenv(envname);
@@ -432,7 +372,7 @@ void http_init(struct remote *remote, const char *url)
 		curl_ftp_no_epsv = 1;
 
 	if (url) {
-		http_auth_init(url);
+		credential_from_url(&http_auth, url);
 		if (!ssl_cert_password_required &&
 		    getenv("GIT_SSL_CERT_PASSWORD_PROTECTED") &&
 		    !prefixcmp(url, "https://"))
@@ -481,10 +421,10 @@ void http_cleanup(void)
 		curl_http_proxy = NULL;
 	}
 
-	if (ssl_cert_password != NULL) {
-		memset(ssl_cert_password, 0, strlen(ssl_cert_password));
-		free(ssl_cert_password);
-		ssl_cert_password = NULL;
+	if (cert_auth.password != NULL) {
+		memset(cert_auth.password, 0, strlen(cert_auth.password));
+		free(cert_auth.password);
+		cert_auth.password = NULL;
 	}
 	ssl_cert_password_required = 0;
 }
@@ -836,17 +776,11 @@ static int http_request(const char *url, void *result, int target, int options)
 		else if (missing_target(&results))
 			ret = HTTP_MISSING_TARGET;
 		else if (results.http_code == 401) {
-			if (user_name && user_pass) {
+			if (http_auth.username && http_auth.password) {
+				credential_reject(&http_auth);
 				ret = HTTP_NOAUTH;
 			} else {
-				/*
-				 * git_getpass is needed here because its very likely stdin/stdout are
-				 * pipes to our parent process.  So we instead need to use /dev/tty,
-				 * but that is non-portable.  Using git_getpass() can at least be stubbed
-				 * on other platforms with a different implementation if/when necessary.
-				 */
-				if (!user_name)
-					user_name = xstrdup(git_getpass_with_description("Username", description));
+				credential_fill(&http_auth);
 				init_curl_http_auth(slot->curl);
 				ret = HTTP_REAUTH;
 			}
@@ -866,6 +800,9 @@ static int http_request(const char *url, void *result, int target, int options)
 	curl_slist_free_all(headers);
 	strbuf_release(&buf);
 
+	if (ret == HTTP_OK)
+		credential_approve(&http_auth);
+
 	return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh b/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
index 3d6e871..398a2d2 100755
--- a/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
+++ b/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
@@ -49,40 +49,56 @@ test_expect_success 'setup askpass helpers' '
 	EOF
 	chmod +x askpass &&
 	GIT_ASKPASS="$PWD/askpass" &&
-	export GIT_ASKPASS &&
-	>askpass-expect-none &&
-	echo "askpass: Password for '\''$HTTPD_DEST'\'': " >askpass-expect-pass &&
-	{ echo "askpass: Username for '\''$HTTPD_DEST'\'': " &&
-	  cat askpass-expect-pass
-	} >askpass-expect-both
-'
+	export GIT_ASKPASS
+'
+
+expect_askpass() {
+	dest=$HTTPD_DEST/auth/repo.git
+	{
+		case "$1" in
+		none)
+			;;
+		pass)
+			echo "askpass: Password for 'http://$2@$dest': "
+			;;
+		both)
+			echo "askpass: Username for 'http://$dest': "
+			echo "askpass: Password for 'http://$2@$dest': "
+			;;
+		*)
+			false
+			;;
+		esac
+	} >askpass-expect &&
+	test_cmp askpass-expect askpass-query
+}
 
 test_expect_success 'cloning password-protected repository can fail' '
 	>askpass-query &&
 	echo wrong >askpass-response &&
 	test_must_fail git clone "$HTTPD_URL/auth/repo.git" clone-auth-fail &&
-	test_cmp askpass-expect-both askpass-query
+	expect_askpass both wrong
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'http auth can use user/pass in URL' '
 	>askpass-query &&
 	echo wrong >askpass-response &&
 	git clone "$HTTPD_URL_USER_PASS/auth/repo.git" clone-auth-none &&
-	test_cmp askpass-expect-none askpass-query
+	expect_askpass none
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'http auth can use just user in URL' '
 	>askpass-query &&
 	echo user@host >askpass-response &&
 	git clone "$HTTPD_URL_USER/auth/repo.git" clone-auth-pass &&
-	test_cmp askpass-expect-pass askpass-query
+	expect_askpass pass user@host
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'http auth can request both user and pass' '
 	>askpass-query &&
 	echo user@host >askpass-response &&
 	git clone "$HTTPD_URL/auth/repo.git" clone-auth-both &&
-	test_cmp askpass-expect-both askpass-query
+	expect_askpass both user@host
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'fetch changes via http' '

credential.c, credential.h, t/t0300-credentials.sh, t/t5550-http-fetch.sh

diff --git a/credential.c b/credential.c
index 5cc4319..120ea62 100644
--- a/credential.c
+++ b/credential.c
@@ -22,6 +22,61 @@ void credential_clear(struct credential *c)
 	credential_init(c);
 }
 
+int credential_match(const struct credential *want,
+		     const struct credential *have)
+{
+#define CHECK(x) (!want->x || (have->x && !strcmp(want->x, have->x)))
+	return CHECK(protocol) &&
+	       CHECK(host) &&
+	       CHECK(path) &&
+	       CHECK(username);
+#undef CHECK
+}
+
+static int credential_config_callback(const char *var, const char *value,
+				      void *data)
+{
+	struct credential *c = data;
+	const char *key, *dot;
+
+	key = skip_prefix(var, "credential.");
+	if (!key)
+		return 0;
+
+	if (!value)
+		return config_error_nonbool(var);
+
+	dot = strrchr(key, '.');
+	if (dot) {
+		struct credential want = CREDENTIAL_INIT;
+		char *url = xmemdupz(key, dot - key);
+		int matched;
+
+		credential_from_url(&want, url);
+		matched = credential_match(&want, c);
+
+		credential_clear(&want);
+		free(url);
+
+		if (!matched)
+			return 0;
+		key = dot + 1;
+	}
+
+	if (!strcmp(key, "helper"))
+		string_list_append(&c->helpers, value);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static void credential_apply_config(struct credential *c)
+{
+	if (c->configured)
+		return;
+	git_config(credential_config_callback, c);
+	c->configured = 1;
+}
+
 static void credential_describe(struct credential *c, struct strbuf *out)
 {
 	if (!c->protocol)
@@ -203,6 +258,8 @@ void credential_fill(struct credential *c)
 	if (c->username && c->password)
 		return;
 
+	credential_apply_config(c);
+
 	for (i = 0; i < c->helpers.nr; i++) {
 		credential_do(c, c->helpers.items[i].string, "get");
 		if (c->username && c->password)
@@ -223,6 +280,8 @@ void credential_approve(struct credential *c)
 	if (!c->username || !c->password)
 		return;
 
+	credential_apply_config(c);
+
 	for (i = 0; i < c->helpers.nr; i++)
 		credential_do(c, c->helpers.items[i].string, "store");
 	c->approved = 1;
@@ -232,6 +291,8 @@ void credential_reject(struct credential *c)
 {
 	int i;
 
+	credential_apply_config(c);
+
 	for (i = 0; i < c->helpers.nr; i++)
 		credential_do(c, c->helpers.items[i].string, "erase");
 
diff --git a/credential.h b/credential.h
index 8a6d162..e504272 100644
--- a/credential.h
+++ b/credential.h
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@
 
 struct credential {
 	struct string_list helpers;
-	unsigned approved:1;
+	unsigned approved:1,
+		 configured:1;
 
 	char *username;
 	char *password;
@@ -25,5 +26,7 @@ struct credential {
 
 int credential_read(struct credential *, FILE *);
 void credential_from_url(struct credential *, const char *url);
+int credential_match(const struct credential *have,
+		     const struct credential *want);
 
 #endif /* CREDENTIAL_H */
diff --git a/t/t0300-credentials.sh b/t/t0300-credentials.sh
index 81a455f..e3f61f4 100755
--- a/t/t0300-credentials.sh
+++ b/t/t0300-credentials.sh
@@ -192,4 +192,46 @@ test_expect_success 'internal getpass does not ask for known username' '
 	EOF
 '
 
+HELPER="f() {
+		cat >/dev/null
+		echo username=foo
+		echo password=bar
+	}; f"
+test_expect_success 'respect configured credentials' '
+	test_config credential.helper "$HELPER" &&
+	check fill <<-\EOF
+	--
+	username=foo
+	password=bar
+	--
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'match configured credential' '
+	test_config credential.https://example.com.helper "$HELPER" &&
+	check fill <<-\EOF
+	protocol=https
+	host=example.com
+	path=repo.git
+	--
+	username=foo
+	password=bar
+	--
+	EOF
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'do not match configured credential' '
+	test_config credential.https://foo.helper "$HELPER" &&
+	check fill <<-\EOF
+	protocol=https
+	host=bar
+	--
+	username=askpass-username
+	password=askpass-password
+	--
+	askpass: Username for '\''https://bar'\'':
+	askpass: Password for '\''https://askpass-username@bar'\'':
+	EOF
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh b/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
index 398a2d2..21e2f5d 100755
--- a/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
+++ b/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
@@ -101,6 +101,18 @@ test_expect_success 'http auth can request both user and pass' '
 	expect_askpass both user@host
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'http auth respects credential helper config' '
+	test_config_global credential.helper "f() {
+		cat >/dev/null
+		echo username=user@host
+		echo password=user@host
+	}; f" &&
+	>askpass-query &&
+	echo wrong >askpass-response &&
+	git clone "$HTTPD_URL/auth/repo.git" clone-auth-helper &&
+	expect_askpass none
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'fetch changes via http' '
 	echo content >>file &&
 	git commit -a -m two &&

credential.c, t/t0300-credentials.sh, t/t5550-http-fetch.sh

diff --git a/credential.c b/credential.c
index 120ea62..06e4e15 100644
--- a/credential.c
+++ b/credential.c
@@ -65,6 +65,10 @@ static int credential_config_callback(const char *var, const char *value,
 
 	if (!strcmp(key, "helper"))
 		string_list_append(&c->helpers, value);
+	else if (!strcmp(key, "username")) {
+		if (!c->username)
+			c->username = xstrdup(value);
+	}
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/t/t0300-credentials.sh b/t/t0300-credentials.sh
index e3f61f4..57751a1 100755
--- a/t/t0300-credentials.sh
+++ b/t/t0300-credentials.sh
@@ -234,4 +234,17 @@ test_expect_success 'do not match configured credential' '
 	EOF
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'pull username from config' '
+	test_config credential.https://example.com.username foo &&
+	check fill <<-\EOF
+	protocol=https
+	host=example.com
+	--
+	username=foo
+	password=askpass-password
+	--
+	askpass: Password for '\''https://foo@example.com'\'':
+	EOF
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh b/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
index 21e2f5d..18f4d59 100755
--- a/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
+++ b/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
@@ -113,6 +113,22 @@ test_expect_success 'http auth respects credential helper config' '
 	expect_askpass none
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'http auth can get username from config' '
+	test_config_global "credential.$HTTPD_URL.username" user@host &&
+	>askpass-query &&
+	echo user@host >askpass-response &&
+	git clone "$HTTPD_URL/auth/repo.git" clone-auth-user &&
+	expect_askpass pass user@host
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'configured username does not override URL' '
+	test_config_global "credential.$HTTPD_URL.username" wrong &&
+	>askpass-query &&
+	echo user@host >askpass-response &&
+	git clone "$HTTPD_URL_USER/auth/repo.git" clone-auth-user2 &&
+	expect_askpass pass user@host
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'fetch changes via http' '
 	echo content >>file &&
 	git commit -a -m two &&

credential.c, credential.h, t/t0300-credentials.sh, t/t5550-http-fetch.sh

diff --git a/credential.c b/credential.c
index 06e4e15..36ff0ec 100644
--- a/credential.c
+++ b/credential.c
@@ -69,16 +69,30 @@ static int credential_config_callback(const char *var, const char *value,
 		if (!c->username)
 			c->username = xstrdup(value);
 	}
+	else if (!strcmp(key, "usehttppath"))
+		c->use_http_path = git_config_bool(var, value);
 
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int proto_is_http(const char *s)
+{
+	if (!s)
+		return 0;
+	return !strcmp(s, "https") || !strcmp(s, "http");
+}
+
 static void credential_apply_config(struct credential *c)
 {
 	if (c->configured)
 		return;
 	git_config(credential_config_callback, c);
 	c->configured = 1;
+
+	if (!c->use_http_path && proto_is_http(c->protocol)) {
+		free(c->path);
+		c->path = NULL;
+	}
 }
 
 static void credential_describe(struct credential *c, struct strbuf *out)
diff --git a/credential.h b/credential.h
index e504272..96ea41b 100644
--- a/credential.h
+++ b/credential.h
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
 struct credential {
 	struct string_list helpers;
 	unsigned approved:1,
-		 configured:1;
+		 configured:1,
+		 use_http_path:1;
 
 	char *username;
 	char *password;
diff --git a/t/t0300-credentials.sh b/t/t0300-credentials.sh
index 57751a1..89a8531 100755
--- a/t/t0300-credentials.sh
+++ b/t/t0300-credentials.sh
@@ -247,4 +247,33 @@ test_expect_success 'pull username from config' '
 	EOF
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'http paths can be part of context' '
+	check fill "verbatim foo bar" <<-\EOF &&
+	protocol=https
+	host=example.com
+	path=foo.git
+	--
+	username=foo
+	password=bar
+	--
+	verbatim: get
+	verbatim: protocol=https
+	verbatim: host=example.com
+	EOF
+	test_config credential.https://example.com.useHttpPath true &&
+	check fill "verbatim foo bar" <<-\EOF
+	protocol=https
+	host=example.com
+	path=foo.git
+	--
+	username=foo
+	password=bar
+	--
+	verbatim: get
+	verbatim: protocol=https
+	verbatim: host=example.com
+	verbatim: path=foo.git
+	EOF
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh b/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
index 18f4d59..dd073d1 100755
--- a/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
+++ b/t/t5550-http-fetch.sh
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ test_expect_success 'setup askpass helpers' '
 '
 
 expect_askpass() {
-	dest=$HTTPD_DEST/auth/repo.git
+	dest=$HTTPD_DEST
 	{
 		case "$1" in
 		none)

Documentation/Makefile, Documentation/config.txt, Documentation/gitcredentials.txt

diff --git a/Documentation/Makefile b/Documentation/Makefile
index 304b31e..116f175 100644
--- a/Documentation/Makefile
+++ b/Documentation/Makefile
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ MAN5_TXT=gitattributes.txt gitignore.txt gitmodules.txt githooks.txt \
 MAN7_TXT=gitcli.txt gittutorial.txt gittutorial-2.txt \
 	gitcvs-migration.txt gitcore-tutorial.txt gitglossary.txt \
 	gitdiffcore.txt gitnamespaces.txt gitrevisions.txt gitworkflows.txt
+MAN7_TXT += gitcredentials.txt
 
 MAN_TXT = $(MAN1_TXT) $(MAN5_TXT) $(MAN7_TXT)
 MAN_XML=$(patsubst %.txt,%.xml,$(MAN_TXT))
diff --git a/Documentation/config.txt b/Documentation/config.txt
index 5a841da..36bcdf2 100644
--- a/Documentation/config.txt
+++ b/Documentation/config.txt
@@ -832,6 +832,29 @@ commit.template::
 	"{tilde}/" is expanded to the value of `$HOME` and "{tilde}user/" to the
 	specified user's home directory.
 
+credential.helper::
+	Specify an external helper to be called when a username or
+	password credential is needed; the helper may consult external
+	storage to avoid prompting the user for the credentials. See
+	linkgit:gitcredentials[7] for details.
+
+credential.useHttpPath::
+	When acquiring credentials, consider the "path" component of an http
+	or https URL to be important. Defaults to false. See
+	linkgit:gitcredentials[7] for more information.
+
+credential.username::
+	If no username is set for a network authentication, use this username
+	by default. See credential.<context>.* below, and
+	linkgit:gitcredentials[7].
+
+credential.<url>.*::
+	Any of the credential.* options above can be applied selectively to
+	some credentials. For example "credential.https://example.com.username"
+	would set the default username only for https connections to
+	example.com. See linkgit:gitcredentials[7] for details on how URLs are
+	matched.
+
 include::diff-config.txt[]
 
 difftool.<tool>.path::
diff --git a/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt b/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1e54117
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,170 @@
+gitcredentials(7)
+=================
+
+NAME
+----
+gitcredentials - providing usernames and passwords to git
+
+SYNOPSIS
+--------
+------------------
+git config credential.https://example.com.username myusername
+git config credential.helper "$helper $options"
+------------------
+
+DESCRIPTION
+-----------
+
+Git will sometimes need credentials from the user in order to perform
+operations; for example, it may need to ask for a username and password
+in order to access a remote repository over HTTP. This manual describes
+the mechanisms git uses to request these credentials, as well as some
+features to avoid inputting these credentials repeatedly.
+
+REQUESTING CREDENTIALS
+----------------------
+
+Without any credential helpers defined, git will try the following
+strategies to ask the user for usernames and passwords:
+
+1. If the `GIT_ASKPASS` environment variable is set, the program
+   specified by the variable is invoked. A suitable prompt is provided
+   to the program on the command line, and the user's input is read
+   from its standard output.
+
+2. Otherwise, if the `core.askpass` configuration variable is set, its
+   value is used as above.
+
+3. Otherwise, if the `SSH_ASKPASS` environment variable is set, its
+   value is used as above.
+
+4. Otherwise, the user is prompted on the terminal.
+
+AVOIDING REPETITION
+-------------------
+
+It can be cumbersome to input the same credentials over and over.  Git
+provides two methods to reduce this annoyance:
+
+1. Static configuration of usernames for a given authentication context.
+
+2. Credential helpers to cache or store passwords, or to interact with
+   a system password wallet or keychain.
+
+The first is simple and appropriate if you do not have secure storage available
+for a password. It is generally configured by adding this to your config:
+
+---------------------------------------
+[credential "https://example.com"]
+	username = me
+---------------------------------------
+
+Credential helpers, on the other hand, are external programs from which git can
+request both usernames and passwords; they typically interface with secure
+storage provided by the OS or other programs.
+
+To use a helper, you must first select one to use.  Git does not yet
+include any credential helpers, but you may have third-party helpers
+installed; search for `credential-*` in the output of `git help -a`, and
+consult the documentation of individual helpers.  Once you have selected
+a helper, you can tell git to use it by putting its name into the
+credential.helper variable.
+
+1. Find a helper.
++
+-------------------------------------------
+$ git help -a | grep credential-
+credential-foo
+-------------------------------------------
+
+2. Read its description.
++
+-------------------------------------------
+$ git help credential-foo
+-------------------------------------------
+
+3. Tell git to use it.
++
+-------------------------------------------
+$ git config --global credential.helper foo
+-------------------------------------------
+
+If there are multiple instances of the `credential.helper` configuration
+variable, each helper will be tried in turn, and may provide a username,
+password, or nothing. Once git has acquired both a username and a
+password, no more helpers will be tried.
+
+
+CREDENTIAL CONTEXTS
+-------------------
+
+Git considers each credential to have a context defined by a URL. This context
+is used to look up context-specific configuration, and is passed to any
+helpers, which may use it as an index into secure storage.
+
+For instance, imagine we are accessing `https://example.com/foo.git`. When git
+looks into a config file to see if a section matches this context, it will
+consider the two a match if the context is a more-specific subset of the
+pattern in the config file. For example, if you have this in your config file:
+
+--------------------------------------
+[credential "https://example.com"]
+	username = foo
+--------------------------------------
+
+then we will match: both protocols are the same, both hosts are the same, and
+the "pattern" URL does not care about the path component at all. However, this
+context would not match:
+
+--------------------------------------
+[credential "https://kernel.org"]
+	username = foo
+--------------------------------------
+
+because the hostnames differ. Nor would it match `foo.example.com`; git
+compares hostnames exactly, without considering whether two hosts are part of
+the same domain. Likewise, a config entry for `http://example.com` would not
+match: git compares the protocols exactly.
+
+
+CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
+---------------------
+
+Options for a credential context can be configured either in
+`credential.\*` (which applies to all credentials), or
+`credential.<url>.\*`, where <url> matches the context as described
+above.
+
+The following options are available in either location:
+
+helper::
+
+	The name of an external credential helper, and any associated options.
+	The value is executed by the shell.  If the first word of the helper
+	string is alphanumeric, then `git-credential-` is prepended (so if you
+	want to use the `git-credential-foo` helper, you would typically set
+	this to just `foo`). See the manual for specific helpers for examples.
+
+username::
+
+	A default username, if one is not provided in the URL.
+
+useHttpPath::
+
+	By default, git does not consider the "path" component of an http URL
+	to be worth matching via external helpers. This means that a credential
+	stored for `https://example.com/foo.git` will also be used for
+	`https://example.com/bar.git`. If you do want to distinguish these
+	cases, set this option to `true`.
+
+
+CUSTOM HELPERS
+--------------
+
+You can write your own custom helpers to interface with any system in
+which you keep credentials. See the documentation for git's
+link:technical/api-credentials.html[credentials API] for details.
+
+GIT
+---
+Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite

.gitignore, Documentation/git-credential-cache--daemon.txt, Documentation/git-credential-cache.txt, Documentation/gitcredentials.txt, Makefile, credential-cache--daemon.c, credential-cache.c, git-compat-util.h, t/lib-credential.sh, t/t0301-credential-cache.sh, unix-socket.c, unix-socket.h

diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 7d2fefc..a6b0bd4 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@
 /git-commit-tree
 /git-config
 /git-count-objects
+/git-credential-cache
+/git-credential-cache--daemon
 /git-cvsexportcommit
 /git-cvsimport
 /git-cvsserver
diff --git a/Documentation/git-credential-cache--daemon.txt b/Documentation/git-credential-cache--daemon.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..11edc5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/git-credential-cache--daemon.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+git-credential-cache--daemon(1)
+===============================
+
+NAME
+----
+git-credential-cache--daemon - temporarily store user credentials in memory
+
+SYNOPSIS
+--------
+[verse]
+git credential-cache--daemon <socket>
+
+DESCRIPTION
+-----------
+
+NOTE: You probably don't want to invoke this command yourself; it is
+started automatically when you use linkgit:git-credential-cache[1].
+
+This command listens on the Unix domain socket specified by `<socket>`
+for `git-credential-cache` clients. Clients may store and retrieve
+credentials. Each credential is held for a timeout specified by the
+client; once no credentials are held, the daemon exits.
+
+GIT
+---
+Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
diff --git a/Documentation/git-credential-cache.txt b/Documentation/git-credential-cache.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f3d09c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/git-credential-cache.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+git-credential-cache(1)
+=======================
+
+NAME
+----
+git-credential-cache - helper to temporarily store passwords in memory
+
+SYNOPSIS
+--------
+-----------------------------
+git config credential.helper 'cache [options]'
+-----------------------------
+
+DESCRIPTION
+-----------
+
+This command caches credentials in memory for use by future git
+programs. The stored credentials never touch the disk, and are forgotten
+after a configurable timeout.  The cache is accessible over a Unix
+domain socket, restricted to the current user by filesystem permissions.
+
+You probably don't want to invoke this command directly; it is meant to
+be used as a credential helper by other parts of git. See
+linkgit:gitcredentials[7] or `EXAMPLES` below.
+
+OPTIONS
+-------
+
+--timeout <seconds>::
+
+	Number of seconds to cache credentials (default: 900).
+
+--socket <path>::
+
+	Use `<path>` to contact a running cache daemon (or start a new
+	cache daemon if one is not started). Defaults to
+	`~/.git-credential-cache/socket`. If your home directory is on a
+	network-mounted filesystem, you may need to change this to a
+	local filesystem.
+
+CONTROLLING THE DAEMON
+----------------------
+
+If you would like the daemon to exit early, forgetting all cached
+credentials before their timeout, you can issue an `exit` action:
+
+--------------------------------------
+git credential-cache exit
+--------------------------------------
+
+EXAMPLES
+--------
+
+The point of this helper is to reduce the number of times you must type
+your username or password. For example:
+
+------------------------------------
+$ git config credential.helper cache
+$ git push http://example.com/repo.git
+Username: <type your username>
+Password: <type your password>
+
+[work for 5 more minutes]
+$ git push http://example.com/repo.git
+[your credentials are used automatically]
+------------------------------------
+
+You can provide options via the credential.helper configuration
+variable (this example drops the cache time to 5 minutes):
+
+-------------------------------------------------------
+$ git config credential.helper 'cache --timeout=300'
+-------------------------------------------------------
+
+GIT
+---
+Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
diff --git a/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt b/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt
index 1e54117..a1592ed 100644
--- a/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt
@@ -63,11 +63,18 @@ Credential helpers, on the other hand, are external programs from which git can
 request both usernames and passwords; they typically interface with secure
 storage provided by the OS or other programs.
 
-To use a helper, you must first select one to use.  Git does not yet
-include any credential helpers, but you may have third-party helpers
-installed; search for `credential-*` in the output of `git help -a`, and
-consult the documentation of individual helpers.  Once you have selected
-a helper, you can tell git to use it by putting its name into the
+To use a helper, you must first select one to use. Git currently
+includes the following helpers:
+
+cache::
+
+	Cache credentials in memory for a short period of time. See
+	linkgit:git-credential-cache[1] for details.
+
+You may may also have third-party helpers installed; search for
+`credential-*` in the output of `git help -a`, and consult the
+documentation of individual helpers.  Once you have selected a helper,
+you can tell git to use it by putting its name into the
 credential.helper variable.
 
 1. Find a helper.
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 5ca363b..5d41c29 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -427,6 +427,8 @@ PROGRAM_OBJS += show-index.o
 PROGRAM_OBJS += upload-pack.o
 PROGRAM_OBJS += http-backend.o
 PROGRAM_OBJS += sh-i18n--envsubst.o
+PROGRAM_OBJS += credential-cache.o
+PROGRAM_OBJS += credential-cache--daemon.o
 
 PROGRAMS += $(patsubst %.o,git-%$X,$(PROGRAM_OBJS))
 
@@ -699,6 +701,7 @@ LIB_OBJS += transport-helper.o
 LIB_OBJS += tree-diff.o
 LIB_OBJS += tree.o
 LIB_OBJS += tree-walk.o
+LIB_OBJS += unix-socket.o
 LIB_OBJS += unpack-trees.o
 LIB_OBJS += url.o
 LIB_OBJS += usage.o
diff --git a/credential-cache--daemon.c b/credential-cache--daemon.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..390f194
--- /dev/null
+++ b/credential-cache--daemon.c
@@ -0,0 +1,269 @@
+#include "cache.h"
+#include "credential.h"
+#include "unix-socket.h"
+#include "sigchain.h"
+
+static const char *socket_path;
+
+static void cleanup_socket(void)
+{
+	if (socket_path)
+		unlink(socket_path);
+}
+
+static void cleanup_socket_on_signal(int sig)
+{
+	cleanup_socket();
+	sigchain_pop(sig);
+	raise(sig);
+}
+
+struct credential_cache_entry {
+	struct credential item;
+	unsigned long expiration;
+};
+static struct credential_cache_entry *entries;
+static int entries_nr;
+static int entries_alloc;
+
+static void cache_credential(struct credential *c, int timeout)
+{
+	struct credential_cache_entry *e;
+
+	ALLOC_GROW(entries, entries_nr + 1, entries_alloc);
+	e = &entries[entries_nr++];
+
+	/* take ownership of pointers */
+	memcpy(&e->item, c, sizeof(*c));
+	memset(c, 0, sizeof(*c));
+	e->expiration = time(NULL) + timeout;
+}
+
+static struct credential_cache_entry *lookup_credential(const struct credential *c)
+{
+	int i;
+	for (i = 0; i < entries_nr; i++) {
+		struct credential *e = &entries[i].item;
+		if (credential_match(c, e))
+			return &entries[i];
+	}
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+static void remove_credential(const struct credential *c)
+{
+	struct credential_cache_entry *e;
+
+	e = lookup_credential(c);
+	if (e)
+		e->expiration = 0;
+}
+
+static int check_expirations(void)
+{
+	static unsigned long wait_for_entry_until;
+	int i = 0;
+	unsigned long now = time(NULL);
+	unsigned long next = (unsigned long)-1;
+
+	/*
+	 * Initially give the client 30 seconds to actually contact us
+	 * and store a credential before we decide there's no point in
+	 * keeping the daemon around.
+	 */
+	if (!wait_for_entry_until)
+		wait_for_entry_until = now + 30;
+
+	while (i < entries_nr) {
+		if (entries[i].expiration <= now) {
+			entries_nr--;
+			credential_clear(&entries[i].item);
+			if (i != entries_nr)
+				memcpy(&entries[i], &entries[entries_nr], sizeof(*entries));
+			/*
+			 * Stick around 30 seconds in case a new credential
+			 * shows up (e.g., because we just removed a failed
+			 * one, and we will soon get the correct one).
+			 */
+			wait_for_entry_until = now + 30;
+		}
+		else {
+			if (entries[i].expiration < next)
+				next = entries[i].expiration;
+			i++;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (!entries_nr) {
+		if (wait_for_entry_until <= now)
+			return 0;
+		next = wait_for_entry_until;
+	}
+
+	return next - now;
+}
+
+static int read_request(FILE *fh, struct credential *c,
+			struct strbuf *action, int *timeout) {
+	static struct strbuf item = STRBUF_INIT;
+	const char *p;
+
+	strbuf_getline(&item, fh, '\n');
+	p = skip_prefix(item.buf, "action=");
+	if (!p)
+		return error("client sent bogus action line: %s", item.buf);
+	strbuf_addstr(action, p);
+
+	strbuf_getline(&item, fh, '\n');
+	p = skip_prefix(item.buf, "timeout=");
+	if (!p)
+		return error("client sent bogus timeout line: %s", item.buf);
+	*timeout = atoi(p);
+
+	if (credential_read(c, fh) < 0)
+		return -1;
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static void serve_one_client(FILE *in, FILE *out)
+{
+	struct credential c = CREDENTIAL_INIT;
+	struct strbuf action = STRBUF_INIT;
+	int timeout = -1;
+
+	if (read_request(in, &c, &action, &timeout) < 0)
+		/* ignore error */ ;
+	else if (!strcmp(action.buf, "get")) {
+		struct credential_cache_entry *e = lookup_credential(&c);
+		if (e) {
+			fprintf(out, "username=%s\n", e->item.username);
+			fprintf(out, "password=%s\n", e->item.password);
+		}
+	}
+	else if (!strcmp(action.buf, "exit"))
+		exit(0);
+	else if (!strcmp(action.buf, "erase"))
+		remove_credential(&c);
+	else if (!strcmp(action.buf, "store")) {
+		if (timeout < 0)
+			warning("cache client didn't specify a timeout");
+		else if (!c.username || !c.password)
+			warning("cache client gave us a partial credential");
+		else {
+			remove_credential(&c);
+			cache_credential(&c, timeout);
+		}
+	}
+	else
+		warning("cache client sent unknown action: %s", action.buf);
+
+	credential_clear(&c);
+	strbuf_release(&action);
+}
+
+static int serve_cache_loop(int fd)
+{
+	struct pollfd pfd;
+	unsigned long wakeup;
+
+	wakeup = check_expirations();
+	if (!wakeup)
+		return 0;
+
+	pfd.fd = fd;
+	pfd.events = POLLIN;
+	if (poll(&pfd, 1, 1000 * wakeup) < 0) {
+		if (errno != EINTR)
+			die_errno("poll failed");
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	if (pfd.revents & POLLIN) {
+		int client, client2;
+		FILE *in, *out;
+
+		client = accept(fd, NULL, NULL);
+		if (client < 0) {
+			warning("accept failed: %s", strerror(errno));
+			return 1;
+		}
+		client2 = dup(client);
+		if (client2 < 0) {
+			warning("dup failed: %s", strerror(errno));
+			close(client);
+			return 1;
+		}
+
+		in = xfdopen(client, "r");
+		out = xfdopen(client2, "w");
+		serve_one_client(in, out);
+		fclose(in);
+		fclose(out);
+	}
+	return 1;
+}
+
+static void serve_cache(const char *socket_path)
+{
+	int fd;
+
+	fd = unix_stream_listen(socket_path);
+	if (fd < 0)
+		die_errno("unable to bind to '%s'", socket_path);
+
+	printf("ok\n");
+	fclose(stdout);
+
+	while (serve_cache_loop(fd))
+		; /* nothing */
+
+	close(fd);
+	unlink(socket_path);
+}
+
+static const char permissions_advice[] =
+"The permissions on your socket directory are too loose; other\n"
+"users may be able to read your cached credentials. Consider running:\n"
+"\n"
+"	chmod 0700 %s";
+static void check_socket_directory(const char *path)
+{
+	struct stat st;
+	char *path_copy = xstrdup(path);
+	char *dir = dirname(path_copy);
+
+	if (!stat(dir, &st)) {
+		if (st.st_mode & 077)
+			die(permissions_advice, dir);
+		free(path_copy);
+		return;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * We must be sure to create the directory with the correct mode,
+	 * not just chmod it after the fact; otherwise, there is a race
+	 * condition in which somebody can chdir to it, sleep, then try to open
+	 * our protected socket.
+	 */
+	if (safe_create_leading_directories_const(dir) < 0)
+		die_errno("unable to create directories for '%s'", dir);
+	if (mkdir(dir, 0700) < 0)
+		die_errno("unable to mkdir '%s'", dir);
+	free(path_copy);
+}
+
+int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+{
+	socket_path = argv[1];
+
+	if (!socket_path)
+		die("usage: git-credential-cache--daemon <socket_path>");
+	check_socket_directory(socket_path);
+
+	atexit(cleanup_socket);
+	sigchain_push_common(cleanup_socket_on_signal);
+
+	serve_cache(socket_path);
+
+	return 0;
+}
diff --git a/credential-cache.c b/credential-cache.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..482c4b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/credential-cache.c
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+#include "cache.h"
+#include "credential.h"
+#include "string-list.h"
+#include "parse-options.h"
+#include "unix-socket.h"
+#include "run-command.h"
+
+#define FLAG_SPAWN 0x1
+#define FLAG_RELAY 0x2
+
+static int send_request(const char *socket, const struct strbuf *out)
+{
+	int got_data = 0;
+	int fd = unix_stream_connect(socket);
+
+	if (fd < 0)
+		return -1;
+
+	if (write_in_full(fd, out->buf, out->len) < 0)
+		die_errno("unable to write to cache daemon");
+	shutdown(fd, SHUT_WR);
+
+	while (1) {
+		char in[1024];
+		int r;
+
+		r = read_in_full(fd, in, sizeof(in));
+		if (r == 0)
+			break;
+		if (r < 0)
+			die_errno("read error from cache daemon");
+		write_or_die(1, in, r);
+		got_data = 1;
+	}
+	return got_data;
+}
+
+static void spawn_daemon(const char *socket)
+{
+	struct child_process daemon;
+	const char *argv[] = { NULL, NULL, NULL };
+	char buf[128];
+	int r;
+
+	memset(&daemon, 0, sizeof(daemon));
+	argv[0] = "git-credential-cache--daemon";
+	argv[1] = socket;
+	daemon.argv = argv;
+	daemon.no_stdin = 1;
+	daemon.out = -1;
+
+	if (start_command(&daemon))
+		die_errno("unable to start cache daemon");
+	r = read_in_full(daemon.out, buf, sizeof(buf));
+	if (r < 0)
+		die_errno("unable to read result code from cache daemon");
+	if (r != 3 || memcmp(buf, "ok\n", 3))
+		die("cache daemon did not start: %.*s", r, buf);
+	close(daemon.out);
+}
+
+static void do_cache(const char *socket, const char *action, int timeout,
+		     int flags)
+{
+	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
+
+	strbuf_addf(&buf, "action=%s\n", action);
+	strbuf_addf(&buf, "timeout=%d\n", timeout);
+	if (flags & FLAG_RELAY) {
+		if (strbuf_read(&buf, 0, 0) < 0)
+			die_errno("unable to relay credential");
+	}
+
+	if (!send_request(socket, &buf))
+		return;
+	if (flags & FLAG_SPAWN) {
+		spawn_daemon(socket);
+		send_request(socket, &buf);
+	}
+	strbuf_release(&buf);
+}
+
+int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+{
+	char *socket_path = NULL;
+	int timeout = 900;
+	const char *op;
+	const char * const usage[] = {
+		"git credential-cache [options] <action>",
+		NULL
+	};
+	struct option options[] = {
+		OPT_INTEGER(0, "timeout", &timeout,
+			    "number of seconds to cache credentials"),
+		OPT_STRING(0, "socket", &socket_path, "path",
+			   "path of cache-daemon socket"),
+		OPT_END()
+	};
+
+	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, NULL, options, usage, 0);
+	if (!argc)
+		usage_with_options(usage, options);
+	op = argv[0];
+
+	if (!socket_path)
+		socket_path = expand_user_path("~/.git-credential-cache/socket");
+	if (!socket_path)
+		die("unable to find a suitable socket path; use --socket");
+
+	if (!strcmp(op, "exit"))
+		do_cache(socket_path, op, timeout, 0);
+	else if (!strcmp(op, "get") || !strcmp(op, "erase"))
+		do_cache(socket_path, op, timeout, FLAG_RELAY);
+	else if (!strcmp(op, "store"))
+		do_cache(socket_path, op, timeout, FLAG_RELAY|FLAG_SPAWN);
+	else
+		die("unknown operation: %s", op);
+
+	return 0;
+}
diff --git a/git-compat-util.h b/git-compat-util.h
index 8b4dd5c..5c238bd 100644
--- a/git-compat-util.h
+++ b/git-compat-util.h
@@ -130,6 +130,7 @@
 #include <arpa/inet.h>
 #include <netdb.h>
 #include <pwd.h>
+#include <sys/un.h>
 #ifndef NO_INTTYPES_H
 #include <inttypes.h>
 #else
diff --git a/t/lib-credential.sh b/t/lib-credential.sh
index 54ae1f4..ac54b38 100755
--- a/t/lib-credential.sh
+++ b/t/lib-credential.sh
@@ -21,6 +21,225 @@ read_chunk() {
 	done
 }
 
+# Clear any residual data from previous tests. We only
+# need this when testing third-party helpers which read and
+# write outside of our trash-directory sandbox.
+#
+# Don't bother checking for success here, as it is
+# outside the scope of tests and represents a best effort to
+# clean up after ourselves.
+helper_test_clean() {
+	reject $1 https example.com store-user
+	reject $1 https example.com user1
+	reject $1 https example.com user2
+	reject $1 ftp other.tld user
+	reject $1 https timeout.tld user
+}
+
+reject() {
+	(
+		echo protocol=$2
+		echo host=$3
+		echo username=$4
+	) | test-credential reject $1
+}
+
+helper_test() {
+	HELPER=$1
+
+	test_expect_success "helper ($HELPER) has no existing data" '
+		check fill $HELPER <<-\EOF
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		--
+		username=askpass-username
+		password=askpass-password
+		--
+		askpass: Username for '\''https://example.com'\'':
+		askpass: Password for '\''https://askpass-username@example.com'\'':
+		EOF
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "helper ($HELPER) stores password" '
+		check approve $HELPER <<-\EOF
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		username=store-user
+		password=store-pass
+		EOF
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "helper ($HELPER) can retrieve password" '
+		check fill $HELPER <<-\EOF
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		--
+		username=store-user
+		password=store-pass
+		--
+		EOF
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "helper ($HELPER) requires matching protocol" '
+		check fill $HELPER <<-\EOF
+		protocol=http
+		host=example.com
+		--
+		username=askpass-username
+		password=askpass-password
+		--
+		askpass: Username for '\''http://example.com'\'':
+		askpass: Password for '\''http://askpass-username@example.com'\'':
+		EOF
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "helper ($HELPER) requires matching host" '
+		check fill $HELPER <<-\EOF
+		protocol=https
+		host=other.tld
+		--
+		username=askpass-username
+		password=askpass-password
+		--
+		askpass: Username for '\''https://other.tld'\'':
+		askpass: Password for '\''https://askpass-username@other.tld'\'':
+		EOF
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "helper ($HELPER) requires matching username" '
+		check fill $HELPER <<-\EOF
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		username=other
+		--
+		username=other
+		password=askpass-password
+		--
+		askpass: Password for '\''https://other@example.com'\'':
+		EOF
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "helper ($HELPER) requires matching path" '
+		check approve $HELPER <<-\EOF &&
+		protocol=ftp
+		host=other.tld
+		path=foo.git
+		username=user
+		password=pass
+		EOF
+		check fill $HELPER <<-\EOF
+		protocol=ftp
+		host=other.tld
+		path=bar.git
+		--
+		username=askpass-username
+		password=askpass-password
+		--
+		askpass: Username for '\''ftp://other.tld/bar.git'\'':
+		askpass: Password for '\''ftp://askpass-username@other.tld/bar.git'\'':
+		EOF
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "helper ($HELPER) can forget host" '
+		check reject $HELPER <<-\EOF &&
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		EOF
+		check fill $HELPER <<-\EOF
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		--
+		username=askpass-username
+		password=askpass-password
+		--
+		askpass: Username for '\''https://example.com'\'':
+		askpass: Password for '\''https://askpass-username@example.com'\'':
+		EOF
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "helper ($HELPER) can store multiple users" '
+		check approve $HELPER <<-\EOF &&
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		username=user1
+		password=pass1
+		EOF
+		check approve $HELPER <<-\EOF &&
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		username=user2
+		password=pass2
+		EOF
+		check fill $HELPER <<-\EOF &&
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		username=user1
+		--
+		username=user1
+		password=pass1
+		EOF
+		check fill $HELPER <<-\EOF
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		username=user2
+		--
+		username=user2
+		password=pass2
+		EOF
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "helper ($HELPER) can forget user" '
+		check reject $HELPER <<-\EOF &&
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		username=user1
+		EOF
+		check fill $HELPER <<-\EOF
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		username=user1
+		--
+		username=user1
+		password=askpass-password
+		--
+		askpass: Password for '\''https://user1@example.com'\'':
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "helper ($HELPER) remembers other user" '
+		check fill $HELPER <<-\EOF
+		protocol=https
+		host=example.com
+		username=user2
+		--
+		username=user2
+		password=pass2
+		EOF
+	'
+}
+
+helper_test_timeout() {
+	HELPER="$*"
+
+	test_expect_success "helper ($HELPER) times out" '
+		check approve "$HELPER" <<-\EOF &&
+		protocol=https
+		host=timeout.tld
+		username=user
+		password=pass
+		EOF
+		sleep 2 &&
+		check fill "$HELPER" <<-\EOF
+		protocol=https
+		host=timeout.tld
+		--
+		username=askpass-username
+		password=askpass-password
+		--
+		askpass: Username for '\''https://timeout.tld'\'':
+		askpass: Password for '\''https://askpass-username@timeout.tld'\'':
+		EOF
+	'
+}
 
 cat >askpass <<\EOF
 #!/bin/sh
diff --git a/t/t0301-credential-cache.sh b/t/t0301-credential-cache.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..3a65f99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t0301-credential-cache.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description='credential-cache tests'
+. ./test-lib.sh
+. "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/lib-credential.sh
+
+# don't leave a stale daemon running
+trap 'code=$?; git credential-cache exit; (exit $code); die' EXIT
+
+helper_test cache
+helper_test_timeout cache --timeout=1
+
+# we can't rely on our "trap" above working after test_done,
+# as test_done will delete the trash directory containing
+# our socket, leaving us with no way to access the daemon.
+git credential-cache exit
+
+test_done
diff --git a/unix-socket.c b/unix-socket.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..84b1509
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unix-socket.c
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+#include "cache.h"
+#include "unix-socket.h"
+
+static int unix_stream_socket(void)
+{
+	int fd = socket(AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
+	if (fd < 0)
+		die_errno("unable to create socket");
+	return fd;
+}
+
+static void unix_sockaddr_init(struct sockaddr_un *sa, const char *path)
+{
+	int size = strlen(path) + 1;
+	if (size > sizeof(sa->sun_path))
+		die("socket path is too long to fit in sockaddr");
+	memset(sa, 0, sizeof(*sa));
+	sa->sun_family = AF_UNIX;
+	memcpy(sa->sun_path, path, size);
+}
+
+int unix_stream_connect(const char *path)
+{
+	int fd;
+	struct sockaddr_un sa;
+
+	unix_sockaddr_init(&sa, path);
+	fd = unix_stream_socket();
+	if (connect(fd, (struct sockaddr *)&sa, sizeof(sa)) < 0) {
+		close(fd);
+		return -1;
+	}
+	return fd;
+}
+
+int unix_stream_listen(const char *path)
+{
+	int fd;
+	struct sockaddr_un sa;
+
+	unix_sockaddr_init(&sa, path);
+	fd = unix_stream_socket();
+
+	unlink(path);
+	if (bind(fd, (struct sockaddr *)&sa, sizeof(sa)) < 0) {
+		close(fd);
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	if (listen(fd, 5) < 0) {
+		close(fd);
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	return fd;
+}
diff --git a/unix-socket.h b/unix-socket.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e271aee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unix-socket.h
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#ifndef UNIX_SOCKET_H
+#define UNIX_SOCKET_H
+
+int unix_stream_connect(const char *path);
+int unix_stream_listen(const char *path);
+
+#endif /* UNIX_SOCKET_H */

strbuf.c, strbuf.h

diff --git a/strbuf.c b/strbuf.c
index 3ad2cc0..60e5e59 100644
--- a/strbuf.c
+++ b/strbuf.c
@@ -397,3 +397,40 @@ int strbuf_read_file(struct strbuf *sb, const char *path, size_t hint)
 
 	return len;
 }
+
+static int is_rfc3986_reserved(char ch)
+{
+	switch (ch) {
+		case '!': case '*': case '\'': case '(': case ')': case ';':
+		case ':': case '@': case '&': case '=': case '+': case '$':
+		case ',': case '/': case '?': case '#': case '[': case ']':
+			return 1;
+	}
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int is_rfc3986_unreserved(char ch)
+{
+	return isalnum(ch) ||
+		ch == '-' || ch == '_' || ch == '.' || ch == '~';
+}
+
+void strbuf_add_urlencode(struct strbuf *sb, const char *s, size_t len,
+			  int reserved)
+{
+	strbuf_grow(sb, len);
+	while (len--) {
+		char ch = *s++;
+		if (is_rfc3986_unreserved(ch) ||
+		    (!reserved && is_rfc3986_reserved(ch)))
+			strbuf_addch(sb, ch);
+		else
+			strbuf_addf(sb, "%%%02x", ch);
+	}
+}
+
+void strbuf_addstr_urlencode(struct strbuf *sb, const char *s,
+			     int reserved)
+{
+	strbuf_add_urlencode(sb, s, strlen(s), reserved);
+}
diff --git a/strbuf.h b/strbuf.h
index 46a33f8..cecd48c 100644
--- a/strbuf.h
+++ b/strbuf.h
@@ -115,4 +115,9 @@ struct strbuf_expand_dict_entry {
 extern int strbuf_branchname(struct strbuf *sb, const char *name);
 extern int strbuf_check_branch_ref(struct strbuf *sb, const char *name);
 
+extern void strbuf_add_urlencode(struct strbuf *, const char *, size_t,
+				 int reserved);
+extern void strbuf_addstr_urlencode(struct strbuf *, const char *,
+				    int reserved);
+
 #endif /* STRBUF_H */

.gitignore, Documentation/git-credential-store.txt, Documentation/gitcredentials.txt, Makefile, credential-store.c, t/t0302-credential-store.sh

diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index a6b0bd4..2b7a3f9 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 /git-count-objects
 /git-credential-cache
 /git-credential-cache--daemon
+/git-credential-store
 /git-cvsexportcommit
 /git-cvsimport
 /git-cvsserver
diff --git a/Documentation/git-credential-store.txt b/Documentation/git-credential-store.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3dcffbd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/git-credential-store.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+git-credential-store(1)
+=======================
+
+NAME
+----
+git-credential-store - helper to store credentials on disk
+
+SYNOPSIS
+--------
+-------------------
+git config credential.helper 'store [options]'
+-------------------
+
+DESCRIPTION
+-----------
+
+NOTE: Using this helper will store your passwords unencrypted on disk,
+protected only by filesystem permissions. If this is not an acceptable
+security tradeoff, try linkgit:git-credential-cache[1], or find a helper
+that integrates with secure storage provided by your operating system.
+
+This command stores credentials indefinitely on disk for use by future
+git programs.
+
+You probably don't want to invoke this command directly; it is meant to
+be used as a credential helper by other parts of git. See
+linkgit:gitcredentials[7] or `EXAMPLES` below.
+
+OPTIONS
+-------
+
+--store=<path>::
+
+	Use `<path>` to store credentials. The file will have its
+	filesystem permissions set to prevent other users on the system
+	from reading it, but will not be encrypted or otherwise
+	protected. Defaults to `~/.git-credentials`.
+
+EXAMPLES
+--------
+
+The point of this helper is to reduce the number of times you must type
+your username or password. For example:
+
+------------------------------------------
+$ git config credential.helper store
+$ git push http://example.com/repo.git
+Username: <type your username>
+Password: <type your password>
+
+[several days later]
+$ git push http://example.com/repo.git
+[your credentials are used automatically]
+------------------------------------------
+
+STORAGE FORMAT
+--------------
+
+The `.git-credentials` file is stored in plaintext. Each credential is
+stored on its own line as a URL like:
+
+------------------------------
+https://user:pass@example.com
+------------------------------
+
+When git needs authentication for a particular context URL context,
+credential-store will consider that context a pattern to match against
+each entry in the credentials file.  If the protocol, hostname, and
+username (if we already have one) match, then the password is returned
+to git. See the discussion of configuration in linkgit:gitcredentials[7]
+for more information.
+
+GIT
+---
+Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
diff --git a/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt b/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt
index a1592ed..519d2bb 100644
--- a/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt
@@ -71,6 +71,11 @@ cache::
 	Cache credentials in memory for a short period of time. See
 	linkgit:git-credential-cache[1] for details.
 
+store::
+
+	Store credentials indefinitely on disk. See
+	linkgit:git-credential-store[1] for details.
+
 You may may also have third-party helpers installed; search for
 `credential-*` in the output of `git help -a`, and consult the
 documentation of individual helpers.  Once you have selected a helper,
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 5d41c29..2537128 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -429,6 +429,7 @@ PROGRAM_OBJS += http-backend.o
 PROGRAM_OBJS += sh-i18n--envsubst.o
 PROGRAM_OBJS += credential-cache.o
 PROGRAM_OBJS += credential-cache--daemon.o
+PROGRAM_OBJS += credential-store.o
 
 PROGRAMS += $(patsubst %.o,git-%$X,$(PROGRAM_OBJS))
 
diff --git a/credential-store.c b/credential-store.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a6ddb0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/credential-store.c
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+#include "cache.h"
+#include "credential.h"
+#include "string-list.h"
+#include "parse-options.h"
+
+static struct lock_file credential_lock;
+
+static void parse_credential_file(const char *fn,
+				  struct credential *c,
+				  void (*match_cb)(struct credential *),
+				  void (*other_cb)(struct strbuf *))
+{
+	FILE *fh;
+	struct strbuf line = STRBUF_INIT;
+	struct credential entry = CREDENTIAL_INIT;
+
+	fh = fopen(fn, "r");
+	if (!fh) {
+		if (errno != ENOENT)
+			die_errno("unable to open %s", fn);
+		return;
+	}
+
+	while (strbuf_getline(&line, fh, '\n') != EOF) {
+		credential_from_url(&entry, line.buf);
+		if (entry.username && entry.password &&
+		    credential_match(c, &entry)) {
+			if (match_cb) {
+				match_cb(&entry);
+				break;
+			}
+		}
+		else if (other_cb)
+			other_cb(&line);
+	}
+
+	credential_clear(&entry);
+	strbuf_release(&line);
+	fclose(fh);
+}
+
+static void print_entry(struct credential *c)
+{
+	printf("username=%s\n", c->username);
+	printf("password=%s\n", c->password);
+}
+
+static void print_line(struct strbuf *buf)
+{
+	strbuf_addch(buf, '\n');
+	write_or_die(credential_lock.fd, buf->buf, buf->len);
+}
+
+static void rewrite_credential_file(const char *fn, struct credential *c,
+				    struct strbuf *extra)
+{
+	umask(077);
+	if (hold_lock_file_for_update(&credential_lock, fn, 0) < 0)
+		die_errno("unable to get credential storage lock");
+	parse_credential_file(fn, c, NULL, print_line);
+	if (extra)
+		print_line(extra);
+	if (commit_lock_file(&credential_lock) < 0)
+		die_errno("unable to commit credential store");
+}
+
+static void store_credential(const char *fn, struct credential *c)
+{
+	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
+
+	if (!c->protocol || !(c->host || c->path) ||
+	    !c->username || !c->password)
+		return;
+
+	strbuf_addf(&buf, "%s://", c->protocol);
+	strbuf_addstr_urlencode(&buf, c->username, 1);
+	strbuf_addch(&buf, ':');
+	strbuf_addstr_urlencode(&buf, c->password, 1);
+	strbuf_addch(&buf, '@');
+	if (c->host)
+		strbuf_addstr_urlencode(&buf, c->host, 1);
+	if (c->path) {
+		strbuf_addch(&buf, '/');
+		strbuf_addstr_urlencode(&buf, c->path, 0);
+	}
+
+	rewrite_credential_file(fn, c, &buf);
+	strbuf_release(&buf);
+}
+
+static void remove_credential(const char *fn, struct credential *c)
+{
+	if (!c->protocol || !(c->host || c->path))
+		return;
+	rewrite_credential_file(fn, c, NULL);
+}
+
+static int lookup_credential(const char *fn, struct credential *c)
+{
+	if (!c->protocol || !(c->host || c->path))
+		return 0;
+	parse_credential_file(fn, c, print_entry, NULL);
+	return c->username && c->password;
+}
+
+int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+{
+	const char * const usage[] = {
+		"git credential-store [options] <action>",
+		NULL
+	};
+	const char *op;
+	struct credential c = CREDENTIAL_INIT;
+	char *store = NULL;
+	struct option options[] = {
+		OPT_STRING_LIST(0, "store", &store, "file",
+				"fetch and store credentials in <file>"),
+		OPT_END()
+	};
+
+	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, NULL, options, usage, 0);
+	if (argc != 1)
+		usage_with_options(usage, options);
+	op = argv[0];
+
+	if (!store)
+		store = expand_user_path("~/.git-credentials");
+	if (!store)
+		die("unable to set up default store; use --store");
+
+	if (credential_read(&c, stdin) < 0)
+		die("unable to read credential");
+
+	if (!strcmp(op, "get"))
+		lookup_credential(store, &c);
+	else if (!strcmp(op, "erase"))
+		remove_credential(store, &c);
+	else if (!strcmp(op, "store"))
+		store_credential(store, &c);
+	else
+		die("unknown operation: %s", op);
+
+	return 0;
+}
diff --git a/t/t0302-credential-store.sh b/t/t0302-credential-store.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..f61b40c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t0302-credential-store.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description='credential-store tests'
+. ./test-lib.sh
+. "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/lib-credential.sh
+
+helper_test store
+
+test_done

diff --git a/t/t0303-credential-external.sh b/t/t0303-credential-external.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..f3953d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/t0303-credential-external.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+test_description='external credential helper tests'
+. ./test-lib.sh
+. "$TEST_DIRECTORY"/lib-credential.sh
+
+if test -z "$GIT_TEST_CREDENTIAL_HELPER"; then
+	say "# skipping external helper tests (set GIT_TEST_CREDENTIAL_HELPER)"
+else
+	helper_test "$GIT_TEST_CREDENTIAL_HELPER"
+fi
+
+if test -z "$GIT_TEST_CREDENTIAL_HELPER_TIMEOUT"; then
+	say "# skipping external helper timeout tests"
+else
+	helper_test_timeout "$GIT_TEST_CREDENTIAL_HELPER_TIMEOUT"
+fi
+
+test_done

Makefile, cache.h, connect.c, credential.c, imap-send.c, prompt.c, prompt.h

diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 2537128..14c6480 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -563,6 +563,7 @@ LIB_H += parse-options.h
 LIB_H += patch-ids.h
 LIB_H += pkt-line.h
 LIB_H += progress.h
+LIB_H += prompt.h
 LIB_H += quote.h
 LIB_H += reflog-walk.h
 LIB_H += refs.h
@@ -669,6 +670,7 @@ LIB_OBJS += pkt-line.o
 LIB_OBJS += preload-index.o
 LIB_OBJS += pretty.o
 LIB_OBJS += progress.o
+LIB_OBJS += prompt.o
 LIB_OBJS += quote.o
 LIB_OBJS += reachable.o
 LIB_OBJS += read-cache.o
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index 2e6ad36..f320c98 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -1024,7 +1024,6 @@ struct ref {
 extern struct ref *find_ref_by_name(const struct ref *list, const char *name);
 
 #define CONNECT_VERBOSE       (1u << 0)
-extern char *git_getpass(const char *prompt);
 extern struct child_process *git_connect(int fd[2], const char *url, const char *prog, int flags);
 extern int finish_connect(struct child_process *conn);
 extern int git_connection_is_socket(struct child_process *conn);
diff --git a/connect.c b/connect.c
index 51990fa..519e527 100644
--- a/connect.c
+++ b/connect.c
@@ -619,47 +619,3 @@ int finish_connect(struct child_process *conn)
 	free(conn);
 	return code;
 }
-
-char *git_getpass(const char *prompt)
-{
-	const char *askpass;
-	struct child_process pass;
-	const char *args[3];
-	static struct strbuf buffer = STRBUF_INIT;
-
-	askpass = getenv("GIT_ASKPASS");
-	if (!askpass)
-		askpass = askpass_program;
-	if (!askpass)
-		askpass = getenv("SSH_ASKPASS");
-	if (!askpass || !(*askpass)) {
-		char *result = getpass(prompt);
-		if (!result)
-			die_errno("Could not read password");
-		return result;
-	}
-
-	args[0] = askpass;
-	args[1]	= prompt;
-	args[2] = NULL;
-
-	memset(&pass, 0, sizeof(pass));
-	pass.argv = args;
-	pass.out = -1;
-
-	if (start_command(&pass))
-		exit(1);
-
-	strbuf_reset(&buffer);
-	if (strbuf_read(&buffer, pass.out, 20) < 0)
-		die("failed to read password from %s\n", askpass);
-
-	close(pass.out);
-
-	if (finish_command(&pass))
-		exit(1);
-
-	strbuf_setlen(&buffer, strcspn(buffer.buf, "\r\n"));
-
-	return buffer.buf;
-}
diff --git a/credential.c b/credential.c
index 36ff0ec..d918ba5 100644
--- a/credential.c
+++ b/credential.c
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #include "string-list.h"
 #include "run-command.h"
 #include "url.h"
+#include "prompt.h"
 
 void credential_init(struct credential *c)
 {
diff --git a/imap-send.c b/imap-send.c
index e1ad1a4..8fc2e2d 100644
--- a/imap-send.c
+++ b/imap-send.c
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "exec_cmd.h"
 #include "run-command.h"
+#include "prompt.h"
 #ifdef NO_OPENSSL
 typedef void *SSL;
 #else
diff --git a/prompt.c b/prompt.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..42a1c9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prompt.c
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+#include "cache.h"
+#include "run-command.h"
+#include "strbuf.h"
+#include "prompt.h"
+
+char *git_getpass(const char *prompt)
+{
+	const char *askpass;
+	struct child_process pass;
+	const char *args[3];
+	static struct strbuf buffer = STRBUF_INIT;
+
+	askpass = getenv("GIT_ASKPASS");
+	if (!askpass)
+		askpass = askpass_program;
+	if (!askpass)
+		askpass = getenv("SSH_ASKPASS");
+	if (!askpass || !(*askpass)) {
+		char *result = getpass(prompt);
+		if (!result)
+			die_errno("Could not read password");
+		return result;
+	}
+
+	args[0] = askpass;
+	args[1]	= prompt;
+	args[2] = NULL;
+
+	memset(&pass, 0, sizeof(pass));
+	pass.argv = args;
+	pass.out = -1;
+
+	if (start_command(&pass))
+		exit(1);
+
+	strbuf_reset(&buffer);
+	if (strbuf_read(&buffer, pass.out, 20) < 0)
+		die("failed to read password from %s\n", askpass);
+
+	close(pass.out);
+
+	if (finish_command(&pass))
+		exit(1);
+
+	strbuf_setlen(&buffer, strcspn(buffer.buf, "\r\n"));
+
+	return buffer.buf;
+}
diff --git a/prompt.h b/prompt.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0fd7bd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prompt.h
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#ifndef PROMPT_H
+#define PROMPT_H
+
+char *git_getpass(const char *prompt);
+
+#endif /* PROMPT_H */

prompt.c, prompt.h

diff --git a/prompt.c b/prompt.c
index 42a1c9f..7c8f9aa 100644
--- a/prompt.c
+++ b/prompt.c
@@ -3,26 +3,13 @@
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "prompt.h"
 
-char *git_getpass(const char *prompt)
+static char *do_askpass(const char *cmd, const char *prompt, const char *name)
 {
-	const char *askpass;
 	struct child_process pass;
 	const char *args[3];
 	static struct strbuf buffer = STRBUF_INIT;
 
-	askpass = getenv("GIT_ASKPASS");
-	if (!askpass)
-		askpass = askpass_program;
-	if (!askpass)
-		askpass = getenv("SSH_ASKPASS");
-	if (!askpass || !(*askpass)) {
-		char *result = getpass(prompt);
-		if (!result)
-			die_errno("Could not read password");
-		return result;
-	}
-
-	args[0] = askpass;
+	args[0] = cmd;
 	args[1]	= prompt;
 	args[2] = NULL;
 
@@ -35,7 +22,7 @@
 
 	strbuf_reset(&buffer);
 	if (strbuf_read(&buffer, pass.out, 20) < 0)
-		die("failed to read password from %s\n", askpass);
+		die("failed to read %s from %s\n", name, cmd);
 
 	close(pass.out);
 
@@ -46,3 +33,25 @@
 
 	return buffer.buf;
 }
+
+char *git_prompt(const char *prompt, const char *name, int flags)
+{
+	if (flags & PROMPT_ASKPASS) {
+		const char *askpass;
+
+		askpass = getenv("GIT_ASKPASS");
+		if (!askpass)
+			askpass = askpass_program;
+		if (!askpass)
+			askpass = getenv("SSH_ASKPASS");
+		if (askpass && *askpass)
+			return do_askpass(askpass, prompt, name);
+	}
+
+	return getpass(prompt);
+}
+
+char *git_getpass(const char *prompt)
+{
+	return git_prompt(prompt, "password", PROMPT_ASKPASS);
+}
diff --git a/prompt.h b/prompt.h
index 0fd7bd9..18868c2 100644
--- a/prompt.h
+++ b/prompt.h
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 #ifndef PROMPT_H
 #define PROMPT_H
 
+#define PROMPT_ASKPASS (1<<0)
+
+char *git_prompt(const char *prompt, const char *name, int flags);
 char *git_getpass(const char *prompt);
 
 #endif /* PROMPT_H */

Makefile, compat/getpass.c, compat/getpass.h

diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 14c6480..d133e2b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -521,6 +521,7 @@ LIB_H += color.h
 LIB_H += commit.h
 LIB_H += compat/bswap.h
 LIB_H += compat/cygwin.h
+LIB_H += compat/getpass.h
 LIB_H += compat/mingw.h
 LIB_H += compat/obstack.h
 LIB_H += compat/win32/pthread.h
@@ -609,6 +610,7 @@ LIB_OBJS += cache-tree.o
 LIB_OBJS += color.o
 LIB_OBJS += combine-diff.o
 LIB_OBJS += commit.o
+LIB_OBJS += compat/getpass.o
 LIB_OBJS += compat/obstack.o
 LIB_OBJS += config.o
 LIB_OBJS += connect.o
diff --git a/compat/getpass.c b/compat/getpass.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ae82f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compat/getpass.c
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#include "../git-compat-util.h"
+
+char *getpass_echo(const char *prompt)
+{
+	return getpass(prompt);
+}
diff --git a/compat/getpass.h b/compat/getpass.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5f1986b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compat/getpass.h
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#ifndef GETPASS_H
+#define GETPASS_H
+
+char *getpass_echo(const char *prompt);
+
+#endif /* GETPASS_H */

prompt.c, prompt.h

diff --git a/prompt.c b/prompt.c
index 7c8f9aa..c46227f 100644
--- a/prompt.c
+++ b/prompt.c
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #include "run-command.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "prompt.h"
+#include "compat/getpass.h"
 
 static char *do_askpass(const char *cmd, const char *prompt, const char *name)
 {
@@ -48,7 +49,9 @@
 			return do_askpass(askpass, prompt, name);
 	}
 
-	return getpass(prompt);
+	return flags & PROMPT_ECHO ?
+		getpass_echo(prompt) :
+		getpass(prompt);
 }
 
 char *git_getpass(const char *prompt)
diff --git a/prompt.h b/prompt.h
index 18868c2..7201cae 100644
--- a/prompt.h
+++ b/prompt.h
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #define PROMPT_H
 
 #define PROMPT_ASKPASS (1<<0)
+#define PROMPT_ECHO    (1<<1)
 
 char *git_prompt(const char *prompt, const char *name, int flags);
 char *git_getpass(const char *prompt);

diff --git a/credential.c b/credential.c
index d918ba5..9ad580d 100644
--- a/credential.c
+++ b/credential.c
@@ -109,7 +109,8 @@ static void credential_describe(struct credential *c, struct strbuf *out)
 		strbuf_addf(out, "/%s", c->path);
 }
 
-static char *credential_ask_one(const char *what, struct credential *c)
+static char *credential_ask_one(const char *what, struct credential *c,
+				int flags)
 {
 	struct strbuf desc = STRBUF_INIT;
 	struct strbuf prompt = STRBUF_INIT;
@@ -121,11 +122,7 @@ static void credential_describe(struct credential *c, struct strbuf *out)
 	else
 		strbuf_addf(&prompt, "%s: ", what);
 
-	/* FIXME: for usernames, we should do something less magical that
-	 * actually echoes the characters. However, we need to read from
-	 * /dev/tty and not stdio, which is not portable (but getpass will do
-	 * it for us). http.c uses the same workaround. */
-	r = git_getpass(prompt.buf);
+	r = git_prompt(prompt.buf, what, flags);
 
 	strbuf_release(&desc);
 	strbuf_release(&prompt);
@@ -135,9 +132,11 @@ static void credential_describe(struct credential *c, struct strbuf *out)
 static void credential_getpass(struct credential *c)
 {
 	if (!c->username)
-		c->username = credential_ask_one("Username", c);
+		c->username = credential_ask_one("Username", c,
+						 PROMPT_ASKPASS|PROMPT_ECHO);
 	if (!c->password)
-		c->password = credential_ask_one("Password", c);
+		c->password = credential_ask_one("Password", c,
+						 PROMPT_ASKPASS);
 }
 
 int credential_read(struct credential *c, FILE *fp)

Makefile, compat/getpass.c

diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index d133e2b..a2afe31 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -227,6 +227,9 @@ all::
 #
 # Define NO_REGEX if you have no or inferior regex support in your C library.
 #
+# Define HAVE_DEV_TTY if your system can open /dev/tty to interact with the
+# user.
+#
 # Define GETTEXT_POISON if you are debugging the choice of strings marked
 # for translation.  In a GETTEXT_POISON build, you can turn all strings marked
 # for translation into gibberish by setting the GIT_GETTEXT_POISON variable
@@ -835,6 +838,7 @@ ifeq ($(uname_S),Linux)
 	NO_STRLCPY = YesPlease
 	NO_MKSTEMPS = YesPlease
 	HAVE_PATHS_H = YesPlease
+	HAVE_DEV_TTY = YesPlease
 endif
 ifeq ($(uname_S),GNU/kFreeBSD)
 	NO_STRLCPY = YesPlease
@@ -1641,6 +1645,10 @@ ifdef HAVE_PATHS_H
 	BASIC_CFLAGS += -DHAVE_PATHS_H
 endif
 
+ifdef HAVE_DEV_TTY
+	BASIC_CFLAGS += -DHAVE_DEV_TTY
+endif
+
 ifdef DIR_HAS_BSD_GROUP_SEMANTICS
 	COMPAT_CFLAGS += -DDIR_HAS_BSD_GROUP_SEMANTICS
 endif
diff --git a/compat/getpass.c b/compat/getpass.c
index 8ae82f0..b5bd1dd 100644
--- a/compat/getpass.c
+++ b/compat/getpass.c
@@ -1,6 +1,41 @@
 #include "../git-compat-util.h"
 
+#ifdef HAVE_DEV_TTY
+
+char *getpass_echo(const char *prompt)
+{
+	static char buf[1024];
+	FILE *fh;
+	int i;
+
+	fh = fopen("/dev/tty", "w+");
+	if (!fh)
+		return NULL;
+
+	fputs(prompt, fh);
+	fflush(fh);
+	for (i = 0; i < sizeof(buf) - 1; i++) {
+		int ch = getc(fh);
+		if (ch == EOF || ch == '\n')
+			break;
+		buf[i] = ch;
+	}
+	buf[i] = '\0';
+
+	if (ferror(fh)) {
+		fclose(fh);
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
+	fclose(fh);
+	return buf;
+}
+
+#else
+
 char *getpass_echo(const char *prompt)
 {
 	return getpass(prompt);
 }
+
+#endif