diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index cd84cc9bbe..ddefda2bb6 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -1786,8 +1786,8 @@ int add_files_to_cache(const char *prefix, const struct pathspec *pathspec, int
 extern int diff_auto_refresh_index;
 
 /* match-trees.c */
-void shift_tree(const struct object_id *, const struct object_id *, struct object_id *, int);
-void shift_tree_by(const struct object_id *, const struct object_id *, struct object_id *, const char *);
+void shift_tree(struct repository *, const struct object_id *, const struct object_id *, struct object_id *, int);
+void shift_tree_by(struct repository *, const struct object_id *, const struct object_id *, struct object_id *, const char *);
 
 /*
  * whitespace rules.
diff --git a/match-trees.c b/match-trees.c
index de7e8a6783..f6c194c1cc 100644
--- a/match-trees.c
+++ b/match-trees.c
@@ -248,7 +248,8 @@ static int splice_tree(const struct object_id *oid1, const char *prefix,
  * other hand, it could cover tree one and we might need to pick a
  * subtree of it.
  */
-void shift_tree(const struct object_id *hash1,
+void shift_tree(struct repository *r,
+		const struct object_id *hash1,
 		const struct object_id *hash2,
 		struct object_id *shifted,
 		int depth_limit)
@@ -290,7 +291,7 @@ void shift_tree(const struct object_id *hash1,
 		if (!*del_prefix)
 			return;
 
-		if (get_tree_entry(the_repository, hash2, del_prefix, shifted, &mode))
+		if (get_tree_entry(r, hash2, del_prefix, shifted, &mode))
 			die("cannot find path %s in tree %s",
 			    del_prefix, oid_to_hex(hash2));
 		return;
@@ -307,7 +308,8 @@ void shift_tree(const struct object_id *hash1,
  * Unfortunately we cannot fundamentally tell which one to
  * be prefixed, as recursive merge can work in either direction.
  */
-void shift_tree_by(const struct object_id *hash1,
+void shift_tree_by(struct repository *r,
+		   const struct object_id *hash1,
 		   const struct object_id *hash2,
 		   struct object_id *shifted,
 		   const char *shift_prefix)
@@ -317,12 +319,12 @@ void shift_tree_by(const struct object_id *hash1,
 	unsigned candidate = 0;
 
 	/* Can hash2 be a tree at shift_prefix in tree hash1? */
-	if (!get_tree_entry(the_repository, hash1, shift_prefix, &sub1, &mode1) &&
+	if (!get_tree_entry(r, hash1, shift_prefix, &sub1, &mode1) &&
 	    S_ISDIR(mode1))
 		candidate |= 1;
 
 	/* Can hash1 be a tree at shift_prefix in tree hash2? */
-	if (!get_tree_entry(the_repository, hash2, shift_prefix, &sub2, &mode2) &&
+	if (!get_tree_entry(r, hash2, shift_prefix, &sub2, &mode2) &&
 	    S_ISDIR(mode2))
 		candidate |= 2;
 
diff --git a/merge-recursive.c b/merge-recursive.c
index b051066795..6d772eb0eb 100644
--- a/merge-recursive.c
+++ b/merge-recursive.c
@@ -153,9 +153,9 @@ static struct tree *shift_tree_object(struct repository *repo,
 	struct object_id shifted;
 
 	if (!*subtree_shift) {
-		shift_tree(&one->object.oid, &two->object.oid, &shifted, 0);
+		shift_tree(repo, &one->object.oid, &two->object.oid, &shifted, 0);
 	} else {
-		shift_tree_by(&one->object.oid, &two->object.oid, &shifted,
+		shift_tree_by(repo, &one->object.oid, &two->object.oid, &shifted,
 			      subtree_shift);
 	}
 	if (oideq(&two->object.oid, &shifted))
diff --git a/t/helper/test-match-trees.c b/t/helper/test-match-trees.c
index 96857f26ac..b9fd427571 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-match-trees.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-match-trees.c
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ int cmd__match_trees(int ac, const char **av)
 	if (!two)
 		die("not a tree-ish %s", av[2]);
 
-	shift_tree(&one->object.oid, &two->object.oid, &shifted, -1);
+	shift_tree(the_repository, &one->object.oid, &two->object.oid, &shifted, -1);
 	printf("shifted: %s\n", oid_to_hex(&shifted));
 
 	exit(0);