diff --git a/Documentation/git-add.txt b/Documentation/git-add.txt
index 63829d93cc..e74f83b47a 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-add.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-add.txt
@@ -61,7 +61,14 @@ OPTIONS
 
 -i, \--interactive::
 	Add modified contents in the working tree interactively to
-	the index.
+	the index. Optional path arguments may be supplied to limit
+	operation to a subset of the working tree. See ``Interactive
+	mode'' for details.
+
+-p, \--patch:
+	Similar to Interactive mode but the initial command loop is
+	bypassed and the 'patch' subcommand is invoked using each of
+	the specified filepatterns before exiting.
 
 -u::
 	Update only files that git already knows about. This is similar
@@ -210,6 +217,8 @@ patch::
        k - do not decide on this hunk now, and view the previous
            undecided hunk
        K - do not decide on this hunk now, and view the previous hunk
+       s - split the current hunk into smaller hunks
+       ? - print help
 +
 After deciding the fate for all hunks, if there is any hunk
 that was chosen, the index is updated with the selected hunks.
diff --git a/builtin-add.c b/builtin-add.c
index 03508d3dcb..5c29cc2f3f 100644
--- a/builtin-add.c
+++ b/builtin-add.c
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ static const char * const builtin_add_usage[] = {
 	"git-add [options] [--] <filepattern>...",
 	NULL
 };
-
+static int patch_interactive = 0, add_interactive = 0;
 static int take_worktree_changes;
 
 static void prune_directory(struct dir_struct *dir, const char **pathspec, int prefix)
@@ -135,11 +135,40 @@ static void refresh(int verbose, const char **pathspec)
         free(seen);
 }
 
-int interactive_add(void)
+static const char **validate_pathspec(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 {
-	const char *argv[2] = { "add--interactive", NULL };
+	const char **pathspec = get_pathspec(prefix, argv);
 
-	return run_command_v_opt(argv, RUN_GIT_CMD);
+	return pathspec;
+}
+
+int interactive_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
+{
+	int status, ac;
+	const char **args;
+	const char **pathspec = NULL;
+
+	if (argc) {
+		pathspec = validate_pathspec(argc, argv, prefix);
+		if (!pathspec)
+			return -1;
+	}
+
+	args = xcalloc(sizeof(const char *), (argc + 4));
+	ac = 0;
+	args[ac++] = "add--interactive";
+	if (patch_interactive)
+		args[ac++] = "--patch";
+	args[ac++] = "--";
+	if (argc) {
+		memcpy(&(args[ac]), pathspec, sizeof(const char *) * argc);
+		ac += argc;
+	}
+	args[ac] = NULL;
+
+	status = run_command_v_opt(args, RUN_GIT_CMD);
+	free(args);
+	return status;
 }
 
 static struct lock_file lock_file;
@@ -148,13 +177,13 @@ static const char ignore_error[] =
 "The following paths are ignored by one of your .gitignore files:\n";
 
 static int verbose = 0, show_only = 0, ignored_too = 0, refresh_only = 0;
-static int add_interactive = 0;
 
 static struct option builtin_add_options[] = {
 	OPT__DRY_RUN(&show_only),
 	OPT__VERBOSE(&verbose),
 	OPT_GROUP(""),
 	OPT_BOOLEAN('i', "interactive", &add_interactive, "interactive picking"),
+	OPT_BOOLEAN('p', "patch", &patch_interactive, "interactive patching"),
 	OPT_BOOLEAN('f', NULL, &ignored_too, "allow adding otherwise ignored files"),
 	OPT_BOOLEAN('u', NULL, &take_worktree_changes, "update tracked files"),
 	OPT_BOOLEAN( 0 , "refresh", &refresh_only, "don't add, only refresh the index"),
@@ -163,17 +192,16 @@ static struct option builtin_add_options[] = {
 
 int cmd_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 {
-	int i, newfd, orig_argc = argc;
+	int i, newfd;
 	const char **pathspec;
 	struct dir_struct dir;
 
 	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, builtin_add_options,
 			  builtin_add_usage, 0);
-	if (add_interactive) {
-		if (add_interactive != 1 || orig_argc != 2)
-			die("add --interactive does not take any parameters");
-		exit(interactive_add());
-	}
+	if (patch_interactive)
+		add_interactive = 1;
+	if (add_interactive)
+		exit(interactive_add(argc, argv, prefix));
 
 	git_config(git_default_config);
 
diff --git a/builtin-commit.c b/builtin-commit.c
index e635d9963b..2ec8223132 100644
--- a/builtin-commit.c
+++ b/builtin-commit.c
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ static void add_remove_files(struct path_list *list)
 	}
 }
 
-static char *prepare_index(const char **files, const char *prefix)
+static char *prepare_index(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 {
 	int fd;
 	struct tree *tree;
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ static char *prepare_index(const char **files, const char *prefix)
 	const char **pathspec = NULL;
 
 	if (interactive) {
-		interactive_add();
+		interactive_add(argc, argv, prefix);
 		commit_style = COMMIT_AS_IS;
 		return get_index_file();
 	}
@@ -179,8 +179,8 @@ static char *prepare_index(const char **files, const char *prefix)
 	if (read_cache() < 0)
 		die("index file corrupt");
 
-	if (*files)
-		pathspec = get_pathspec(prefix, files);
+	if (*argv)
+		pathspec = get_pathspec(prefix, argv);
 
 	/*
 	 * Non partial, non as-is commit.
@@ -603,7 +603,7 @@ int cmd_status(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 
 	argc = parse_and_validate_options(argc, argv, builtin_status_usage);
 
-	index_file = prepare_index(argv, prefix);
+	index_file = prepare_index(argc, argv, prefix);
 
 	commitable = run_status(stdout, index_file, prefix);
 
@@ -703,7 +703,7 @@ int cmd_commit(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 
 	argc = parse_and_validate_options(argc, argv, builtin_commit_usage);
 
-	index_file = prepare_index(argv, prefix);
+	index_file = prepare_index(argc, argv, prefix);
 
 	if (!no_verify && run_hook(index_file, "pre-commit", NULL)) {
 		rollback_index_files();
diff --git a/commit.h b/commit.h
index f450aae8aa..10e2b5d4cf 100644
--- a/commit.h
+++ b/commit.h
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ extern struct commit_list *get_shallow_commits(struct object_array *heads,
 
 int in_merge_bases(struct commit *, struct commit **, int);
 
-extern int interactive_add(void);
+extern int interactive_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix);
 extern int rerere(void);
 
 static inline int single_parent(struct commit *commit)
diff --git a/git-add--interactive.perl b/git-add--interactive.perl
index fb1e92a766..335c2c6b56 100755
--- a/git-add--interactive.perl
+++ b/git-add--interactive.perl
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 
 use strict;
 
+# command line options
+my $patch_mode;
+
 sub run_cmd_pipe {
 	if ($^O eq 'MSWin32') {
 		my @invalid = grep {m/[":*]/} @_;
@@ -37,14 +40,13 @@ sub list_untracked {
 		chomp $_;
 		$_;
 	}
-	run_cmd_pipe(qw(git ls-files --others --exclude-standard --), @_);
+	run_cmd_pipe(qw(git ls-files --others --exclude-standard --), @ARGV);
 }
 
 my $status_fmt = '%12s %12s %s';
 my $status_head = sprintf($status_fmt, 'staged', 'unstaged', 'path');
 
 # Returns list of hashes, contents of each of which are:
-# PRINT:	print message
 # VALUE:	pathname
 # BINARY:	is a binary path
 # INDEX:	is index different from HEAD?
@@ -56,9 +58,17 @@ sub list_modified {
 	my ($only) = @_;
 	my (%data, @return);
 	my ($add, $del, $adddel, $file);
+	my @tracked = ();
+
+	if (@ARGV) {
+		@tracked = map {
+			chomp $_; $_;
+		} run_cmd_pipe(qw(git ls-files --exclude-standard --), @ARGV);
+		return if (!@tracked);
+	}
 
 	for (run_cmd_pipe(qw(git diff-index --cached
-			     --numstat --summary HEAD))) {
+			     --numstat --summary HEAD --), @tracked)) {
 		if (($add, $del, $file) =
 		    /^([-\d]+)	([-\d]+)	(.*)/) {
 			my ($change, $bin);
@@ -81,7 +91,7 @@ sub list_modified {
 		}
 	}
 
-	for (run_cmd_pipe(qw(git diff-files --numstat --summary))) {
+	for (run_cmd_pipe(qw(git diff-files --numstat --summary --), @tracked)) {
 		if (($add, $del, $file) =
 		    /^([-\d]+)	([-\d]+)	(.*)/) {
 			if (!exists $data{$file}) {
@@ -122,8 +132,6 @@ sub list_modified {
 		}
 		push @return, +{
 			VALUE => $_,
-			PRINT => (sprintf $status_fmt,
-				  $it->{INDEX}, $it->{FILE}, $_),
 			%$it,
 		};
 	}
@@ -159,10 +167,96 @@ sub find_unique {
 	return $found;
 }
 
+# inserts string into trie and updates count for each character
+sub update_trie {
+	my ($trie, $string) = @_;
+	foreach (split //, $string) {
+		$trie = $trie->{$_} ||= {COUNT => 0};
+		$trie->{COUNT}++;
+	}
+}
+
+# returns an array of tuples (prefix, remainder)
+sub find_unique_prefixes {
+	my @stuff = @_;
+	my @return = ();
+
+	# any single prefix exceeding the soft limit is omitted
+	# if any prefix exceeds the hard limit all are omitted
+	# 0 indicates no limit
+	my $soft_limit = 0;
+	my $hard_limit = 3;
+
+	# build a trie modelling all possible options
+	my %trie;
+	foreach my $print (@stuff) {
+		if ((ref $print) eq 'ARRAY') {
+			$print = $print->[0];
+		}
+		elsif ((ref $print) eq 'HASH') {
+			$print = $print->{VALUE};
+		}
+		update_trie(\%trie, $print);
+		push @return, $print;
+	}
+
+	# use the trie to find the unique prefixes
+	for (my $i = 0; $i < @return; $i++) {
+		my $ret = $return[$i];
+		my @letters = split //, $ret;
+		my %search = %trie;
+		my ($prefix, $remainder);
+		my $j;
+		for ($j = 0; $j < @letters; $j++) {
+			my $letter = $letters[$j];
+			if ($search{$letter}{COUNT} == 1) {
+				$prefix = substr $ret, 0, $j + 1;
+				$remainder = substr $ret, $j + 1;
+				last;
+			}
+			else {
+				my $prefix = substr $ret, 0, $j;
+				return ()
+				    if ($hard_limit && $j + 1 > $hard_limit);
+			}
+			%search = %{$search{$letter}};
+		}
+		if ($soft_limit && $j + 1 > $soft_limit) {
+			$prefix = undef;
+			$remainder = $ret;
+		}
+		$return[$i] = [$prefix, $remainder];
+	}
+	return @return;
+}
+
+# filters out prefixes which have special meaning to list_and_choose()
+sub is_valid_prefix {
+	my $prefix = shift;
+	return (defined $prefix) &&
+	    !($prefix =~ /[\s,]/) && # separators
+	    !($prefix =~ /^-/) &&    # deselection
+	    !($prefix =~ /^\d+/) &&  # selection
+	    ($prefix ne '*') &&      # "all" wildcard
+	    ($prefix ne '?');        # prompt help
+}
+
+# given a prefix/remainder tuple return a string with the prefix highlighted
+# for now use square brackets; later might use ANSI colors (underline, bold)
+sub highlight_prefix {
+	my $prefix = shift;
+	my $remainder = shift;
+	return $remainder unless defined $prefix;
+	return is_valid_prefix($prefix) ?
+	    "[$prefix]$remainder" :
+	    "$prefix$remainder";
+}
+
 sub list_and_choose {
 	my ($opts, @stuff) = @_;
 	my (@chosen, @return);
 	my $i;
+	my @prefixes = find_unique_prefixes(@stuff) unless $opts->{LIST_ONLY};
 
       TOPLOOP:
 	while (1) {
@@ -177,13 +271,21 @@ sub list_and_choose {
 		for ($i = 0; $i < @stuff; $i++) {
 			my $chosen = $chosen[$i] ? '*' : ' ';
 			my $print = $stuff[$i];
-			if (ref $print) {
-				if ((ref $print) eq 'ARRAY') {
-					$print = $print->[0];
-				}
-				else {
-					$print = $print->{PRINT};
-				}
+			my $ref = ref $print;
+			my $highlighted = highlight_prefix(@{$prefixes[$i]})
+			    if @prefixes;
+			if ($ref eq 'ARRAY') {
+				$print = $highlighted || $print->[0];
+			}
+			elsif ($ref eq 'HASH') {
+				my $value = $highlighted || $print->{VALUE};
+				$print = sprintf($status_fmt,
+				    $print->{INDEX},
+				    $print->{FILE},
+				    $value);
+			}
+			else {
+				$print = $highlighted || $print;
 			}
 			printf("%s%2d: %s", $chosen, $i+1, $print);
 			if (($opts->{LIST_FLAT}) &&
@@ -217,6 +319,12 @@ sub list_and_choose {
 		}
 		chomp $line;
 		last if $line eq '';
+		if ($line eq '?') {
+			$opts->{SINGLETON} ?
+			    singleton_prompt_help_cmd() :
+			    prompt_help_cmd();
+			next TOPLOOP;
+		}
 		for my $choice (split(/[\s,]+/, $line)) {
 			my $choose = 1;
 			my ($bottom, $top);
@@ -252,7 +360,7 @@ sub list_and_choose {
 				$chosen[$i] = $choose;
 			}
 		}
-		last if ($opts->{IMMEDIATE});
+		last if ($opts->{IMMEDIATE} || $line eq '*');
 	}
 	for ($i = 0; $i < @stuff; $i++) {
 		if ($chosen[$i]) {
@@ -262,6 +370,28 @@ sub list_and_choose {
 	return @return;
 }
 
+sub singleton_prompt_help_cmd {
+	print <<\EOF ;
+Prompt help:
+1          - select a numbered item
+foo        - select item based on unique prefix
+           - (empty) select nothing
+EOF
+}
+
+sub prompt_help_cmd {
+	print <<\EOF ;
+Prompt help:
+1          - select a single item
+3-5        - select a range of items
+2-3,6-9    - select multiple ranges
+foo        - select item based on unique prefix
+-...       - unselect specified items
+*          - choose all items
+           - (empty) finish selecting
+EOF
+}
+
 sub status_cmd {
 	list_and_choose({ LIST_ONLY => 1, HEADER => $status_head },
 			list_modified());
@@ -544,27 +674,36 @@ sub help_patch_cmd {
 	print <<\EOF ;
 y - stage this hunk
 n - do not stage this hunk
-a - stage this and all the remaining hunks
-d - do not stage this hunk nor any of the remaining hunks
+a - stage this and all the remaining hunks in the file
+d - do not stage this hunk nor any of the remaining hunks in the file
 j - leave this hunk undecided, see next undecided hunk
 J - leave this hunk undecided, see next hunk
 k - leave this hunk undecided, see previous undecided hunk
 K - leave this hunk undecided, see previous hunk
 s - split the current hunk into smaller hunks
+? - print help
 EOF
 }
 
 sub patch_update_cmd {
-	my @mods = list_modified('file-only');
-	@mods = grep { !($_->{BINARY}) } @mods;
-	return if (!@mods);
+	my @mods = grep { !($_->{BINARY}) } list_modified('file-only');
+	my @them;
 
-	my ($it) = list_and_choose({ PROMPT => 'Patch update',
-				     SINGLETON => 1,
-				     IMMEDIATE => 1,
-				     HEADER => $status_head, },
-				   @mods);
-	patch_update_file($it->{VALUE}) if ($it);
+	if (!@mods) {
+		print STDERR "No changes.\n";
+		return 0;
+	}
+	if ($patch_mode) {
+		@them = @mods;
+	}
+	else {
+		@them = list_and_choose({ PROMPT => 'Patch update',
+					  HEADER => $status_head, },
+					@mods);
+	}
+	for (@them) {
+		patch_update_file($_->{VALUE});
+	}
 }
 
 sub patch_update_file {
@@ -775,6 +914,20 @@ add untracked - add contents of untracked files to the staged set of changes
 EOF
 }
 
+sub process_args {
+	return unless @ARGV;
+	my $arg = shift @ARGV;
+	if ($arg eq "--patch") {
+		$patch_mode = 1;
+		$arg = shift @ARGV or die "missing --";
+		die "invalid argument $arg, expecting --"
+		    unless $arg eq "--";
+	}
+	elsif ($arg ne "--") {
+		die "invalid argument $arg, expecting --";
+	}
+}
+
 sub main_loop {
 	my @cmd = ([ 'status', \&status_cmd, ],
 		   [ 'update', \&update_cmd, ],
@@ -803,6 +956,12 @@ sub main_loop {
 	}
 }
 
+process_args();
 refresh();
-status_cmd();
-main_loop();
+if ($patch_mode) {
+	patch_update_cmd();
+}
+else {
+	status_cmd();
+	main_loop();
+}