diff --git a/vcs-svn/line_buffer.c b/vcs-svn/line_buffer.c
index 661b007092..37ec56e5be 100644
--- a/vcs-svn/line_buffer.c
+++ b/vcs-svn/line_buffer.c
@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@ int buffer_deinit(struct line_buffer *buf)
 	return err;
 }
 
+int buffer_read_char(struct line_buffer *buf)
+{
+	return fgetc(buf->infile);
+}
+
 /* Read a line without trailing newline. */
 char *buffer_read_line(struct line_buffer *buf)
 {
diff --git a/vcs-svn/line_buffer.h b/vcs-svn/line_buffer.h
index 0c2d3d955a..0a59c73e8b 100644
--- a/vcs-svn/line_buffer.h
+++ b/vcs-svn/line_buffer.h
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ int buffer_init(struct line_buffer *buf, const char *filename);
 int buffer_deinit(struct line_buffer *buf);
 char *buffer_read_line(struct line_buffer *buf);
 char *buffer_read_string(struct line_buffer *buf, uint32_t len);
+int buffer_read_char(struct line_buffer *buf);
 void buffer_read_binary(struct line_buffer *buf, struct strbuf *sb, uint32_t len);
 void buffer_copy_bytes(struct line_buffer *buf, uint32_t len);
 void buffer_skip_bytes(struct line_buffer *buf, uint32_t len);