diff --git a/git.c b/git.c
index d6c2d2db60..d2460c8618 100644
--- a/git.c
+++ b/git.c
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ static void handle_internal_command(int argc, const char **argv, char **envp)
 		{ "annotate", cmd_annotate, },
 		{ "apply", cmd_apply },
 		{ "archive", cmd_archive },
-		{ "branch", cmd_branch },
+		{ "branch", cmd_branch, RUN_SETUP },
 		{ "cat-file", cmd_cat_file, RUN_SETUP },
 		{ "checkout-index", cmd_checkout_index, RUN_SETUP },
 		{ "check-ref-format", cmd_check_ref_format },