diff --git a/builtin-add.c b/builtin-add.c
index 78989dad8c..581a2a1748 100644
--- a/builtin-add.c
+++ b/builtin-add.c
@@ -97,35 +97,6 @@ static void treat_gitlinks(const char **pathspec)
 	}
 }
 
-static void fill_directory(struct dir_struct *dir, const char **pathspec,
-		int ignored_too)
-{
-	const char *path, *base;
-	int baselen;
-
-	/* Set up the default git porcelain excludes */
-	memset(dir, 0, sizeof(*dir));
-	if (!ignored_too) {
-		dir->flags |= DIR_COLLECT_IGNORED;
-		setup_standard_excludes(dir);
-	}
-
-	/*
-	 * Calculate common prefix for the pathspec, and
-	 * use that to optimize the directory walk
-	 */
-	baselen = common_prefix(pathspec);
-	path = ".";
-	base = "";
-	if (baselen)
-		path = base = xmemdupz(*pathspec, baselen);
-
-	/* Read the directory and prune it */
-	read_directory(dir, path, base, baselen, pathspec);
-	if (pathspec)
-		prune_directory(dir, pathspec, baselen);
-}
-
 static void refresh(int verbose, const char **pathspec)
 {
 	char *seen;
@@ -343,9 +314,21 @@ int cmd_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		die("index file corrupt");
 	treat_gitlinks(pathspec);
 
-	if (add_new_files)
+	if (add_new_files) {
+		int baselen;
+
+		/* Set up the default git porcelain excludes */
+		memset(&dir, 0, sizeof(dir));
+		if (!ignored_too) {
+			dir.flags |= DIR_COLLECT_IGNORED;
+			setup_standard_excludes(&dir);
+		}
+
 		/* This picks up the paths that are not tracked */
-		fill_directory(&dir, pathspec, ignored_too);
+		baselen = fill_directory(&dir, pathspec);
+		if (pathspec)
+			prune_directory(&dir, pathspec, baselen);
+	}
 
 	if (refresh_only) {
 		refresh(verbose, pathspec);
diff --git a/builtin-clean.c b/builtin-clean.c
index 1c1b6d26e9..2d8c735d48 100644
--- a/builtin-clean.c
+++ b/builtin-clean.c
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ int cmd_clean(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	int ignored_only = 0, baselen = 0, config_set = 0, errors = 0;
 	struct strbuf directory = STRBUF_INIT;
 	struct dir_struct dir;
-	const char *path, *base;
 	static const char **pathspec;
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 	const char *qname;
@@ -78,16 +77,7 @@ int cmd_clean(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	pathspec = get_pathspec(prefix, argv);
 	read_cache();
 
-	/*
-	 * Calculate common prefix for the pathspec, and
-	 * use that to optimize the directory walk
-	 */
-	baselen = common_prefix(pathspec);
-	path = ".";
-	base = "";
-	if (baselen)
-		path = base = xmemdupz(*pathspec, baselen);
-	read_directory(&dir, path, base, baselen, pathspec);
+	fill_directory(&dir, pathspec);
 
 	if (pathspec)
 		seen = xmalloc(argc > 0 ? argc : 1);
diff --git a/builtin-ls-files.c b/builtin-ls-files.c
index 2312866605..f473220502 100644
--- a/builtin-ls-files.c
+++ b/builtin-ls-files.c
@@ -161,12 +161,7 @@ static void show_files(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *prefix)
 
 	/* For cached/deleted files we don't need to even do the readdir */
 	if (show_others || show_killed) {
-		const char *path = ".", *base = "";
-		int baselen = prefix_len;
-
-		if (baselen)
-			path = base = prefix;
-		read_directory(dir, path, base, baselen, pathspec);
+		fill_directory(dir, pathspec);
 		if (show_others)
 			show_other_files(dir);
 		if (show_killed)
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index 871c9844e8..f1e5ede021 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -744,7 +744,17 @@ struct checkout {
 };
 
 extern int checkout_entry(struct cache_entry *ce, const struct checkout *state, char *topath);
+
+struct cache_def {
+	char path[PATH_MAX + 1];
+	int len;
+	int flags;
+	int track_flags;
+	int prefix_len_stat_func;
+};
+
 extern int has_symlink_leading_path(const char *name, int len);
+extern int threaded_has_symlink_leading_path(struct cache_def *, const char *, int);
 extern int has_symlink_or_noent_leading_path(const char *name, int len);
 extern int has_dirs_only_path(const char *name, int len, int prefix_len);
 extern void invalidate_lstat_cache(const char *name, int len);
diff --git a/dir.c b/dir.c
index 74b3bbf6fd..e05b850acf 100644
--- a/dir.c
+++ b/dir.c
@@ -14,12 +14,11 @@ struct path_simplify {
 	const char *path;
 };
 
-static int read_directory_recursive(struct dir_struct *dir,
-	const char *path, const char *base, int baselen,
+static int read_directory_recursive(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *path, int len,
 	int check_only, const struct path_simplify *simplify);
-static int get_dtype(struct dirent *de, const char *path);
+static int get_dtype(struct dirent *de, const char *path, int len);
 
-int common_prefix(const char **pathspec)
+static int common_prefix(const char **pathspec)
 {
 	const char *path, *slash, *next;
 	int prefix;
@@ -52,6 +51,26 @@ int common_prefix(const char **pathspec)
 	return prefix;
 }
 
+int fill_directory(struct dir_struct *dir, const char **pathspec)
+{
+	const char *path;
+	int len;
+
+	/*
+	 * Calculate common prefix for the pathspec, and
+	 * use that to optimize the directory walk
+	 */
+	len = common_prefix(pathspec);
+	path = "";
+
+	if (len)
+		path = xmemdupz(*pathspec, len);
+
+	/* Read the directory and prune it */
+	read_directory(dir, path, len, pathspec);
+	return len;
+}
+
 /*
  * Does 'match' match the given name?
  * A match is found if
@@ -307,7 +326,7 @@ static int excluded_1(const char *pathname,
 
 			if (x->flags & EXC_FLAG_MUSTBEDIR) {
 				if (*dtype == DT_UNKNOWN)
-					*dtype = get_dtype(NULL, pathname);
+					*dtype = get_dtype(NULL, pathname, pathlen);
 				if (*dtype != DT_DIR)
 					continue;
 			}
@@ -505,7 +524,7 @@ static enum directory_treatment treat_directory(struct dir_struct *dir,
 	/* This is the "show_other_directories" case */
 	if (!(dir->flags & DIR_HIDE_EMPTY_DIRECTORIES))
 		return show_directory;
-	if (!read_directory_recursive(dir, dirname, dirname, len, 1, simplify))
+	if (!read_directory_recursive(dir, dirname, len, 1, simplify))
 		return ignore_directory;
 	return show_directory;
 }
@@ -547,11 +566,52 @@ static int in_pathspec(const char *path, int len, const struct path_simplify *si
 	return 0;
 }
 
-static int get_dtype(struct dirent *de, const char *path)
+static int get_index_dtype(const char *path, int len)
+{
+	int pos;
+	struct cache_entry *ce;
+
+	ce = cache_name_exists(path, len, 0);
+	if (ce) {
+		if (!ce_uptodate(ce))
+			return DT_UNKNOWN;
+		if (S_ISGITLINK(ce->ce_mode))
+			return DT_DIR;
+		/*
+		 * Nobody actually cares about the
+		 * difference between DT_LNK and DT_REG
+		 */
+		return DT_REG;
+	}
+
+	/* Try to look it up as a directory */
+	pos = cache_name_pos(path, len);
+	if (pos >= 0)
+		return DT_UNKNOWN;
+	pos = -pos-1;
+	while (pos < active_nr) {
+		ce = active_cache[pos++];
+		if (strncmp(ce->name, path, len))
+			break;
+		if (ce->name[len] > '/')
+			break;
+		if (ce->name[len] < '/')
+			continue;
+		if (!ce_uptodate(ce))
+			break;	/* continue? */
+		return DT_DIR;
+	}
+	return DT_UNKNOWN;
+}
+
+static int get_dtype(struct dirent *de, const char *path, int len)
 {
 	int dtype = de ? DTYPE(de) : DT_UNKNOWN;
 	struct stat st;
 
+	if (dtype != DT_UNKNOWN)
+		return dtype;
+	dtype = get_index_dtype(path, len);
 	if (dtype != DT_UNKNOWN)
 		return dtype;
 	if (lstat(path, &st))
@@ -574,15 +634,15 @@ static int get_dtype(struct dirent *de, const char *path)
  * Also, we ignore the name ".git" (even if it is not a directory).
  * That likely will not change.
  */
-static int read_directory_recursive(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *path, const char *base, int baselen, int check_only, const struct path_simplify *simplify)
+static int read_directory_recursive(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *base, int baselen, int check_only, const struct path_simplify *simplify)
 {
-	DIR *fdir = opendir(*path ? path : ".");
+	DIR *fdir = opendir(*base ? base : ".");
 	int contents = 0;
 
 	if (fdir) {
 		struct dirent *de;
-		char fullname[PATH_MAX + 1];
-		memcpy(fullname, base, baselen);
+		char path[PATH_MAX + 1];
+		memcpy(path, base, baselen);
 
 		while ((de = readdir(fdir)) != NULL) {
 			int len, dtype;
@@ -593,17 +653,18 @@ static int read_directory_recursive(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *path, co
 				continue;
 			len = strlen(de->d_name);
 			/* Ignore overly long pathnames! */
-			if (len + baselen + 8 > sizeof(fullname))
+			if (len + baselen + 8 > sizeof(path))
 				continue;
-			memcpy(fullname + baselen, de->d_name, len+1);
-			if (simplify_away(fullname, baselen + len, simplify))
+			memcpy(path + baselen, de->d_name, len+1);
+			len = baselen + len;
+			if (simplify_away(path, len, simplify))
 				continue;
 
 			dtype = DTYPE(de);
-			exclude = excluded(dir, fullname, &dtype);
+			exclude = excluded(dir, path, &dtype);
 			if (exclude && (dir->flags & DIR_COLLECT_IGNORED)
-			    && in_pathspec(fullname, baselen + len, simplify))
-				dir_add_ignored(dir, fullname, baselen + len);
+			    && in_pathspec(path, len, simplify))
+				dir_add_ignored(dir, path,len);
 
 			/*
 			 * Excluded? If we don't explicitly want to show
@@ -613,7 +674,7 @@ static int read_directory_recursive(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *path, co
 				continue;
 
 			if (dtype == DT_UNKNOWN)
-				dtype = get_dtype(de, fullname);
+				dtype = get_dtype(de, path, len);
 
 			/*
 			 * Do we want to see just the ignored files?
@@ -630,9 +691,9 @@ static int read_directory_recursive(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *path, co
 			default:
 				continue;
 			case DT_DIR:
-				memcpy(fullname + baselen + len, "/", 2);
+				memcpy(path + len, "/", 2);
 				len++;
-				switch (treat_directory(dir, fullname, baselen + len, simplify)) {
+				switch (treat_directory(dir, path, len, simplify)) {
 				case show_directory:
 					if (exclude != !!(dir->flags
 							& DIR_SHOW_IGNORED))
@@ -640,7 +701,7 @@ static int read_directory_recursive(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *path, co
 					break;
 				case recurse_into_directory:
 					contents += read_directory_recursive(dir,
-						fullname, fullname, baselen + len, 0, simplify);
+						path, len, 0, simplify);
 					continue;
 				case ignore_directory:
 					continue;
@@ -654,7 +715,7 @@ static int read_directory_recursive(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *path, co
 			if (check_only)
 				goto exit_early;
 			else
-				dir_add_name(dir, fullname, baselen + len);
+				dir_add_name(dir, path, len);
 		}
 exit_early:
 		closedir(fdir);
@@ -717,15 +778,15 @@ static void free_simplify(struct path_simplify *simplify)
 	free(simplify);
 }
 
-int read_directory(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *path, const char *base, int baselen, const char **pathspec)
+int read_directory(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *path, int len, const char **pathspec)
 {
 	struct path_simplify *simplify;
 
-	if (has_symlink_leading_path(path, strlen(path)))
+	if (has_symlink_leading_path(path, len))
 		return dir->nr;
 
 	simplify = create_simplify(pathspec);
-	read_directory_recursive(dir, path, base, baselen, 0, simplify);
+	read_directory_recursive(dir, path, len, 0, simplify);
 	free_simplify(simplify);
 	qsort(dir->entries, dir->nr, sizeof(struct dir_entry *), cmp_name);
 	qsort(dir->ignored, dir->ignored_nr, sizeof(struct dir_entry *), cmp_name);
diff --git a/dir.h b/dir.h
index 541286ad1d..a6314464f9 100644
--- a/dir.h
+++ b/dir.h
@@ -61,14 +61,13 @@ struct dir_struct {
 	char basebuf[PATH_MAX];
 };
 
-extern int common_prefix(const char **pathspec);
-
 #define MATCHED_RECURSIVELY 1
 #define MATCHED_FNMATCH 2
 #define MATCHED_EXACTLY 3
 extern int match_pathspec(const char **pathspec, const char *name, int namelen, int prefix, char *seen);
 
-extern int read_directory(struct dir_struct *, const char *path, const char *base, int baselen, const char **pathspec);
+extern int fill_directory(struct dir_struct *dir, const char **pathspec);
+extern int read_directory(struct dir_struct *, const char *path, int len, const char **pathspec);
 
 extern int excluded(struct dir_struct *, const char *, int *);
 extern void add_excludes_from_file(struct dir_struct *, const char *fname);
diff --git a/preload-index.c b/preload-index.c
index 88edc5f8a9..14d5281183 100644
--- a/preload-index.c
+++ b/preload-index.c
@@ -34,7 +34,9 @@ static void *preload_thread(void *_data)
 	struct thread_data *p = _data;
 	struct index_state *index = p->index;
 	struct cache_entry **cep = index->cache + p->offset;
+	struct cache_def cache;
 
+	memset(&cache, 0, sizeof(cache));
 	nr = p->nr;
 	if (nr + p->offset > index->cache_nr)
 		nr = index->cache_nr - p->offset;
@@ -49,6 +51,8 @@ static void *preload_thread(void *_data)
 			continue;
 		if (!ce_path_match(ce, p->pathspec))
 			continue;
+		if (threaded_has_symlink_leading_path(&cache, ce->name, ce_namelen(ce)))
+			continue;
 		if (lstat(ce->name, &st))
 			continue;
 		if (ie_match_stat(index, ce, &st, CE_MATCH_RACY_IS_DIRTY))
diff --git a/symlinks.c b/symlinks.c
index 8dcd63261f..4bdded39c5 100644
--- a/symlinks.c
+++ b/symlinks.c
@@ -32,19 +32,13 @@ static int longest_path_match(const char *name_a, int len_a,
 	return match_len;
 }
 
-static struct cache_def {
-	char path[PATH_MAX + 1];
-	int len;
-	int flags;
-	int track_flags;
-	int prefix_len_stat_func;
-} cache;
+static struct cache_def default_cache;
 
-static inline void reset_lstat_cache(void)
+static inline void reset_lstat_cache(struct cache_def *cache)
 {
-	cache.path[0] = '\0';
-	cache.len = 0;
-	cache.flags = 0;
+	cache->path[0] = '\0';
+	cache->len = 0;
+	cache->flags = 0;
 	/*
 	 * The track_flags and prefix_len_stat_func members is only
 	 * set by the safeguard rule inside lstat_cache()
@@ -70,23 +64,23 @@ static inline void reset_lstat_cache(void)
  * of the prefix, where the cache should use the stat() function
  * instead of the lstat() function to test each path component.
  */
-static int lstat_cache(const char *name, int len,
+static int lstat_cache(struct cache_def *cache, const char *name, int len,
 		       int track_flags, int prefix_len_stat_func)
 {
 	int match_len, last_slash, last_slash_dir, previous_slash;
 	int match_flags, ret_flags, save_flags, max_len, ret;
 	struct stat st;
 
-	if (cache.track_flags != track_flags ||
-	    cache.prefix_len_stat_func != prefix_len_stat_func) {
+	if (cache->track_flags != track_flags ||
+	    cache->prefix_len_stat_func != prefix_len_stat_func) {
 		/*
 		 * As a safeguard rule we clear the cache if the
 		 * values of track_flags and/or prefix_len_stat_func
 		 * does not match with the last supplied values.
 		 */
-		reset_lstat_cache();
-		cache.track_flags = track_flags;
-		cache.prefix_len_stat_func = prefix_len_stat_func;
+		reset_lstat_cache(cache);
+		cache->track_flags = track_flags;
+		cache->prefix_len_stat_func = prefix_len_stat_func;
 		match_len = last_slash = 0;
 	} else {
 		/*
@@ -94,10 +88,10 @@ static int lstat_cache(const char *name, int len,
 		 * the 2 "excluding" path types.
 		 */
 		match_len = last_slash =
-			longest_path_match(name, len, cache.path, cache.len,
+			longest_path_match(name, len, cache->path, cache->len,
 					   &previous_slash);
-		match_flags = cache.flags & track_flags & (FL_NOENT|FL_SYMLINK);
-		if (match_flags && match_len == cache.len)
+		match_flags = cache->flags & track_flags & (FL_NOENT|FL_SYMLINK);
+		if (match_flags && match_len == cache->len)
 			return match_flags;
 		/*
 		 * If we now have match_len > 0, we would know that
@@ -121,18 +115,18 @@ static int lstat_cache(const char *name, int len,
 	max_len = len < PATH_MAX ? len : PATH_MAX;
 	while (match_len < max_len) {
 		do {
-			cache.path[match_len] = name[match_len];
+			cache->path[match_len] = name[match_len];
 			match_len++;
 		} while (match_len < max_len && name[match_len] != '/');
 		if (match_len >= max_len && !(track_flags & FL_FULLPATH))
 			break;
 		last_slash = match_len;
-		cache.path[last_slash] = '\0';
+		cache->path[last_slash] = '\0';
 
 		if (last_slash <= prefix_len_stat_func)
-			ret = stat(cache.path, &st);
+			ret = stat(cache->path, &st);
 		else
-			ret = lstat(cache.path, &st);
+			ret = lstat(cache->path, &st);
 
 		if (ret) {
 			ret_flags = FL_LSTATERR;
@@ -156,9 +150,9 @@ static int lstat_cache(const char *name, int len,
 	 */
 	save_flags = ret_flags & track_flags & (FL_NOENT|FL_SYMLINK);
 	if (save_flags && last_slash > 0 && last_slash <= PATH_MAX) {
-		cache.path[last_slash] = '\0';
-		cache.len = last_slash;
-		cache.flags = save_flags;
+		cache->path[last_slash] = '\0';
+		cache->len = last_slash;
+		cache->flags = save_flags;
 	} else if ((track_flags & FL_DIR) &&
 		   last_slash_dir > 0 && last_slash_dir <= PATH_MAX) {
 		/*
@@ -172,11 +166,11 @@ static int lstat_cache(const char *name, int len,
 		 * can still cache the path components before the last
 		 * one (the found symlink or non-existing component).
 		 */
-		cache.path[last_slash_dir] = '\0';
-		cache.len = last_slash_dir;
-		cache.flags = FL_DIR;
+		cache->path[last_slash_dir] = '\0';
+		cache->len = last_slash_dir;
+		cache->flags = FL_DIR;
 	} else {
-		reset_lstat_cache();
+		reset_lstat_cache(cache);
 	}
 	return ret_flags;
 }
@@ -188,16 +182,17 @@ static int lstat_cache(const char *name, int len,
 void invalidate_lstat_cache(const char *name, int len)
 {
 	int match_len, previous_slash;
+	struct cache_def *cache = &default_cache;	/* FIXME */
 
-	match_len = longest_path_match(name, len, cache.path, cache.len,
+	match_len = longest_path_match(name, len, cache->path, cache->len,
 				       &previous_slash);
 	if (len == match_len) {
-		if ((cache.track_flags & FL_DIR) && previous_slash > 0) {
-			cache.path[previous_slash] = '\0';
-			cache.len = previous_slash;
-			cache.flags = FL_DIR;
+		if ((cache->track_flags & FL_DIR) && previous_slash > 0) {
+			cache->path[previous_slash] = '\0';
+			cache->len = previous_slash;
+			cache->flags = FL_DIR;
 		} else {
-			reset_lstat_cache();
+			reset_lstat_cache(cache);
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -207,19 +202,26 @@ void invalidate_lstat_cache(const char *name, int len)
  */
 void clear_lstat_cache(void)
 {
-	reset_lstat_cache();
+	struct cache_def *cache = &default_cache;	/* FIXME */
+	reset_lstat_cache(cache);
 }
 
 #define USE_ONLY_LSTAT  0
 
+/*
+ * Return non-zero if path 'name' has a leading symlink component
+ */
+int threaded_has_symlink_leading_path(struct cache_def *cache, const char *name, int len)
+{
+	return lstat_cache(cache, name, len, FL_SYMLINK|FL_DIR, USE_ONLY_LSTAT) & FL_SYMLINK;
+}
+
 /*
  * Return non-zero if path 'name' has a leading symlink component
  */
 int has_symlink_leading_path(const char *name, int len)
 {
-	return lstat_cache(name, len,
-			   FL_SYMLINK|FL_DIR, USE_ONLY_LSTAT) &
-		FL_SYMLINK;
+	return threaded_has_symlink_leading_path(&default_cache, name, len);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -228,7 +230,8 @@ int has_symlink_leading_path(const char *name, int len)
  */
 int has_symlink_or_noent_leading_path(const char *name, int len)
 {
-	return lstat_cache(name, len,
+	struct cache_def *cache = &default_cache;	/* FIXME */
+	return lstat_cache(cache, name, len,
 			   FL_SYMLINK|FL_NOENT|FL_DIR, USE_ONLY_LSTAT) &
 		(FL_SYMLINK|FL_NOENT);
 }
@@ -242,7 +245,8 @@ int has_symlink_or_noent_leading_path(const char *name, int len)
  */
 int has_dirs_only_path(const char *name, int len, int prefix_len)
 {
-	return lstat_cache(name, len,
+	struct cache_def *cache = &default_cache;	/* FIXME */
+	return lstat_cache(cache, name, len,
 			   FL_DIR|FL_FULLPATH, prefix_len) &
 		FL_DIR;
 }
diff --git a/unpack-trees.c b/unpack-trees.c
index 05d0bb1f85..42c7d7d563 100644
--- a/unpack-trees.c
+++ b/unpack-trees.c
@@ -551,7 +551,7 @@ static int verify_clean_subdirectory(struct cache_entry *ce, const char *action,
 	memset(&d, 0, sizeof(d));
 	if (o->dir)
 		d.exclude_per_dir = o->dir->exclude_per_dir;
-	i = read_directory(&d, ce->name, pathbuf, namelen+1, NULL);
+	i = read_directory(&d, pathbuf, namelen+1, NULL);
 	if (i)
 		return o->gently ? -1 :
 			error(ERRORMSG(o, not_uptodate_dir), ce->name);
diff --git a/wt-status.c b/wt-status.c
index 0ca4b13c29..47735d8129 100644
--- a/wt-status.c
+++ b/wt-status.c
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ static void wt_status_print_untracked(struct wt_status *s)
 			DIR_SHOW_OTHER_DIRECTORIES | DIR_HIDE_EMPTY_DIRECTORIES;
 	setup_standard_excludes(&dir);
 
-	read_directory(&dir, ".", "", 0, NULL);
+	fill_directory(&dir, NULL);
 	for(i = 0; i < dir.nr; i++) {
 		struct dir_entry *ent = dir.entries[i];
 		if (!cache_name_is_other(ent->name, ent->len))