diff --git a/builtin/fetch.c b/builtin/fetch.c
index 46ce7c2710..f8765b385b 100644
--- a/builtin/fetch.c
+++ b/builtin/fetch.c
@@ -957,18 +957,12 @@ static int store_updated_refs(const char *raw_url, const char *remote_name,
 				kind = "";
 				what = "";
 			}
-			else if (starts_with(rm->name, "refs/heads/")) {
+			else if (skip_prefix(rm->name, "refs/heads/", &what))
 				kind = "branch";
-				what = rm->name + 11;
-			}
-			else if (starts_with(rm->name, "refs/tags/")) {
+			else if (skip_prefix(rm->name, "refs/tags/", &what))
 				kind = "tag";
-				what = rm->name + 10;
-			}
-			else if (starts_with(rm->name, "refs/remotes/")) {
+			else if (skip_prefix(rm->name, "refs/remotes/", &what))
 				kind = "remote-tracking branch";
-				what = rm->name + 13;
-			}
 			else {
 				kind = "";
 				what = rm->name;
diff --git a/builtin/fmt-merge-msg.c b/builtin/fmt-merge-msg.c
index a4615587fd..736f666f64 100644
--- a/builtin/fmt-merge-msg.c
+++ b/builtin/fmt-merge-msg.c
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ static int handle_line(char *line, struct merge_parents *merge_parents)
 	int i, len = strlen(line);
 	struct origin_data *origin_data;
 	char *src;
-	const char *origin;
+	const char *origin, *tag_name;
 	struct src_data *src_data;
 	struct string_list_item *item;
 	int pulling_head = 0;
@@ -162,14 +162,13 @@ static int handle_line(char *line, struct merge_parents *merge_parents)
 	if (pulling_head) {
 		origin = src;
 		src_data->head_status |= 1;
-	} else if (starts_with(line, "branch ")) {
+	} else if (skip_prefix(line, "branch ", &origin)) {
 		origin_data->is_local_branch = 1;
-		origin = line + 7;
 		string_list_append(&src_data->branch, origin);
 		src_data->head_status |= 2;
-	} else if (starts_with(line, "tag ")) {
+	} else if (skip_prefix(line, "tag ", &tag_name)) {
 		origin = line;
-		string_list_append(&src_data->tag, origin + 4);
+		string_list_append(&src_data->tag, tag_name);
 		src_data->head_status |= 2;
 	} else if (skip_prefix(line, "remote-tracking branch ", &origin)) {
 		string_list_append(&src_data->r_branch, origin);
diff --git a/builtin/name-rev.c b/builtin/name-rev.c
index b0f0776947..e55a4f04ee 100644
--- a/builtin/name-rev.c
+++ b/builtin/name-rev.c
@@ -161,10 +161,10 @@ static const char *name_ref_abbrev(const char *refname, int shorten_unambiguous)
 {
 	if (shorten_unambiguous)
 		refname = shorten_unambiguous_ref(refname, 0);
-	else if (starts_with(refname, "refs/heads/"))
-		refname = refname + 11;
-	else if (starts_with(refname, "refs/"))
-		refname = refname + 5;
+	else if (skip_prefix(refname, "refs/heads/", &refname))
+		; /* refname already advanced */
+	else
+		skip_prefix(refname, "refs/", &refname);
 	return refname;
 }
 
diff --git a/builtin/push.c b/builtin/push.c
index 843f5b22a2..6dbf0f0bb7 100644
--- a/builtin/push.c
+++ b/builtin/push.c
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ static struct string_list push_options_config = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
 static const char *map_refspec(const char *ref,
 			       struct remote *remote, struct ref *local_refs)
 {
+	const char *branch_name;
 	struct ref *matched = NULL;
 
 	/* Does "ref" uniquely name our ref? */
@@ -84,8 +85,8 @@ static const char *map_refspec(const char *ref,
 	}
 
 	if (push_default == PUSH_DEFAULT_UPSTREAM &&
-	    starts_with(matched->name, "refs/heads/")) {
-		struct branch *branch = branch_get(matched->name + 11);
+	    skip_prefix(matched->name, "refs/heads/", &branch_name)) {
+		struct branch *branch = branch_get(branch_name);
 		if (branch->merge_nr == 1 && branch->merge[0]->src) {
 			struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 			strbuf_addf(&buf, "%s:%s",
diff --git a/shell.c b/shell.c
index 40084a3013..54cca7439d 100644
--- a/shell.c
+++ b/shell.c
@@ -16,10 +16,10 @@ static int do_generic_cmd(const char *me, char *arg)
 	setup_path();
 	if (!arg || !(arg = sq_dequote(arg)) || *arg == '-')
 		die("bad argument");
-	if (!starts_with(me, "git-"))
+	if (!skip_prefix(me, "git-", &me))
 		die("bad command");
 
-	my_argv[0] = me + 4;
+	my_argv[0] = me;
 	my_argv[1] = arg;
 	my_argv[2] = NULL;