diff --git a/builtin/for-each-ref.c b/builtin/for-each-ref.c
index d11059b862..26485b9b82 100644
--- a/builtin/for-each-ref.c
+++ b/builtin/for-each-ref.c
@@ -10,49 +10,10 @@
 #include "parse-options.h"
 #include "remote.h"
 #include "color.h"
-
-/* Quoting styles */
-#define QUOTE_NONE 0
-#define QUOTE_SHELL 1
-#define QUOTE_PERL 2
-#define QUOTE_PYTHON 4
-#define QUOTE_TCL 8
+#include "ref-filter.h"
 
 typedef enum { FIELD_STR, FIELD_ULONG, FIELD_TIME } cmp_type;
 
-struct atom_value {
-	const char *s;
-	unsigned long ul; /* used for sorting when not FIELD_STR */
-};
-
-struct ref_sort {
-	struct ref_sort *next;
-	int atom; /* index into used_atom array */
-	unsigned reverse : 1;
-};
-
-struct ref_array_item {
-	unsigned char objectname[20];
-	int flag;
-	const char *symref;
-	struct atom_value *value;
-	char *refname;
-};
-
-struct ref_array {
-	int nr, alloc;
-	struct ref_array_item **items;
-};
-
-struct ref_filter {
-	const char **name_patterns;
-};
-
-struct ref_filter_cbdata {
-	struct ref_array array;
-	struct ref_filter filter;
-};
-
 static struct {
 	const char *name;
 	cmp_type cmp_type;
diff --git a/ref-filter.h b/ref-filter.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..506ac8f359
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ref-filter.h
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+#ifndef REF_FILTER_H
+#define REF_FILTER_H
+
+#include "sha1-array.h"
+#include "refs.h"
+#include "commit.h"
+#include "parse-options.h"
+
+/* Quoting styles */
+#define QUOTE_NONE 0
+#define QUOTE_SHELL 1
+#define QUOTE_PERL 2
+#define QUOTE_PYTHON 4
+#define QUOTE_TCL 8
+
+struct atom_value {
+	const char *s;
+	unsigned long ul; /* used for sorting when not FIELD_STR */
+};
+
+struct ref_sorting {
+	struct ref_sorting *next;
+	int atom; /* index into used_atom array (internal) */
+	unsigned reverse : 1;
+};
+
+struct ref_array_item {
+	unsigned char objectname[20];
+	int flag;
+	const char *symref;
+	struct atom_value *value;
+	char *refname;
+};
+
+struct ref_array {
+	int nr, alloc;
+	struct ref_array_item **items;
+};
+
+struct ref_filter {
+	const char **name_patterns;
+};
+
+struct ref_filter_cbdata {
+	struct ref_array array;
+	struct ref_filter filter;
+};
+
+/*  Callback function for for_each_*ref(). This filters the refs based on the filters set */
+int ref_filter_handler(const char *refname, const struct object_id *oid, int flag, void *cb_data);
+/*  Clear all memory allocated to ref_array */
+void ref_array_clear(struct ref_array *array);
+/*  Parse format string and sort specifiers */
+int parse_ref_filter_atom(const char *atom, const char *ep);
+/*  Used to verify if the given format is correct and to parse out the used atoms */
+int verify_ref_format(const char *format);
+/*  Sort the given ref_array as per the ref_sorting provided */
+void ref_array_sort(struct ref_sorting *sort, struct ref_array *array);
+/*  Print the ref using the given format and quote_style */
+void show_ref_array_item(struct ref_array_item *info, const char *format, int quote_style);
+/*  Callback function for parsing the sort option */
+int parse_opt_ref_sorting(const struct option *opt, const char *arg, int unset);
+/*  Default sort option based on refname */
+struct ref_sorting *ref_default_sorting(void);
+
+#endif /*  REF_FILTER_H  */