diff --git a/ref-filter.c b/ref-filter.c
index 2cb5a166d6..30cc488d8a 100644
--- a/ref-filter.c
+++ b/ref-filter.c
@@ -2833,7 +2833,7 @@ struct ref_array_item *ref_array_push(struct ref_array *array,
 	return ref;
 }
 
-static int ref_kind_from_refname(const char *refname)
+int ref_kind_from_refname(const char *refname)
 {
 	unsigned int i;
 
diff --git a/ref-filter.h b/ref-filter.h
index f22ca94b49..4ed1edf09a 100644
--- a/ref-filter.h
+++ b/ref-filter.h
@@ -135,6 +135,8 @@ struct ref_format {
 	OPT_STRVEC(0, "exclude", &(var)->exclude, \
 		   N_("pattern"), N_("exclude refs which match pattern"))
 
+/* Get the reference kind from the provided reference name. */
+int ref_kind_from_refname(const char *refname);
 /*
  * API for filtering a set of refs. Based on the type of refs the user
  * has requested, we iterate through those refs and apply filters