diff --git a/receive-pack.c b/receive-pack.c
index f0b4cb47c7..c8aacbbdd3 100644
--- a/receive-pack.c
+++ b/receive-pack.c
@@ -261,6 +261,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	if (!enter_repo(dir, 0))
 		die("'%s': unable to chdir or not a git archive", dir);
 
+	setup_ident();
 	git_config(git_default_config);
 
 	write_head_info();