diff --git a/setup.c b/setup.c
index b9474b163a..fc592dc6dd 100644
--- a/setup.c
+++ b/setup.c
@@ -722,6 +722,7 @@ int upgrade_repository_format(int target_version)
 	ret = 1;
 
 out:
+	clear_repository_format(&repo_fmt);
 	strbuf_release(&repo_version);
 	strbuf_release(&err);
 	return ret;
@@ -2199,6 +2200,7 @@ int init_db(const char *git_dir, const char *real_git_dir,
 			       git_dir, len && git_dir[len-1] != '/' ? "/" : "");
 	}
 
+	clear_repository_format(&repo_fmt);
 	free(original_git_dir);
 	return 0;
 }