diff --git a/ident.c b/ident.c
index 967895d885..a7a2d13257 100644
--- a/ident.c
+++ b/ident.c
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ static void strbuf_addstr_without_crud(struct strbuf *sb, const char *src)
  * can still be NULL if the input line only has the name/email part
  * (e.g. reading from a reflog entry).
  */
-int split_ident_line(struct ident_split *split, const char *line, int len)
+int split_ident_line(struct ident_split *split, const char *line, size_t len)
 {
 	const char *cp;
 	size_t span;
diff --git a/ident.h b/ident.h
index 6a79febba1..3c03403879 100644
--- a/ident.h
+++ b/ident.h
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ void reset_ident_date(void);
  * Signals an success with 0, but time part of the result may be NULL
  * if the input lacks timestamp and zone
  */
-int split_ident_line(struct ident_split *, const char *, int);
+int split_ident_line(struct ident_split *, const char *, size_t);
 
 /*
  * Given a commit or tag object buffer and the commit or tag headers, replaces