diff --git a/builtin/config.c b/builtin/config.c
index 1e31aa9f8d..b29d26dede 100644
--- a/builtin/config.c
+++ b/builtin/config.c
@@ -602,6 +602,9 @@ int cmd_config(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (use_local_config && nongit)
 		die(_("--local can only be used inside a git repository"));
 
+	if (given_config_source.blob && nongit)
+		die(_("--blob can only be used inside a git repository"));
+
 	if (given_config_source.file &&
 			!strcmp(given_config_source.file, "-")) {
 		given_config_source.file = NULL;
diff --git a/t/t1307-config-blob.sh b/t/t1307-config-blob.sh
index eed31ffa30..37dc689d8c 100755
--- a/t/t1307-config-blob.sh
+++ b/t/t1307-config-blob.sh
@@ -73,4 +73,8 @@ test_expect_success 'can parse blob ending with CR' '
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'config --blob outside of a repository is an error' '
+	test_must_fail nongit git config --blob=foo --list
+'
+
 test_done