diff --git a/init-db.c b/init-db.c
index 7078cf72c2..dad06351ca 100644
--- a/init-db.c
+++ b/init-db.c
@@ -5,6 +5,16 @@
  */
 #include "cache.h"
 
+void safe_create_dir(char *dir)
+{
+	if (mkdir(dir, 0755) < 0) {
+		if (errno != EEXIST) {
+			perror(dir);
+			exit(1);
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 /*
  * If you want to, you can share the DB area with any number of branches.
  * That has advantages: you can save space by sharing all the SHA1 objects.
@@ -16,10 +26,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	char *sha1_dir, *path;
 	int len, i;
 
-	if (mkdir(".git", 0755) < 0) {
-		perror("unable to create .git directory");
-		exit(1);
-	}
+	safe_create_dir(".git");
 
 	sha1_dir = getenv(DB_ENVIRONMENT);
 	if (!sha1_dir) {
@@ -27,22 +34,13 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		fprintf(stderr, "defaulting to local storage area\n");
 	}
 	len = strlen(sha1_dir);
-	if (mkdir(sha1_dir, 0755) < 0) {
-		if (errno != EEXIST) {
-			perror(sha1_dir);
-			exit(1);
-		}
-	}
 	path = malloc(len + 40);
 	memcpy(path, sha1_dir, len);
+
+	safe_create_dir(sha1_dir);
 	for (i = 0; i < 256; i++) {
 		sprintf(path+len, "/%02x", i);
-		if (mkdir(path, 0755) < 0) {
-			if (errno != EEXIST) {
-				perror(path);
-				exit(1);
-			}
-		}
+		safe_create_dir(path);
 	}
 	return 0;
 }