diff --git a/Documentation/glossary-content.txt b/Documentation/glossary-content.txt
index f04b48ef0d..33716a31d0 100644
--- a/Documentation/glossary-content.txt
+++ b/Documentation/glossary-content.txt
@@ -273,6 +273,29 @@ This commit is referred to as a "merge commit", or sometimes just a
 	<<def_pack,pack>>, to assist in efficiently accessing the contents of a
 	pack.
 
+[[def_pathspec]]pathspec::
+       Pattern used to specify paths.
++
+Pathspecs are used on the command line of "git ls-files", "git
+ls-tree", "git grep", "git checkout", and many other commands to
+limit the scope of operations to some subset of the tree or
+worktree.  See the documentation of each command for whether
+paths are relative to the current directory or toplevel.  The
+pathspec syntax is as follows:
+
+* any path matches itself
+* the pathspec up to the last slash represents a
+  directory prefix.  The scope of that pathspec is
+  limited to that subtree.
+* the rest of the pathspec is a pattern for the remainder
+  of the pathname.  Paths relative to the directory
+  prefix will be matched against that pattern using fnmatch(3);
+  in particular, '*' and '?' _can_ match directory separators.
++
+For example, Documentation/*.jpg will match all .jpg files
+in the Documentation subtree,
+including Documentation/chapter_1/figure_1.jpg.
+
 [[def_parent]]parent::
 	A <<def_commit_object,commit object>> contains a (possibly empty) list
 	of the logical predecessor(s) in the line of development, i.e. its
diff --git a/builtin/add.c b/builtin/add.c
index 5c9f4afef2..f7a17e43f6 100644
--- a/builtin/add.c
+++ b/builtin/add.c
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ int add_files_to_cache(const char *prefix, const char **pathspec, int flags)
 	struct rev_info rev;
 	init_revisions(&rev, prefix);
 	setup_revisions(0, NULL, &rev, NULL);
-	rev.prune_data = pathspec;
+	init_pathspec(&rev.prune_data, pathspec);
 	rev.diffopt.output_format = DIFF_FORMAT_CALLBACK;
 	rev.diffopt.format_callback = update_callback;
 	data.flags = flags;
diff --git a/builtin/diff-files.c b/builtin/diff-files.c
index 951c7c8994..46085f862f 100644
--- a/builtin/diff-files.c
+++ b/builtin/diff-files.c
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ int cmd_diff_files(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	    (rev.diffopt.output_format & DIFF_FORMAT_PATCH))
 		rev.combine_merges = rev.dense_combined_merges = 1;
 
-	if (read_cache_preload(rev.diffopt.paths) < 0) {
+	if (read_cache_preload(rev.diffopt.pathspec.raw) < 0) {
 		perror("read_cache_preload");
 		return -1;
 	}
diff --git a/builtin/diff.c b/builtin/diff.c
index 42822cd537..4c9deb28ec 100644
--- a/builtin/diff.c
+++ b/builtin/diff.c
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ static int builtin_diff_index(struct rev_info *revs,
 	    revs->max_count != -1 || revs->min_age != -1 ||
 	    revs->max_age != -1)
 		usage(builtin_diff_usage);
-	if (read_cache_preload(revs->diffopt.paths) < 0) {
+	if (read_cache_preload(revs->diffopt.pathspec.raw) < 0) {
 		perror("read_cache_preload");
 		return -1;
 	}
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ static int builtin_diff_files(struct rev_info *revs, int argc, const char **argv
 		revs->combine_merges = revs->dense_combined_merges = 1;
 
 	setup_work_tree();
-	if (read_cache_preload(revs->diffopt.paths) < 0) {
+	if (read_cache_preload(revs->diffopt.pathspec.raw) < 0) {
 		perror("read_cache_preload");
 		return -1;
 	}
@@ -374,14 +374,10 @@ int cmd_diff(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		}
 		die("unhandled object '%s' given.", name);
 	}
-	if (rev.prune_data) {
-		const char **pathspec = rev.prune_data;
-		while (*pathspec) {
-			if (!path)
-				path = *pathspec;
-			paths++;
-			pathspec++;
-		}
+	if (rev.prune_data.nr) {
+		if (!path)
+			path = rev.prune_data.items[0].match;
+		paths += rev.prune_data.nr;
 	}
 
 	/*
diff --git a/builtin/fast-export.c b/builtin/fast-export.c
index c8fd46b872..ba57457cc5 100644
--- a/builtin/fast-export.c
+++ b/builtin/fast-export.c
@@ -651,7 +651,7 @@ int cmd_fast_export(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (import_filename)
 		import_marks(import_filename);
 
-	if (import_filename && revs.prune_data)
+	if (import_filename && revs.prune_data.nr)
 		full_tree = 1;
 
 	get_tags_and_duplicates(&revs.pending, &extra_refs);
diff --git a/builtin/grep.c b/builtin/grep.c
index fdf7131efd..c3af8760cc 100644
--- a/builtin/grep.c
+++ b/builtin/grep.c
@@ -329,106 +329,6 @@ static int grep_config(const char *var, const char *value, void *cb)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-/*
- * Return non-zero if max_depth is negative or path has no more then max_depth
- * slashes.
- */
-static int accept_subdir(const char *path, int max_depth)
-{
-	if (max_depth < 0)
-		return 1;
-
-	while ((path = strchr(path, '/')) != NULL) {
-		max_depth--;
-		if (max_depth < 0)
-			return 0;
-		path++;
-	}
-	return 1;
-}
-
-/*
- * Return non-zero if name is a subdirectory of match and is not too deep.
- */
-static int is_subdir(const char *name, int namelen,
-		const char *match, int matchlen, int max_depth)
-{
-	if (matchlen > namelen || strncmp(name, match, matchlen))
-		return 0;
-
-	if (name[matchlen] == '\0') /* exact match */
-		return 1;
-
-	if (!matchlen || match[matchlen-1] == '/' || name[matchlen] == '/')
-		return accept_subdir(name + matchlen + 1, max_depth);
-
-	return 0;
-}
-
-/*
- * git grep pathspecs are somewhat different from diff-tree pathspecs;
- * pathname wildcards are allowed.
- */
-static int pathspec_matches(const char **paths, const char *name, int max_depth)
-{
-	int namelen, i;
-	if (!paths || !*paths)
-		return accept_subdir(name, max_depth);
-	namelen = strlen(name);
-	for (i = 0; paths[i]; i++) {
-		const char *match = paths[i];
-		int matchlen = strlen(match);
-		const char *cp, *meta;
-
-		if (is_subdir(name, namelen, match, matchlen, max_depth))
-			return 1;
-		if (!fnmatch(match, name, 0))
-			return 1;
-		if (name[namelen-1] != '/')
-			continue;
-
-		/* We are being asked if the directory ("name") is worth
-		 * descending into.
-		 *
-		 * Find the longest leading directory name that does
-		 * not have metacharacter in the pathspec; the name
-		 * we are looking at must overlap with that directory.
-		 */
-		for (cp = match, meta = NULL; cp - match < matchlen; cp++) {
-			char ch = *cp;
-			if (ch == '*' || ch == '[' || ch == '?') {
-				meta = cp;
-				break;
-			}
-		}
-		if (!meta)
-			meta = cp; /* fully literal */
-
-		if (namelen <= meta - match) {
-			/* Looking at "Documentation/" and
-			 * the pattern says "Documentation/howto/", or
-			 * "Documentation/diff*.txt".  The name we
-			 * have should match prefix.
-			 */
-			if (!memcmp(match, name, namelen))
-				return 1;
-			continue;
-		}
-
-		if (meta - match < namelen) {
-			/* Looking at "Documentation/howto/" and
-			 * the pattern says "Documentation/h*";
-			 * match up to "Do.../h"; this avoids descending
-			 * into "Documentation/technical/".
-			 */
-			if (!memcmp(match, name, meta - match))
-				return 1;
-			continue;
-		}
-	}
-	return 0;
-}
-
 static void *lock_and_read_sha1_file(const unsigned char *sha1, enum object_type *type, unsigned long *size)
 {
 	void *data;
@@ -581,7 +481,7 @@ static void run_pager(struct grep_opt *opt, const char *prefix)
 	free(argv);
 }
 
-static int grep_cache(struct grep_opt *opt, const char **paths, int cached)
+static int grep_cache(struct grep_opt *opt, const struct pathspec *pathspec, int cached)
 {
 	int hit = 0;
 	int nr;
@@ -591,7 +491,7 @@ static int grep_cache(struct grep_opt *opt, const char **paths, int cached)
 		struct cache_entry *ce = active_cache[nr];
 		if (!S_ISREG(ce->ce_mode))
 			continue;
-		if (!pathspec_matches(paths, ce->name, opt->max_depth))
+		if (!match_pathspec_depth(pathspec, ce->name, ce_namelen(ce), 0, NULL))
 			continue;
 		/*
 		 * If CE_VALID is on, we assume worktree file and its cache entry
@@ -618,44 +518,29 @@ static int grep_cache(struct grep_opt *opt, const char **paths, int cached)
 	return hit;
 }
 
-static int grep_tree(struct grep_opt *opt, const char **paths,
-		     struct tree_desc *tree,
-		     const char *tree_name, const char *base)
+static int grep_tree(struct grep_opt *opt, const struct pathspec *pathspec,
+		     struct tree_desc *tree, struct strbuf *base, int tn_len)
 {
-	int len;
-	int hit = 0;
+	int hit = 0, matched = 0;
 	struct name_entry entry;
-	char *down;
-	int tn_len = strlen(tree_name);
-	struct strbuf pathbuf;
-
-	strbuf_init(&pathbuf, PATH_MAX + tn_len);
-
-	if (tn_len) {
-		strbuf_add(&pathbuf, tree_name, tn_len);
-		strbuf_addch(&pathbuf, ':');
-		tn_len = pathbuf.len;
-	}
-	strbuf_addstr(&pathbuf, base);
-	len = pathbuf.len;
+	int old_baselen = base->len;
 
 	while (tree_entry(tree, &entry)) {
 		int te_len = tree_entry_len(entry.path, entry.sha1);
-		pathbuf.len = len;
-		strbuf_add(&pathbuf, entry.path, te_len);
 
-		if (S_ISDIR(entry.mode))
-			/* Match "abc/" against pathspec to
-			 * decide if we want to descend into "abc"
-			 * directory.
-			 */
-			strbuf_addch(&pathbuf, '/');
+		if (matched != 2) {
+			matched = tree_entry_interesting(&entry, base, tn_len, pathspec);
+			if (matched == -1)
+				break; /* no more matches */
+			if (!matched)
+				continue;
+		}
 
-		down = pathbuf.buf + tn_len;
-		if (!pathspec_matches(paths, down, opt->max_depth))
-			;
-		else if (S_ISREG(entry.mode))
-			hit |= grep_sha1(opt, entry.sha1, pathbuf.buf, tn_len);
+		strbuf_add(base, entry.path, te_len);
+
+		if (S_ISREG(entry.mode)) {
+			hit |= grep_sha1(opt, entry.sha1, base->buf, tn_len);
+		}
 		else if (S_ISDIR(entry.mode)) {
 			enum object_type type;
 			struct tree_desc sub;
@@ -666,18 +551,21 @@ static int grep_tree(struct grep_opt *opt, const char **paths,
 			if (!data)
 				die("unable to read tree (%s)",
 				    sha1_to_hex(entry.sha1));
+
+			strbuf_addch(base, '/');
 			init_tree_desc(&sub, data, size);
-			hit |= grep_tree(opt, paths, &sub, tree_name, down);
+			hit |= grep_tree(opt, pathspec, &sub, base, tn_len);
 			free(data);
 		}
+		strbuf_setlen(base, old_baselen);
+
 		if (hit && opt->status_only)
 			break;
 	}
-	strbuf_release(&pathbuf);
 	return hit;
 }
 
-static int grep_object(struct grep_opt *opt, const char **paths,
+static int grep_object(struct grep_opt *opt, const struct pathspec *pathspec,
 		       struct object *obj, const char *name)
 {
 	if (obj->type == OBJ_BLOB)
@@ -686,20 +574,30 @@ static int grep_object(struct grep_opt *opt, const char **paths,
 		struct tree_desc tree;
 		void *data;
 		unsigned long size;
-		int hit;
+		struct strbuf base;
+		int hit, len;
+
 		data = read_object_with_reference(obj->sha1, tree_type,
 						  &size, NULL);
 		if (!data)
 			die("unable to read tree (%s)", sha1_to_hex(obj->sha1));
+
+		len = name ? strlen(name) : 0;
+		strbuf_init(&base, PATH_MAX + len + 1);
+		if (len) {
+			strbuf_add(&base, name, len);
+			strbuf_addch(&base, ':');
+		}
 		init_tree_desc(&tree, data, size);
-		hit = grep_tree(opt, paths, &tree, name, "");
+		hit = grep_tree(opt, pathspec, &tree, &base, base.len);
+		strbuf_release(&base);
 		free(data);
 		return hit;
 	}
 	die("unable to grep from object of type %s", typename(obj->type));
 }
 
-static int grep_objects(struct grep_opt *opt, const char **paths,
+static int grep_objects(struct grep_opt *opt, const struct pathspec *pathspec,
 			const struct object_array *list)
 {
 	unsigned int i;
@@ -709,7 +607,7 @@ static int grep_objects(struct grep_opt *opt, const char **paths,
 	for (i = 0; i < nr; i++) {
 		struct object *real_obj;
 		real_obj = deref_tag(list->objects[i].item, NULL, 0);
-		if (grep_object(opt, paths, real_obj, list->objects[i].name)) {
+		if (grep_object(opt, pathspec, real_obj, list->objects[i].name)) {
 			hit = 1;
 			if (opt->status_only)
 				break;
@@ -718,7 +616,7 @@ static int grep_objects(struct grep_opt *opt, const char **paths,
 	return hit;
 }
 
-static int grep_directory(struct grep_opt *opt, const char **paths)
+static int grep_directory(struct grep_opt *opt, const struct pathspec *pathspec)
 {
 	struct dir_struct dir;
 	int i, hit = 0;
@@ -726,7 +624,7 @@ static int grep_directory(struct grep_opt *opt, const char **paths)
 	memset(&dir, 0, sizeof(dir));
 	setup_standard_excludes(&dir);
 
-	fill_directory(&dir, paths);
+	fill_directory(&dir, pathspec->raw);
 	for (i = 0; i < dir.nr; i++) {
 		hit |= grep_file(opt, dir.entries[i]->name);
 		if (hit && opt->status_only)
@@ -832,6 +730,7 @@ int cmd_grep(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	struct grep_opt opt;
 	struct object_array list = OBJECT_ARRAY_INIT;
 	const char **paths = NULL;
+	struct pathspec pathspec;
 	struct string_list path_list = STRING_LIST_INIT_NODUP;
 	int i;
 	int dummy;
@@ -1059,6 +958,9 @@ int cmd_grep(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		paths[0] = prefix;
 		paths[1] = NULL;
 	}
+	init_pathspec(&pathspec, paths);
+	pathspec.max_depth = opt.max_depth;
+	pathspec.recursive = 1;
 
 	if (show_in_pager && (cached || list.nr))
 		die("--open-files-in-pager only works on the worktree");
@@ -1089,16 +991,16 @@ int cmd_grep(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			die("--cached cannot be used with --no-index.");
 		if (list.nr)
 			die("--no-index cannot be used with revs.");
-		hit = grep_directory(&opt, paths);
+		hit = grep_directory(&opt, &pathspec);
 	} else if (!list.nr) {
 		if (!cached)
 			setup_work_tree();
 
-		hit = grep_cache(&opt, paths, cached);
+		hit = grep_cache(&opt, &pathspec, cached);
 	} else {
 		if (cached)
 			die("both --cached and trees are given.");
-		hit = grep_objects(&opt, paths, &list);
+		hit = grep_objects(&opt, &pathspec, &list);
 	}
 
 	if (use_threads)
diff --git a/builtin/log.c b/builtin/log.c
index d8c6c28d2f..f5ed690c43 100644
--- a/builtin/log.c
+++ b/builtin/log.c
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ static void cmd_log_init(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix,
 		rev->always_show_header = 0;
 	if (DIFF_OPT_TST(&rev->diffopt, FOLLOW_RENAMES)) {
 		rev->always_show_header = 0;
-		if (rev->diffopt.nr_paths != 1)
+		if (rev->diffopt.pathspec.nr != 1)
 			usage("git logs can only follow renames on one pathname at a time");
 	}
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
diff --git a/builtin/update-index.c b/builtin/update-index.c
index 56baf27fb7..d7850c6309 100644
--- a/builtin/update-index.c
+++ b/builtin/update-index.c
@@ -546,7 +546,10 @@ static int do_reupdate(int ac, const char **av,
 	 */
 	int pos;
 	int has_head = 1;
-	const char **pathspec = get_pathspec(prefix, av + 1);
+	const char **paths = get_pathspec(prefix, av + 1);
+	struct pathspec pathspec;
+
+	init_pathspec(&pathspec, paths);
 
 	if (read_ref("HEAD", head_sha1))
 		/* If there is no HEAD, that means it is an initial
@@ -559,7 +562,7 @@ static int do_reupdate(int ac, const char **av,
 		struct cache_entry *old = NULL;
 		int save_nr;
 
-		if (ce_stage(ce) || !ce_path_match(ce, pathspec))
+		if (ce_stage(ce) || !ce_path_match(ce, &pathspec))
 			continue;
 		if (has_head)
 			old = read_one_ent(NULL, head_sha1,
@@ -578,6 +581,7 @@ static int do_reupdate(int ac, const char **av,
 		if (save_nr != active_nr)
 			goto redo;
 	}
+	free_pathspec(&pathspec);
 	return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index 4a758babec..677994a23a 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -500,7 +500,22 @@ extern int index_name_is_other(const struct index_state *, const char *, int);
 extern int ie_match_stat(const struct index_state *, struct cache_entry *, struct stat *, unsigned int);
 extern int ie_modified(const struct index_state *, struct cache_entry *, struct stat *, unsigned int);
 
-extern int ce_path_match(const struct cache_entry *ce, const char **pathspec);
+struct pathspec {
+	const char **raw; /* get_pathspec() result, not freed by free_pathspec() */
+	int nr;
+	int has_wildcard:1;
+	int recursive:1;
+	int max_depth;
+	struct pathspec_item {
+		const char *match;
+		int len;
+		int has_wildcard:1;
+	} *items;
+};
+
+extern int init_pathspec(struct pathspec *, const char **);
+extern void free_pathspec(struct pathspec *);
+extern int ce_path_match(const struct cache_entry *ce, const struct pathspec *pathspec);
 extern int index_fd(unsigned char *sha1, int fd, struct stat *st, int write_object, enum object_type type, const char *path);
 extern int index_path(unsigned char *sha1, const char *path, struct stat *st, int write_object);
 extern void fill_stat_cache_info(struct cache_entry *ce, struct stat *st);
diff --git a/diff-lib.c b/diff-lib.c
index 392ce2bef0..1e22992cb1 100644
--- a/diff-lib.c
+++ b/diff-lib.c
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ int run_diff_files(struct rev_info *revs, unsigned int option)
 			DIFF_OPT_TST(&revs->diffopt, HAS_CHANGES))
 			break;
 
-		if (!ce_path_match(ce, revs->prune_data))
+		if (!ce_path_match(ce, &revs->prune_data))
 			continue;
 
 		if (ce_stage(ce)) {
@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ static int oneway_diff(struct cache_entry **src, struct unpack_trees_options *o)
 	if (tree == o->df_conflict_entry)
 		tree = NULL;
 
-	if (ce_path_match(idx ? idx : tree, revs->prune_data))
+	if (ce_path_match(idx ? idx : tree, &revs->prune_data))
 		do_oneway_diff(o, idx, tree);
 
 	return 0;
@@ -501,7 +501,7 @@ int do_diff_cache(const unsigned char *tree_sha1, struct diff_options *opt)
 	active_nr = dst - active_cache;
 
 	init_revisions(&revs, NULL);
-	revs.prune_data = opt->paths;
+	init_pathspec(&revs.prune_data, opt->pathspec.raw);
 	tree = parse_tree_indirect(tree_sha1);
 	if (!tree)
 		die("bad tree object %s", sha1_to_hex(tree_sha1));
diff --git a/diff-no-index.c b/diff-no-index.c
index ce9e783407..3a36144687 100644
--- a/diff-no-index.c
+++ b/diff-no-index.c
@@ -231,8 +231,9 @@ void diff_no_index(struct rev_info *revs,
 
 	if (prefix) {
 		int len = strlen(prefix);
+		const char *paths[3];
+		memset(paths, 0, sizeof(paths));
 
-		revs->diffopt.paths = xcalloc(2, sizeof(char *));
 		for (i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
 			const char *p = argv[argc - 2 + i];
 			/*
@@ -242,12 +243,12 @@ void diff_no_index(struct rev_info *revs,
 			p = (strcmp(p, "-")
 			     ? xstrdup(prefix_filename(prefix, len, p))
 			     : p);
-			revs->diffopt.paths[i] = p;
+			paths[i] = p;
 		}
+		diff_tree_setup_paths(paths, &revs->diffopt);
 	}
 	else
-		revs->diffopt.paths = argv + argc - 2;
-	revs->diffopt.nr_paths = 2;
+		diff_tree_setup_paths(argv + argc - 2, &revs->diffopt);
 	revs->diffopt.skip_stat_unmatch = 1;
 	if (!revs->diffopt.output_format)
 		revs->diffopt.output_format = DIFF_FORMAT_PATCH;
@@ -259,8 +260,8 @@ void diff_no_index(struct rev_info *revs,
 	if (diff_setup_done(&revs->diffopt) < 0)
 		die("diff_setup_done failed");
 
-	if (queue_diff(&revs->diffopt, revs->diffopt.paths[0],
-		       revs->diffopt.paths[1]))
+	if (queue_diff(&revs->diffopt, revs->diffopt.pathspec.raw[0],
+		       revs->diffopt.pathspec.raw[1]))
 		exit(1);
 	diff_set_mnemonic_prefix(&revs->diffopt, "1/", "2/");
 	diffcore_std(&revs->diffopt);
diff --git a/diff.h b/diff.h
index 0083d92438..310bd6b283 100644
--- a/diff.h
+++ b/diff.h
@@ -133,9 +133,7 @@ struct diff_options {
 	FILE *file;
 	int close_file;
 
-	int nr_paths;
-	const char **paths;
-	int *pathlens;
+	struct pathspec pathspec;
 	change_fn_t change;
 	add_remove_fn_t add_remove;
 	diff_format_fn_t format_callback;
diff --git a/dir.c b/dir.c
index 570b651a17..168dad6152 100644
--- a/dir.c
+++ b/dir.c
@@ -87,6 +87,21 @@ int fill_directory(struct dir_struct *dir, const char **pathspec)
 	return len;
 }
 
+int within_depth(const char *name, int namelen,
+			int depth, int max_depth)
+{
+	const char *cp = name, *cpe = name + namelen;
+
+	while (cp < cpe) {
+		if (*cp++ != '/')
+			continue;
+		depth++;
+		if (depth > max_depth)
+			return 0;
+	}
+	return 1;
+}
+
 /*
  * Does 'match' match the given name?
  * A match is found if
@@ -184,6 +199,95 @@ int match_pathspec(const char **pathspec, const char *name, int namelen,
 	return retval;
 }
 
+/*
+ * Does 'match' match the given name?
+ * A match is found if
+ *
+ * (1) the 'match' string is leading directory of 'name', or
+ * (2) the 'match' string is a wildcard and matches 'name', or
+ * (3) the 'match' string is exactly the same as 'name'.
+ *
+ * and the return value tells which case it was.
+ *
+ * It returns 0 when there is no match.
+ */
+static int match_pathspec_item(const struct pathspec_item *item, int prefix,
+			       const char *name, int namelen)
+{
+	/* name/namelen has prefix cut off by caller */
+	const char *match = item->match + prefix;
+	int matchlen = item->len - prefix;
+
+	/* If the match was just the prefix, we matched */
+	if (!*match)
+		return MATCHED_RECURSIVELY;
+
+	if (matchlen <= namelen && !strncmp(match, name, matchlen)) {
+		if (matchlen == namelen)
+			return MATCHED_EXACTLY;
+
+		if (match[matchlen-1] == '/' || name[matchlen] == '/')
+			return MATCHED_RECURSIVELY;
+	}
+
+	if (item->has_wildcard && !fnmatch(match, name, 0))
+		return MATCHED_FNMATCH;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Given a name and a list of pathspecs, see if the name matches
+ * any of the pathspecs.  The caller is also interested in seeing
+ * all pathspec matches some names it calls this function with
+ * (otherwise the user could have mistyped the unmatched pathspec),
+ * and a mark is left in seen[] array for pathspec element that
+ * actually matched anything.
+ */
+int match_pathspec_depth(const struct pathspec *ps,
+			 const char *name, int namelen,
+			 int prefix, char *seen)
+{
+	int i, retval = 0;
+
+	if (!ps->nr) {
+		if (!ps->recursive || ps->max_depth == -1)
+			return MATCHED_RECURSIVELY;
+
+		if (within_depth(name, namelen, 0, ps->max_depth))
+			return MATCHED_EXACTLY;
+		else
+			return 0;
+	}
+
+	name += prefix;
+	namelen -= prefix;
+
+	for (i = ps->nr - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+		int how;
+		if (seen && seen[i] == MATCHED_EXACTLY)
+			continue;
+		how = match_pathspec_item(ps->items+i, prefix, name, namelen);
+		if (ps->recursive && ps->max_depth != -1 &&
+		    how && how != MATCHED_FNMATCH) {
+			int len = ps->items[i].len;
+			if (name[len] == '/')
+				len++;
+			if (within_depth(name+len, namelen-len, 0, ps->max_depth))
+				how = MATCHED_EXACTLY;
+			else
+				how = 0;
+		}
+		if (how) {
+			if (retval < how)
+				retval = how;
+			if (seen && seen[i] < how)
+				seen[i] = how;
+		}
+	}
+	return retval;
+}
+
 static int no_wildcard(const char *string)
 {
 	return string[strcspn(string, "*?[{\\")] == '\0';
@@ -1151,3 +1255,50 @@ int remove_path(const char *name)
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int pathspec_item_cmp(const void *a_, const void *b_)
+{
+	struct pathspec_item *a, *b;
+
+	a = (struct pathspec_item *)a_;
+	b = (struct pathspec_item *)b_;
+	return strcmp(a->match, b->match);
+}
+
+int init_pathspec(struct pathspec *pathspec, const char **paths)
+{
+	const char **p = paths;
+	int i;
+
+	memset(pathspec, 0, sizeof(*pathspec));
+	if (!p)
+		return 0;
+	while (*p)
+		p++;
+	pathspec->raw = paths;
+	pathspec->nr = p - paths;
+	if (!pathspec->nr)
+		return 0;
+
+	pathspec->items = xmalloc(sizeof(struct pathspec_item)*pathspec->nr);
+	for (i = 0; i < pathspec->nr; i++) {
+		struct pathspec_item *item = pathspec->items+i;
+		const char *path = paths[i];
+
+		item->match = path;
+		item->len = strlen(path);
+		item->has_wildcard = !no_wildcard(path);
+		if (item->has_wildcard)
+			pathspec->has_wildcard = 1;
+	}
+
+	qsort(pathspec->items, pathspec->nr,
+	      sizeof(struct pathspec_item), pathspec_item_cmp);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+void free_pathspec(struct pathspec *pathspec)
+{
+	free(pathspec->items);
+	pathspec->items = NULL;
+}
diff --git a/dir.h b/dir.h
index 72a764ed84..aa511da77b 100644
--- a/dir.h
+++ b/dir.h
@@ -65,6 +65,10 @@ struct dir_struct {
 #define MATCHED_FNMATCH 2
 #define MATCHED_EXACTLY 3
 extern int match_pathspec(const char **pathspec, const char *name, int namelen, int prefix, char *seen);
+extern int match_pathspec_depth(const struct pathspec *pathspec,
+				const char *name, int namelen,
+				int prefix, char *seen);
+extern int within_depth(const char *name, int namelen, int depth, int max_depth);
 
 extern int fill_directory(struct dir_struct *dir, const char **pathspec);
 extern int read_directory(struct dir_struct *, const char *path, int len, const char **pathspec);
diff --git a/preload-index.c b/preload-index.c
index e3d0bda31a..49cb08df96 100644
--- a/preload-index.c
+++ b/preload-index.c
@@ -35,7 +35,9 @@ static void *preload_thread(void *_data)
 	struct index_state *index = p->index;
 	struct cache_entry **cep = index->cache + p->offset;
 	struct cache_def cache;
+	struct pathspec pathspec;
 
+	init_pathspec(&pathspec, p->pathspec);
 	memset(&cache, 0, sizeof(cache));
 	nr = p->nr;
 	if (nr + p->offset > index->cache_nr)
@@ -51,7 +53,7 @@ static void *preload_thread(void *_data)
 			continue;
 		if (ce_uptodate(ce))
 			continue;
-		if (!ce_path_match(ce, p->pathspec))
+		if (!ce_path_match(ce, &pathspec))
 			continue;
 		if (threaded_has_symlink_leading_path(&cache, ce->name, ce_namelen(ce)))
 			continue;
@@ -61,6 +63,7 @@ static void *preload_thread(void *_data)
 			continue;
 		ce_mark_uptodate(ce);
 	} while (--nr > 0);
+	free_pathspec(&pathspec);
 	return NULL;
 }
 
diff --git a/read-cache.c b/read-cache.c
index 15b0a73b62..b97b5668eb 100644
--- a/read-cache.c
+++ b/read-cache.c
@@ -706,30 +706,9 @@ int ce_same_name(struct cache_entry *a, struct cache_entry *b)
 	return ce_namelen(b) == len && !memcmp(a->name, b->name, len);
 }
 
-int ce_path_match(const struct cache_entry *ce, const char **pathspec)
+int ce_path_match(const struct cache_entry *ce, const struct pathspec *pathspec)
 {
-	const char *match, *name;
-	int len;
-
-	if (!pathspec)
-		return 1;
-
-	len = ce_namelen(ce);
-	name = ce->name;
-	while ((match = *pathspec++) != NULL) {
-		int matchlen = strlen(match);
-		if (matchlen > len)
-			continue;
-		if (memcmp(name, match, matchlen))
-			continue;
-		if (matchlen && name[matchlen-1] == '/')
-			return 1;
-		if (name[matchlen] == '/' || !name[matchlen])
-			return 1;
-		if (!matchlen)
-			return 1;
-	}
-	return 0;
+	return match_pathspec_depth(pathspec, ce->name, ce_namelen(ce), 0, NULL);
 }
 
 /*
diff --git a/revision.c b/revision.c
index 7b9eaefae4..86d2470489 100644
--- a/revision.c
+++ b/revision.c
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@ static int rev_compare_tree(struct rev_info *revs, struct commit *parent, struct
 		 * tagged commit by specifying both --simplify-by-decoration
 		 * and pathspec.
 		 */
-		if (!revs->prune_data)
+		if (!revs->prune_data.nr)
 			return REV_TREE_SAME;
 	}
 
@@ -553,11 +553,7 @@ static void cherry_pick_list(struct commit_list *list, struct rev_info *revs)
 
 	left_first = left_count < right_count;
 	init_patch_ids(&ids);
-	if (revs->diffopt.nr_paths) {
-		ids.diffopts.nr_paths = revs->diffopt.nr_paths;
-		ids.diffopts.paths = revs->diffopt.paths;
-		ids.diffopts.pathlens = revs->diffopt.pathlens;
-	}
+	ids.diffopts.pathspec = revs->diffopt.pathspec;
 
 	/* Compute patch-ids for one side */
 	for (p = list; p; p = p->next) {
@@ -973,7 +969,7 @@ static void prepare_show_merge(struct rev_info *revs)
 		struct cache_entry *ce = active_cache[i];
 		if (!ce_stage(ce))
 			continue;
-		if (ce_path_match(ce, revs->prune_data)) {
+		if (ce_path_match(ce, &revs->prune_data)) {
 			prune_num++;
 			prune = xrealloc(prune, sizeof(*prune) * prune_num);
 			prune[prune_num-2] = ce->name;
@@ -983,7 +979,8 @@ static void prepare_show_merge(struct rev_info *revs)
 		       ce_same_name(ce, active_cache[i+1]))
 			i++;
 	}
-	revs->prune_data = prune;
+	free_pathspec(&revs->prune_data);
+	init_pathspec(&revs->prune_data, prune);
 	revs->limited = 1;
 }
 
@@ -1620,7 +1617,7 @@ int setup_revisions(int argc, const char **argv, struct rev_info *revs, struct s
 	}
 
 	if (prune_data)
-		revs->prune_data = get_pathspec(revs->prefix, prune_data);
+		init_pathspec(&revs->prune_data, get_pathspec(revs->prefix, prune_data));
 
 	if (revs->def == NULL)
 		revs->def = opt ? opt->def : NULL;
@@ -1651,13 +1648,13 @@ int setup_revisions(int argc, const char **argv, struct rev_info *revs, struct s
 	if (revs->topo_order)
 		revs->limited = 1;
 
-	if (revs->prune_data) {
-		diff_tree_setup_paths(revs->prune_data, &revs->pruning);
+	if (revs->prune_data.nr) {
+		diff_tree_setup_paths(revs->prune_data.raw, &revs->pruning);
 		/* Can't prune commits with rename following: the paths change.. */
 		if (!DIFF_OPT_TST(&revs->diffopt, FOLLOW_RENAMES))
 			revs->prune = 1;
 		if (!revs->full_diff)
-			diff_tree_setup_paths(revs->prune_data, &revs->diffopt);
+			diff_tree_setup_paths(revs->prune_data.raw, &revs->diffopt);
 	}
 	if (revs->combine_merges)
 		revs->ignore_merges = 0;
diff --git a/revision.h b/revision.h
index 05659c64ac..82509dd1d9 100644
--- a/revision.h
+++ b/revision.h
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ struct rev_info {
 	/* Basic information */
 	const char *prefix;
 	const char *def;
-	void *prune_data;
+	struct pathspec prune_data;
 	unsigned int early_output;
 
 	/* Traversal flags */
diff --git a/t/t4010-diff-pathspec.sh b/t/t4010-diff-pathspec.sh
index 94df7ae53a..fbc8cd8f05 100755
--- a/t/t4010-diff-pathspec.sh
+++ b/t/t4010-diff-pathspec.sh
@@ -70,4 +70,36 @@ test_expect_success 'diff-tree pathspec' '
 	test_cmp expected current
 '
 
+EMPTY_TREE=4b825dc642cb6eb9a060e54bf8d69288fbee4904
+
+test_expect_success 'diff-tree with wildcard shows dir also matches' '
+	git diff-tree --name-only $EMPTY_TREE $tree -- "f*" >result &&
+	echo file0 >expected &&
+	test_cmp expected result
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'diff-tree -r with wildcard' '
+	git diff-tree -r --name-only $EMPTY_TREE $tree -- "*file1" >result &&
+	echo path1/file1 >expected &&
+	test_cmp expected result
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'diff-tree with wildcard shows dir also matches' '
+	git diff-tree --name-only $tree $tree2 -- "path1/f*" >result &&
+	echo path1 >expected &&
+	test_cmp expected result
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'diff-tree -r with wildcard from beginning' '
+	git diff-tree -r --name-only $tree $tree2 -- "path1/*file1" >result &&
+	echo path1/file1 >expected &&
+	test_cmp expected result
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'diff-tree -r with wildcard' '
+	git diff-tree -r --name-only $tree $tree2 -- "path1/f*" >result &&
+	echo path1/file1 >expected &&
+	test_cmp expected result
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t6004-rev-list-path-optim.sh b/t/t6004-rev-list-path-optim.sh
index 5dabf1c5e3..3e8c42ee0b 100755
--- a/t/t6004-rev-list-path-optim.sh
+++ b/t/t6004-rev-list-path-optim.sh
@@ -1,51 +1,96 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
-test_description='git rev-list trivial path optimization test'
+test_description='git rev-list trivial path optimization test
+
+   d/z1
+   b0                             b1
+   o------------------------*----o master
+  /                        /
+ o---------o----o----o----o side
+ a0        c0   c1   a1   c2
+ d/f0      d/f1
+ d/z0
+
+'
 
 . ./test-lib.sh
 
 test_expect_success setup '
-echo Hello > a &&
-git add a &&
-git commit -m "Initial commit" a &&
-initial=$(git rev-parse --verify HEAD)
+	echo Hello >a &&
+	mkdir d &&
+	echo World >d/f &&
+	echo World >d/z &&
+	git add a d &&
+	test_tick &&
+	git commit -m "Initial commit" &&
+	git rev-parse --verify HEAD &&
+	git tag initial
 '
 
 test_expect_success path-optimization '
-    commit=$(echo "Unchanged tree" | git commit-tree "HEAD^{tree}" -p HEAD) &&
-    test $(git rev-list $commit | wc -l) = 2 &&
-    test $(git rev-list $commit -- . | wc -l) = 1
+	test_tick &&
+	commit=$(echo "Unchanged tree" | git commit-tree "HEAD^{tree}" -p HEAD) &&
+	test $(git rev-list $commit | wc -l) = 2 &&
+	test $(git rev-list $commit -- . | wc -l) = 1
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'further setup' '
 	git checkout -b side &&
 	echo Irrelevant >c &&
-	git add c &&
+	echo Irrelevant >d/f &&
+	git add c d/f &&
+	test_tick &&
 	git commit -m "Side makes an irrelevant commit" &&
+	git tag side_c0 &&
 	echo "More Irrelevancy" >c &&
 	git add c &&
+	test_tick &&
 	git commit -m "Side makes another irrelevant commit" &&
 	echo Bye >a &&
 	git add a &&
+	test_tick &&
 	git commit -m "Side touches a" &&
-	side=$(git rev-parse --verify HEAD) &&
+	git tag side_a1 &&
 	echo "Yet more Irrelevancy" >c &&
 	git add c &&
+	test_tick &&
 	git commit -m "Side makes yet another irrelevant commit" &&
 	git checkout master &&
 	echo Another >b &&
-	git add b &&
+	echo Munged >d/z &&
+	git add b d/z &&
+	test_tick &&
 	git commit -m "Master touches b" &&
+	git tag master_b0 &&
 	git merge side &&
 	echo Touched >b &&
 	git add b &&
+	test_tick &&
 	git commit -m "Master touches b again"
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'path optimization 2' '
-	( echo "$side"; echo "$initial" ) >expected &&
+	git rev-parse side_a1 initial >expected &&
 	git rev-list HEAD -- a >actual &&
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'pathspec with leading path' '
+	git rev-parse master^ master_b0 side_c0 initial >expected &&
+	git rev-list HEAD -- d >actual &&
+	test_cmp expected actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'pathspec with glob (1)' '
+	git rev-parse master^ master_b0 side_c0 initial >expected &&
+	git rev-list HEAD -- "d/*" >actual &&
+	test_cmp expected actual
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'pathspec with glob (2)' '
+	git rev-parse side_c0 initial >expected &&
+	git rev-list HEAD -- "d/[a-m]*" >actual &&
+	test_cmp expected actual
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t7810-grep.sh b/t/t7810-grep.sh
index c8777589ca..8a7788dc39 100755
--- a/t/t7810-grep.sh
+++ b/t/t7810-grep.sh
@@ -182,6 +182,24 @@ do
 		test_cmp expected actual
 	'
 
+	test_expect_success "grep --max-depth 0 -- . t $L" '
+		{
+			echo ${HC}t/v:1:vvv
+			echo ${HC}v:1:vvv
+		} >expected &&
+		git grep --max-depth 0 -n -e vvv $H -- . t >actual &&
+		test_cmp expected actual
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "grep --max-depth 0 -- t . $L" '
+		{
+			echo ${HC}t/v:1:vvv
+			echo ${HC}v:1:vvv
+		} >expected &&
+		git grep --max-depth 0 -n -e vvv $H -- t . >actual &&
+		test_cmp expected actual
+	'
+
 done
 
 cat >expected <<EOF
diff --git a/tree-diff.c b/tree-diff.c
index 12c9a88884..3954281f50 100644
--- a/tree-diff.c
+++ b/tree-diff.c
@@ -6,34 +6,18 @@
 #include "diffcore.h"
 #include "tree.h"
 
-static char *malloc_base(const char *base, int baselen, const char *path, int pathlen)
-{
-	char *newbase = xmalloc(baselen + pathlen + 2);
-	memcpy(newbase, base, baselen);
-	memcpy(newbase + baselen, path, pathlen);
-	memcpy(newbase + baselen + pathlen, "/", 2);
-	return newbase;
-}
+static void show_entry(struct diff_options *opt, const char *prefix,
+		       struct tree_desc *desc, struct strbuf *base);
 
-static char *malloc_fullname(const char *base, int baselen, const char *path, int pathlen)
-{
-	char *fullname = xmalloc(baselen + pathlen + 1);
-	memcpy(fullname, base, baselen);
-	memcpy(fullname + baselen, path, pathlen);
-	fullname[baselen + pathlen] = 0;
-	return fullname;
-}
-
-static void show_entry(struct diff_options *opt, const char *prefix, struct tree_desc *desc,
-		       const char *base, int baselen);
-
-static int compare_tree_entry(struct tree_desc *t1, struct tree_desc *t2, const char *base, int baselen, struct diff_options *opt)
+static int compare_tree_entry(struct tree_desc *t1, struct tree_desc *t2,
+			      struct strbuf *base, struct diff_options *opt)
 {
 	unsigned mode1, mode2;
 	const char *path1, *path2;
 	const unsigned char *sha1, *sha2;
 	int cmp, pathlen1, pathlen2;
-	char *fullname;
+	int old_baselen = base->len;
+	int retval = 0;
 
 	sha1 = tree_entry_extract(t1, &path1, &mode1);
 	sha2 = tree_entry_extract(t2, &path2, &mode2);
@@ -42,11 +26,11 @@ static int compare_tree_entry(struct tree_desc *t1, struct tree_desc *t2, const
 	pathlen2 = tree_entry_len(path2, sha2);
 	cmp = base_name_compare(path1, pathlen1, mode1, path2, pathlen2, mode2);
 	if (cmp < 0) {
-		show_entry(opt, "-", t1, base, baselen);
+		show_entry(opt, "-", t1, base);
 		return -1;
 	}
 	if (cmp > 0) {
-		show_entry(opt, "+", t2, base, baselen);
+		show_entry(opt, "+", t2, base);
 		return 1;
 	}
 	if (!DIFF_OPT_TST(opt, FIND_COPIES_HARDER) && !hashcmp(sha1, sha2) && mode1 == mode2)
@@ -57,149 +41,29 @@ static int compare_tree_entry(struct tree_desc *t1, struct tree_desc *t2, const
 	 * file, we need to consider it a remove and an add.
 	 */
 	if (S_ISDIR(mode1) != S_ISDIR(mode2)) {
-		show_entry(opt, "-", t1, base, baselen);
-		show_entry(opt, "+", t2, base, baselen);
+		show_entry(opt, "-", t1, base);
+		show_entry(opt, "+", t2, base);
 		return 0;
 	}
 
+	strbuf_add(base, path1, pathlen1);
 	if (DIFF_OPT_TST(opt, RECURSIVE) && S_ISDIR(mode1)) {
-		int retval;
-		char *newbase = malloc_base(base, baselen, path1, pathlen1);
 		if (DIFF_OPT_TST(opt, TREE_IN_RECURSIVE)) {
-			newbase[baselen + pathlen1] = 0;
 			opt->change(opt, mode1, mode2,
-				    sha1, sha2, newbase, 0, 0);
-			newbase[baselen + pathlen1] = '/';
+				    sha1, sha2, base->buf, 0, 0);
 		}
-		retval = diff_tree_sha1(sha1, sha2, newbase, opt);
-		free(newbase);
-		return retval;
+		strbuf_addch(base, '/');
+		retval = diff_tree_sha1(sha1, sha2, base->buf, opt);
+	} else {
+		opt->change(opt, mode1, mode2, sha1, sha2, base->buf, 0, 0);
 	}
-
-	fullname = malloc_fullname(base, baselen, path1, pathlen1);
-	opt->change(opt, mode1, mode2, sha1, sha2, fullname, 0, 0);
-	free(fullname);
+	strbuf_setlen(base, old_baselen);
 	return 0;
 }
 
-/*
- * Is a tree entry interesting given the pathspec we have?
- *
- * Pre-condition: baselen == 0 || base[baselen-1] == '/'
- *
- * Return:
- *  - 2 for "yes, and all subsequent entries will be"
- *  - 1 for yes
- *  - zero for no
- *  - negative for "no, and no subsequent entries will be either"
- */
-static int tree_entry_interesting(struct tree_desc *desc, const char *base, int baselen, struct diff_options *opt)
-{
-	const char *path;
-	const unsigned char *sha1;
-	unsigned mode;
-	int i;
-	int pathlen;
-	int never_interesting = -1;
-
-	if (!opt->nr_paths)
-		return 2;
-
-	sha1 = tree_entry_extract(desc, &path, &mode);
-
-	pathlen = tree_entry_len(path, sha1);
-
-	for (i = 0; i < opt->nr_paths; i++) {
-		const char *match = opt->paths[i];
-		int matchlen = opt->pathlens[i];
-		int m = -1; /* signals that we haven't called strncmp() */
-
-		if (baselen >= matchlen) {
-			/* If it doesn't match, move along... */
-			if (strncmp(base, match, matchlen))
-				continue;
-
-			/*
-			 * If the base is a subdirectory of a path which
-			 * was specified, all of them are interesting.
-			 */
-			if (!matchlen ||
-			    base[matchlen] == '/' ||
-			    match[matchlen - 1] == '/')
-				return 2;
-
-			/* Just a random prefix match */
-			continue;
-		}
-
-		/* Does the base match? */
-		if (strncmp(base, match, baselen))
-			continue;
-
-		match += baselen;
-		matchlen -= baselen;
-
-		if (never_interesting) {
-			/*
-			 * We have not seen any match that sorts later
-			 * than the current path.
-			 */
-
-			/*
-			 * Does match sort strictly earlier than path
-			 * with their common parts?
-			 */
-			m = strncmp(match, path,
-				    (matchlen < pathlen) ? matchlen : pathlen);
-			if (m < 0)
-				continue;
-
-			/*
-			 * If we come here even once, that means there is at
-			 * least one pathspec that would sort equal to or
-			 * later than the path we are currently looking at.
-			 * In other words, if we have never reached this point
-			 * after iterating all pathspecs, it means all
-			 * pathspecs are either outside of base, or inside the
-			 * base but sorts strictly earlier than the current
-			 * one.  In either case, they will never match the
-			 * subsequent entries.  In such a case, we initialized
-			 * the variable to -1 and that is what will be
-			 * returned, allowing the caller to terminate early.
-			 */
-			never_interesting = 0;
-		}
-
-		if (pathlen > matchlen)
-			continue;
-
-		if (matchlen > pathlen) {
-			if (match[pathlen] != '/')
-				continue;
-			if (!S_ISDIR(mode))
-				continue;
-		}
-
-		if (m == -1)
-			/*
-			 * we cheated and did not do strncmp(), so we do
-			 * that here.
-			 */
-			m = strncmp(match, path, pathlen);
-
-		/*
-		 * If common part matched earlier then it is a hit,
-		 * because we rejected the case where path is not a
-		 * leading directory and is shorter than match.
-		 */
-		if (!m)
-			return 1;
-	}
-	return never_interesting; /* No matches */
-}
-
 /* A whole sub-tree went away or appeared */
-static void show_tree(struct diff_options *opt, const char *prefix, struct tree_desc *desc, const char *base, int baselen)
+static void show_tree(struct diff_options *opt, const char *prefix,
+		      struct tree_desc *desc, struct strbuf *base)
 {
 	int all_interesting = 0;
 	while (desc->size) {
@@ -208,31 +72,32 @@ static void show_tree(struct diff_options *opt, const char *prefix, struct tree_
 		if (all_interesting)
 			show = 1;
 		else {
-			show = tree_entry_interesting(desc, base, baselen,
-						      opt);
+			show = tree_entry_interesting(&desc->entry, base, 0,
+						      &opt->pathspec);
 			if (show == 2)
 				all_interesting = 1;
 		}
 		if (show < 0)
 			break;
 		if (show)
-			show_entry(opt, prefix, desc, base, baselen);
+			show_entry(opt, prefix, desc, base);
 		update_tree_entry(desc);
 	}
 }
 
 /* A file entry went away or appeared */
-static void show_entry(struct diff_options *opt, const char *prefix, struct tree_desc *desc,
-		       const char *base, int baselen)
+static void show_entry(struct diff_options *opt, const char *prefix,
+		       struct tree_desc *desc, struct strbuf *base)
 {
 	unsigned mode;
 	const char *path;
 	const unsigned char *sha1 = tree_entry_extract(desc, &path, &mode);
 	int pathlen = tree_entry_len(path, sha1);
+	int old_baselen = base->len;
 
+	strbuf_add(base, path, pathlen);
 	if (DIFF_OPT_TST(opt, RECURSIVE) && S_ISDIR(mode)) {
 		enum object_type type;
-		char *newbase = malloc_base(base, baselen, path, pathlen);
 		struct tree_desc inner;
 		void *tree;
 		unsigned long size;
@@ -241,28 +106,25 @@ static void show_entry(struct diff_options *opt, const char *prefix, struct tree
 		if (!tree || type != OBJ_TREE)
 			die("corrupt tree sha %s", sha1_to_hex(sha1));
 
-		if (DIFF_OPT_TST(opt, TREE_IN_RECURSIVE)) {
-			newbase[baselen + pathlen] = 0;
-			opt->add_remove(opt, *prefix, mode, sha1, newbase, 0);
-			newbase[baselen + pathlen] = '/';
-		}
+		if (DIFF_OPT_TST(opt, TREE_IN_RECURSIVE))
+			opt->add_remove(opt, *prefix, mode, sha1, base->buf, 0);
+
+		strbuf_addch(base, '/');
 
 		init_tree_desc(&inner, tree, size);
-		show_tree(opt, prefix, &inner, newbase, baselen + 1 + pathlen);
-
+		show_tree(opt, prefix, &inner, base);
 		free(tree);
-		free(newbase);
-	} else {
-		char *fullname = malloc_fullname(base, baselen, path, pathlen);
-		opt->add_remove(opt, prefix[0], mode, sha1, fullname, 0);
-		free(fullname);
-	}
+	} else
+		opt->add_remove(opt, prefix[0], mode, sha1, base->buf, 0);
+
+	strbuf_setlen(base, old_baselen);
 }
 
-static void skip_uninteresting(struct tree_desc *t, const char *base, int baselen, struct diff_options *opt, int *all_interesting)
+static void skip_uninteresting(struct tree_desc *t, struct strbuf *base,
+			       struct diff_options *opt, int *all_interesting)
 {
 	while (t->size) {
-		int show = tree_entry_interesting(t, base, baselen, opt);
+		int show = tree_entry_interesting(&t->entry, base, 0, &opt->pathspec);
 		if (show == 2)
 			*all_interesting = 1;
 		if (!show) {
@@ -276,37 +138,44 @@ static void skip_uninteresting(struct tree_desc *t, const char *base, int basele
 	}
 }
 
-int diff_tree(struct tree_desc *t1, struct tree_desc *t2, const char *base, struct diff_options *opt)
+int diff_tree(struct tree_desc *t1, struct tree_desc *t2,
+	      const char *base_str, struct diff_options *opt)
 {
-	int baselen = strlen(base);
+	struct strbuf base;
+	int baselen = strlen(base_str);
 	int all_t1_interesting = 0;
 	int all_t2_interesting = 0;
 
+	/* Enable recursion indefinitely */
+	opt->pathspec.recursive = DIFF_OPT_TST(opt, RECURSIVE);
+	opt->pathspec.max_depth = -1;
+
+	strbuf_init(&base, PATH_MAX);
+	strbuf_add(&base, base_str, baselen);
+
 	for (;;) {
 		if (DIFF_OPT_TST(opt, QUICK) &&
 		    DIFF_OPT_TST(opt, HAS_CHANGES))
 			break;
-		if (opt->nr_paths) {
+		if (opt->pathspec.nr) {
 			if (!all_t1_interesting)
-				skip_uninteresting(t1, base, baselen, opt,
-						   &all_t1_interesting);
+				skip_uninteresting(t1, &base, opt, &all_t1_interesting);
 			if (!all_t2_interesting)
-				skip_uninteresting(t2, base, baselen, opt,
-						   &all_t2_interesting);
+				skip_uninteresting(t2, &base, opt, &all_t2_interesting);
 		}
 		if (!t1->size) {
 			if (!t2->size)
 				break;
-			show_entry(opt, "+", t2, base, baselen);
+			show_entry(opt, "+", t2, &base);
 			update_tree_entry(t2);
 			continue;
 		}
 		if (!t2->size) {
-			show_entry(opt, "-", t1, base, baselen);
+			show_entry(opt, "-", t1, &base);
 			update_tree_entry(t1);
 			continue;
 		}
-		switch (compare_tree_entry(t1, t2, base, baselen, opt)) {
+		switch (compare_tree_entry(t1, t2, &base, opt)) {
 		case -1:
 			update_tree_entry(t1);
 			continue;
@@ -319,6 +188,8 @@ int diff_tree(struct tree_desc *t1, struct tree_desc *t2, const char *base, stru
 		}
 		die("git diff-tree: internal error");
 	}
+
+	strbuf_release(&base);
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -349,7 +220,7 @@ static void try_to_follow_renames(struct tree_desc *t1, struct tree_desc *t2, co
 	DIFF_OPT_SET(&diff_opts, RECURSIVE);
 	DIFF_OPT_SET(&diff_opts, FIND_COPIES_HARDER);
 	diff_opts.output_format = DIFF_FORMAT_NO_OUTPUT;
-	diff_opts.single_follow = opt->paths[0];
+	diff_opts.single_follow = opt->pathspec.raw[0];
 	diff_opts.break_opt = opt->break_opt;
 	paths[0] = NULL;
 	diff_tree_setup_paths(paths, &diff_opts);
@@ -369,15 +240,16 @@ static void try_to_follow_renames(struct tree_desc *t1, struct tree_desc *t2, co
 		 * diff_queued_diff, we will also use that as the path in
 		 * the future!
 		 */
-		if ((p->status == 'R' || p->status == 'C') && !strcmp(p->two->path, opt->paths[0])) {
+		if ((p->status == 'R' || p->status == 'C') &&
+		    !strcmp(p->two->path, opt->pathspec.raw[0])) {
 			/* Switch the file-pairs around */
 			q->queue[i] = choice;
 			choice = p;
 
 			/* Update the path we use from now on.. */
 			diff_tree_release_paths(opt);
-			opt->paths[0] = xstrdup(p->one->path);
-			diff_tree_setup_paths(opt->paths, opt);
+			opt->pathspec.raw[0] = xstrdup(p->one->path);
+			diff_tree_setup_paths(opt->pathspec.raw, opt);
 
 			/*
 			 * The caller expects us to return a set of vanilla
@@ -452,36 +324,12 @@ int diff_root_tree_sha1(const unsigned char *new, const char *base, struct diff_
 	return retval;
 }
 
-static int count_paths(const char **paths)
-{
-	int i = 0;
-	while (*paths++)
-		i++;
-	return i;
-}
-
 void diff_tree_release_paths(struct diff_options *opt)
 {
-	free(opt->pathlens);
+	free_pathspec(&opt->pathspec);
 }
 
 void diff_tree_setup_paths(const char **p, struct diff_options *opt)
 {
-	opt->nr_paths = 0;
-	opt->pathlens = NULL;
-	opt->paths = NULL;
-
-	if (p) {
-		int i;
-
-		opt->paths = p;
-		opt->nr_paths = count_paths(p);
-		if (opt->nr_paths == 0) {
-			opt->pathlens = NULL;
-			return;
-		}
-		opt->pathlens = xmalloc(opt->nr_paths * sizeof(int));
-		for (i=0; i < opt->nr_paths; i++)
-			opt->pathlens[i] = strlen(p[i]);
-	}
+	init_pathspec(&opt->pathspec, p);
 }
diff --git a/tree-walk.c b/tree-walk.c
index a9bbf4e235..322becc3b4 100644
--- a/tree-walk.c
+++ b/tree-walk.c
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "tree-walk.h"
 #include "unpack-trees.h"
+#include "dir.h"
 #include "tree.h"
 
 static const char *get_mode(const char *str, unsigned int *modep)
@@ -455,3 +456,186 @@ int get_tree_entry(const unsigned char *tree_sha1, const char *name, unsigned ch
 	free(tree);
 	return retval;
 }
+
+static int match_entry(const struct name_entry *entry, int pathlen,
+		       const char *match, int matchlen,
+		       int *never_interesting)
+{
+	int m = -1; /* signals that we haven't called strncmp() */
+
+	if (*never_interesting) {
+		/*
+		 * We have not seen any match that sorts later
+		 * than the current path.
+		 */
+
+		/*
+		 * Does match sort strictly earlier than path
+		 * with their common parts?
+		 */
+		m = strncmp(match, entry->path,
+			    (matchlen < pathlen) ? matchlen : pathlen);
+		if (m < 0)
+			return 0;
+
+		/*
+		 * If we come here even once, that means there is at
+		 * least one pathspec that would sort equal to or
+		 * later than the path we are currently looking at.
+		 * In other words, if we have never reached this point
+		 * after iterating all pathspecs, it means all
+		 * pathspecs are either outside of base, or inside the
+		 * base but sorts strictly earlier than the current
+		 * one.  In either case, they will never match the
+		 * subsequent entries.  In such a case, we initialized
+		 * the variable to -1 and that is what will be
+		 * returned, allowing the caller to terminate early.
+		 */
+		*never_interesting = 0;
+	}
+
+	if (pathlen > matchlen)
+		return 0;
+
+	if (matchlen > pathlen) {
+		if (match[pathlen] != '/')
+			return 0;
+		if (!S_ISDIR(entry->mode))
+			return 0;
+	}
+
+	if (m == -1)
+		/*
+		 * we cheated and did not do strncmp(), so we do
+		 * that here.
+		 */
+		m = strncmp(match, entry->path, pathlen);
+
+	/*
+	 * If common part matched earlier then it is a hit,
+	 * because we rejected the case where path is not a
+	 * leading directory and is shorter than match.
+	 */
+	if (!m)
+		return 1;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int match_dir_prefix(const char *base, int baselen,
+			    const char *match, int matchlen)
+{
+	if (strncmp(base, match, matchlen))
+		return 0;
+
+	/*
+	 * If the base is a subdirectory of a path which
+	 * was specified, all of them are interesting.
+	 */
+	if (!matchlen ||
+	    base[matchlen] == '/' ||
+	    match[matchlen - 1] == '/')
+		return 1;
+
+	/* Just a random prefix match */
+	return 0;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Is a tree entry interesting given the pathspec we have?
+ *
+ * Pre-condition: either baselen == base_offset (i.e. empty path)
+ * or base[baselen-1] == '/' (i.e. with trailing slash).
+ *
+ * Return:
+ *  - 2 for "yes, and all subsequent entries will be"
+ *  - 1 for yes
+ *  - zero for no
+ *  - negative for "no, and no subsequent entries will be either"
+ */
+int tree_entry_interesting(const struct name_entry *entry,
+			   struct strbuf *base, int base_offset,
+			   const struct pathspec *ps)
+{
+	int i;
+	int pathlen, baselen = base->len - base_offset;
+	int never_interesting = ps->has_wildcard ? 0 : -1;
+
+	if (!ps->nr) {
+		if (!ps->recursive || ps->max_depth == -1)
+			return 2;
+		return !!within_depth(base->buf + base_offset, baselen,
+				      !!S_ISDIR(entry->mode),
+				      ps->max_depth);
+	}
+
+	pathlen = tree_entry_len(entry->path, entry->sha1);
+
+	for (i = ps->nr - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+		const struct pathspec_item *item = ps->items+i;
+		const char *match = item->match;
+		const char *base_str = base->buf + base_offset;
+		int matchlen = item->len;
+
+		if (baselen >= matchlen) {
+			/* If it doesn't match, move along... */
+			if (!match_dir_prefix(base_str, baselen, match, matchlen))
+				goto match_wildcards;
+
+			if (!ps->recursive || ps->max_depth == -1)
+				return 2;
+
+			return !!within_depth(base_str + matchlen + 1,
+					      baselen - matchlen - 1,
+					      !!S_ISDIR(entry->mode),
+					      ps->max_depth);
+		}
+
+		/* Does the base match? */
+		if (!strncmp(base_str, match, baselen)) {
+			if (match_entry(entry, pathlen,
+					match + baselen, matchlen - baselen,
+					&never_interesting))
+				return 1;
+
+			if (ps->items[i].has_wildcard) {
+				if (!fnmatch(match + baselen, entry->path, 0))
+					return 1;
+
+				/*
+				 * Match all directories. We'll try to
+				 * match files later on.
+				 */
+				if (ps->recursive && S_ISDIR(entry->mode))
+					return 1;
+			}
+
+			continue;
+		}
+
+match_wildcards:
+		if (!ps->items[i].has_wildcard)
+			continue;
+
+		/*
+		 * Concatenate base and entry->path into one and do
+		 * fnmatch() on it.
+		 */
+
+		strbuf_add(base, entry->path, pathlen);
+
+		if (!fnmatch(match, base->buf + base_offset, 0)) {
+			strbuf_setlen(base, base_offset + baselen);
+			return 1;
+		}
+		strbuf_setlen(base, base_offset + baselen);
+
+		/*
+		 * Match all directories. We'll try to match files
+		 * later on.
+		 */
+		if (ps->recursive && S_ISDIR(entry->mode))
+			return 1;
+	}
+	return never_interesting; /* No matches */
+}
diff --git a/tree-walk.h b/tree-walk.h
index 7e3e0b5ad1..39524b7dba 100644
--- a/tree-walk.h
+++ b/tree-walk.h
@@ -60,4 +60,6 @@ static inline int traverse_path_len(const struct traverse_info *info, const stru
 	return info->pathlen + tree_entry_len(n->path, n->sha1);
 }
 
+extern int tree_entry_interesting(const struct name_entry *, struct strbuf *, int, const struct pathspec *ps);
+
 #endif
diff --git a/wt-status.c b/wt-status.c
index 123582b6cb..a82b11d341 100644
--- a/wt-status.c
+++ b/wt-status.c
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@ static void wt_status_collect_changes_worktree(struct wt_status *s)
     }
 	rev.diffopt.format_callback = wt_status_collect_changed_cb;
 	rev.diffopt.format_callback_data = s;
-	rev.prune_data = s->pathspec;
+	init_pathspec(&rev.prune_data, s->pathspec);
 	run_diff_files(&rev, 0);
 }
 
@@ -348,20 +348,22 @@ static void wt_status_collect_changes_index(struct wt_status *s)
 	rev.diffopt.detect_rename = 1;
 	rev.diffopt.rename_limit = 200;
 	rev.diffopt.break_opt = 0;
-	rev.prune_data = s->pathspec;
+	init_pathspec(&rev.prune_data, s->pathspec);
 	run_diff_index(&rev, 1);
 }
 
 static void wt_status_collect_changes_initial(struct wt_status *s)
 {
+	struct pathspec pathspec;
 	int i;
 
+	init_pathspec(&pathspec, s->pathspec);
 	for (i = 0; i < active_nr; i++) {
 		struct string_list_item *it;
 		struct wt_status_change_data *d;
 		struct cache_entry *ce = active_cache[i];
 
-		if (!ce_path_match(ce, s->pathspec))
+		if (!ce_path_match(ce, &pathspec))
 			continue;
 		it = string_list_insert(&s->change, ce->name);
 		d = it->util;
@@ -376,6 +378,7 @@ static void wt_status_collect_changes_initial(struct wt_status *s)
 		else
 			d->index_status = DIFF_STATUS_ADDED;
 	}
+	free_pathspec(&pathspec);
 }
 
 static void wt_status_collect_untracked(struct wt_status *s)