diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 003e63b792e397..795ebc67e8dab3 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1039,6 +1039,7 @@ LIB_OBJS += hash-lookup.o
 LIB_OBJS += hashmap.o
 LIB_OBJS += help.o
 LIB_OBJS += hex.o
+LIB_OBJS += hex-ll.o
 LIB_OBJS += hook.o
 LIB_OBJS += ident.o
 LIB_OBJS += json-writer.o
@@ -1089,6 +1090,7 @@ LIB_OBJS += pack-write.o
 LIB_OBJS += packfile.o
 LIB_OBJS += pager.o
 LIB_OBJS += parallel-checkout.o
+LIB_OBJS += parse.o
 LIB_OBJS += parse-options-cb.o
 LIB_OBJS += parse-options.o
 LIB_OBJS += patch-delta.o
diff --git a/attr.c b/attr.c
index 71c84fbcf865eb..3c0b4fb3d9d170 100644
--- a/attr.c
+++ b/attr.c
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  */
 
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 #include "environment.h"
 #include "exec-cmd.h"
 #include "attr.h"
diff --git a/color.c b/color.c
index b24b19566b99eb..f663c06ac4eddc 100644
--- a/color.c
+++ b/color.c
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 #include "color.h"
 #include "editor.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
-#include "hex.h"
+#include "hex-ll.h"
 #include "pager.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 
diff --git a/config.c b/config.c
index 2ea39295cd6ee8..f9a1cca4e8af6b 100644
--- a/config.c
+++ b/config.c
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 #include "date.h"
 #include "branch.h"
 #include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 #include "convert.h"
 #include "environment.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
@@ -1165,129 +1166,6 @@ static int git_parse_source(struct config_source *cs, config_fn_t fn,
 	return error_return;
 }
 
-static uintmax_t get_unit_factor(const char *end)
-{
-	if (!*end)
-		return 1;
-	else if (!strcasecmp(end, "k"))
-		return 1024;
-	else if (!strcasecmp(end, "m"))
-		return 1024 * 1024;
-	else if (!strcasecmp(end, "g"))
-		return 1024 * 1024 * 1024;
-	return 0;
-}
-
-static int git_parse_signed(const char *value, intmax_t *ret, intmax_t max)
-{
-	if (value && *value) {
-		char *end;
-		intmax_t val;
-		intmax_t factor;
-
-		if (max < 0)
-			BUG("max must be a positive integer");
-
-		errno = 0;
-		val = strtoimax(value, &end, 0);
-		if (errno == ERANGE)
-			return 0;
-		if (end == value) {
-			errno = EINVAL;
-			return 0;
-		}
-		factor = get_unit_factor(end);
-		if (!factor) {
-			errno = EINVAL;
-			return 0;
-		}
-		if ((val < 0 && -max / factor > val) ||
-		    (val > 0 && max / factor < val)) {
-			errno = ERANGE;
-			return 0;
-		}
-		val *= factor;
-		*ret = val;
-		return 1;
-	}
-	errno = EINVAL;
-	return 0;
-}
-
-static int git_parse_unsigned(const char *value, uintmax_t *ret, uintmax_t max)
-{
-	if (value && *value) {
-		char *end;
-		uintmax_t val;
-		uintmax_t factor;
-
-		/* negative values would be accepted by strtoumax */
-		if (strchr(value, '-')) {
-			errno = EINVAL;
-			return 0;
-		}
-		errno = 0;
-		val = strtoumax(value, &end, 0);
-		if (errno == ERANGE)
-			return 0;
-		if (end == value) {
-			errno = EINVAL;
-			return 0;
-		}
-		factor = get_unit_factor(end);
-		if (!factor) {
-			errno = EINVAL;
-			return 0;
-		}
-		if (unsigned_mult_overflows(factor, val) ||
-		    factor * val > max) {
-			errno = ERANGE;
-			return 0;
-		}
-		val *= factor;
-		*ret = val;
-		return 1;
-	}
-	errno = EINVAL;
-	return 0;
-}
-
-int git_parse_int(const char *value, int *ret)
-{
-	intmax_t tmp;
-	if (!git_parse_signed(value, &tmp, maximum_signed_value_of_type(int)))
-		return 0;
-	*ret = tmp;
-	return 1;
-}
-
-static int git_parse_int64(const char *value, int64_t *ret)
-{
-	intmax_t tmp;
-	if (!git_parse_signed(value, &tmp, maximum_signed_value_of_type(int64_t)))
-		return 0;
-	*ret = tmp;
-	return 1;
-}
-
-int git_parse_ulong(const char *value, unsigned long *ret)
-{
-	uintmax_t tmp;
-	if (!git_parse_unsigned(value, &tmp, maximum_unsigned_value_of_type(long)))
-		return 0;
-	*ret = tmp;
-	return 1;
-}
-
-int git_parse_ssize_t(const char *value, ssize_t *ret)
-{
-	intmax_t tmp;
-	if (!git_parse_signed(value, &tmp, maximum_signed_value_of_type(ssize_t)))
-		return 0;
-	*ret = tmp;
-	return 1;
-}
-
 NORETURN
 static void die_bad_number(const char *name, const char *value,
 			   const struct key_value_info *kvi)
@@ -1363,23 +1241,6 @@ ssize_t git_config_ssize_t(const char *name, const char *value,
 	return ret;
 }
 
-static int git_parse_maybe_bool_text(const char *value)
-{
-	if (!value)
-		return 1;
-	if (!*value)
-		return 0;
-	if (!strcasecmp(value, "true")
-	    || !strcasecmp(value, "yes")
-	    || !strcasecmp(value, "on"))
-		return 1;
-	if (!strcasecmp(value, "false")
-	    || !strcasecmp(value, "no")
-	    || !strcasecmp(value, "off"))
-		return 0;
-	return -1;
-}
-
 static const struct fsync_component_name {
 	const char *name;
 	enum fsync_component component_bits;
@@ -1454,16 +1315,6 @@ static enum fsync_component parse_fsync_components(const char *var, const char *
 	return (current & ~negative) | positive;
 }
 
-int git_parse_maybe_bool(const char *value)
-{
-	int v = git_parse_maybe_bool_text(value);
-	if (0 <= v)
-		return v;
-	if (git_parse_int(value, &v))
-		return !!v;
-	return -1;
-}
-
 int git_config_bool_or_int(const char *name, const char *value,
 			   const struct key_value_info *kvi, int *is_bool)
 {
@@ -2131,28 +1982,6 @@ void git_global_config(char **user_out, char **xdg_out)
 	*xdg_out = xdg_config;
 }
 
-/*
- * Parse environment variable 'k' as a boolean (in various
- * possible spellings); if missing, use the default value 'def'.
- */
-int git_env_bool(const char *k, int def)
-{
-	const char *v = getenv(k);
-	return v ? git_config_bool(k, v) : def;
-}
-
-/*
- * Parse environment variable 'k' as ulong with possibly a unit
- * suffix; if missing, use the default value 'val'.
- */
-unsigned long git_env_ulong(const char *k, unsigned long val)
-{
-	const char *v = getenv(k);
-	if (v && !git_parse_ulong(v, &val))
-		die(_("failed to parse %s"), k);
-	return val;
-}
-
 int git_config_system(void)
 {
 	return !git_env_bool("GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM", 0);
diff --git a/config.h b/config.h
index 6332d749047764..14f881ecfaf6b2 100644
--- a/config.h
+++ b/config.h
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #include "hashmap.h"
 #include "string-list.h"
 #include "repository.h"
-
+#include "parse.h"
 
 /**
  * The config API gives callers a way to access Git configuration files
@@ -243,16 +243,6 @@ int config_with_options(config_fn_t fn, void *,
  * The following helper functions aid in parsing string values
  */
 
-int git_parse_ssize_t(const char *, ssize_t *);
-int git_parse_ulong(const char *, unsigned long *);
-int git_parse_int(const char *value, int *ret);
-
-/**
- * Same as `git_config_bool`, except that it returns -1 on error rather
- * than dying.
- */
-int git_parse_maybe_bool(const char *);
-
 /**
  * Parse the string to an integer, including unit factors. Dies on error;
  * otherwise, returns the parsed result.
@@ -385,8 +375,6 @@ int git_config_rename_section(const char *, const char *);
 int git_config_rename_section_in_file(const char *, const char *, const char *);
 int git_config_copy_section(const char *, const char *);
 int git_config_copy_section_in_file(const char *, const char *, const char *);
-int git_env_bool(const char *, int);
-unsigned long git_env_ulong(const char *, unsigned long);
 int git_config_system(void);
 int config_error_nonbool(const char *);
 #if defined(__GNUC__)
diff --git a/entry.c b/entry.c
index 43767f9043c0cb..076e97eb89ce15 100644
--- a/entry.c
+++ b/entry.c
@@ -581,3 +581,8 @@ void unlink_entry(const struct cache_entry *ce, const char *super_prefix)
 		return;
 	schedule_dir_for_removal(ce->name, ce_namelen(ce));
 }
+
+int remove_or_warn(unsigned int mode, const char *file)
+{
+	return S_ISGITLINK(mode) ? rmdir_or_warn(file) : unlink_or_warn(file);
+}
diff --git a/entry.h b/entry.h
index 7329f918a97ee3..ca3ed35bc08654 100644
--- a/entry.h
+++ b/entry.h
@@ -62,4 +62,10 @@ int fstat_checkout_output(int fd, const struct checkout *state, struct stat *st)
 void update_ce_after_write(const struct checkout *state, struct cache_entry *ce,
 			   struct stat *st);
 
+/*
+ * Calls the correct function out of {unlink,rmdir}_or_warn based on
+ * the supplied file mode.
+ */
+int remove_or_warn(unsigned int mode, const char *path);
+
 #endif /* ENTRY_H */
diff --git a/hex-ll.c b/hex-ll.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..4d7ece1de5ed7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hex-ll.c
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+#include "git-compat-util.h"
+#include "hex-ll.h"
+
+const signed char hexval_table[256] = {
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 00-07 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 08-0f */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 10-17 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 18-1f */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 20-27 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 28-2f */
+	  0,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,		/* 30-37 */
+	  8,  9, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 38-3f */
+	 -1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, -1,		/* 40-47 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 48-4f */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 50-57 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 58-5f */
+	 -1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, -1,		/* 60-67 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 68-67 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 70-77 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 78-7f */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 80-87 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 88-8f */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 90-97 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 98-9f */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* a0-a7 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* a8-af */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* b0-b7 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* b8-bf */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* c0-c7 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* c8-cf */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* d0-d7 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* d8-df */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* e0-e7 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* e8-ef */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* f0-f7 */
+	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* f8-ff */
+};
+
+int hex_to_bytes(unsigned char *binary, const char *hex, size_t len)
+{
+	for (; len; len--, hex += 2) {
+		unsigned int val = (hexval(hex[0]) << 4) | hexval(hex[1]);
+
+		if (val & ~0xff)
+			return -1;
+		*binary++ = val;
+	}
+	return 0;
+}
diff --git a/hex-ll.h b/hex-ll.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..a381fa85562234
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hex-ll.h
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#ifndef HEX_LL_H
+#define HEX_LL_H
+
+extern const signed char hexval_table[256];
+static inline unsigned int hexval(unsigned char c)
+{
+	return hexval_table[c];
+}
+
+/*
+ * Convert two consecutive hexadecimal digits into a char.  Return a
+ * negative value on error.  Don't run over the end of short strings.
+ */
+static inline int hex2chr(const char *s)
+{
+	unsigned int val = hexval(s[0]);
+	return (val & ~0xf) ? val : (val << 4) | hexval(s[1]);
+}
+
+/*
+ * Read `len` pairs of hexadecimal digits from `hex` and write the
+ * values to `binary` as `len` bytes. Return 0 on success, or -1 if
+ * the input does not consist of hex digits).
+ */
+int hex_to_bytes(unsigned char *binary, const char *hex, size_t len);
+
+#endif
diff --git a/hex.c b/hex.c
index 01f17fe5c906e6..d42262bdca71a8 100644
--- a/hex.c
+++ b/hex.c
@@ -2,53 +2,6 @@
 #include "hash.h"
 #include "hex.h"
 
-const signed char hexval_table[256] = {
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 00-07 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 08-0f */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 10-17 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 18-1f */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 20-27 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 28-2f */
-	  0,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,		/* 30-37 */
-	  8,  9, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 38-3f */
-	 -1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, -1,		/* 40-47 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 48-4f */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 50-57 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 58-5f */
-	 -1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, -1,		/* 60-67 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 68-67 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 70-77 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 78-7f */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 80-87 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 88-8f */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 90-97 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* 98-9f */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* a0-a7 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* a8-af */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* b0-b7 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* b8-bf */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* c0-c7 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* c8-cf */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* d0-d7 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* d8-df */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* e0-e7 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* e8-ef */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* f0-f7 */
-	 -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,		/* f8-ff */
-};
-
-int hex_to_bytes(unsigned char *binary, const char *hex, size_t len)
-{
-	for (; len; len--, hex += 2) {
-		unsigned int val = (hexval(hex[0]) << 4) | hexval(hex[1]);
-
-		if (val & ~0xff)
-			return -1;
-		*binary++ = val;
-	}
-	return 0;
-}
-
 static int get_hash_hex_algop(const char *hex, unsigned char *hash,
 			      const struct git_hash_algo *algop)
 {
diff --git a/hex.h b/hex.h
index 87abf666021415..e0b83f776f1a8c 100644
--- a/hex.h
+++ b/hex.h
@@ -2,22 +2,7 @@
 #define HEX_H
 
 #include "hash-ll.h"
-
-extern const signed char hexval_table[256];
-static inline unsigned int hexval(unsigned char c)
-{
-	return hexval_table[c];
-}
-
-/*
- * Convert two consecutive hexadecimal digits into a char.  Return a
- * negative value on error.  Don't run over the end of short strings.
- */
-static inline int hex2chr(const char *s)
-{
-	unsigned int val = hexval(s[0]);
-	return (val & ~0xf) ? val : (val << 4) | hexval(s[1]);
-}
+#include "hex-ll.h"
 
 /*
  * Try to read a hash (specified by the_hash_algo) in hexadecimal
@@ -34,13 +19,6 @@ int get_oid_hex(const char *hex, struct object_id *oid);
 /* Like get_oid_hex, but for an arbitrary hash algorithm. */
 int get_oid_hex_algop(const char *hex, struct object_id *oid, const struct git_hash_algo *algop);
 
-/*
- * Read `len` pairs of hexadecimal digits from `hex` and write the
- * values to `binary` as `len` bytes. Return 0 on success, or -1 if
- * the input does not consist of hex digits).
- */
-int hex_to_bytes(unsigned char *binary, const char *hex, size_t len);
-
 /*
  * Convert a binary hash in "unsigned char []" or an object name in
  * "struct object_id *" to its hex equivalent. The `_r` variant is reentrant,
diff --git a/mailinfo.c b/mailinfo.c
index 931505363cde08..a07d2da16dedb2 100644
--- a/mailinfo.c
+++ b/mailinfo.c
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 #include "config.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
-#include "hex.h"
+#include "hex-ll.h"
 #include "utf8.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "mailinfo.h"
diff --git a/pack-objects.c b/pack-objects.c
index 1b8052bececc1f..f403ca6986a9d4 100644
--- a/pack-objects.c
+++ b/pack-objects.c
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 #include "pack.h"
 #include "pack-objects.h"
 #include "packfile.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 
 static uint32_t locate_object_entry_hash(struct packing_data *pdata,
 					 const struct object_id *oid,
diff --git a/pack-revindex.c b/pack-revindex.c
index 7fffcad9125610..a01a2a4640d421 100644
--- a/pack-revindex.c
+++ b/pack-revindex.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 #include "packfile.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "trace2.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 #include "midx.h"
 #include "csum-file.h"
 
diff --git a/parse-options.c b/parse-options.c
index e8e076c3a6d9cf..093eaf2db80f82 100644
--- a/parse-options.c
+++ b/parse-options.c
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 #include "parse-options.h"
 #include "abspath.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 #include "commit.h"
 #include "color.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
+#include "string-list.h"
 #include "utf8.h"
 
 static int disallow_abbreviated_options;
diff --git a/parse.c b/parse.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..42d691a0fbb42d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parse.c
@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+#include "git-compat-util.h"
+#include "gettext.h"
+#include "parse.h"
+
+static uintmax_t get_unit_factor(const char *end)
+{
+	if (!*end)
+		return 1;
+	else if (!strcasecmp(end, "k"))
+		return 1024;
+	else if (!strcasecmp(end, "m"))
+		return 1024 * 1024;
+	else if (!strcasecmp(end, "g"))
+		return 1024 * 1024 * 1024;
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int git_parse_signed(const char *value, intmax_t *ret, intmax_t max)
+{
+	if (value && *value) {
+		char *end;
+		intmax_t val;
+		intmax_t factor;
+
+		if (max < 0)
+			BUG("max must be a positive integer");
+
+		errno = 0;
+		val = strtoimax(value, &end, 0);
+		if (errno == ERANGE)
+			return 0;
+		if (end == value) {
+			errno = EINVAL;
+			return 0;
+		}
+		factor = get_unit_factor(end);
+		if (!factor) {
+			errno = EINVAL;
+			return 0;
+		}
+		if ((val < 0 && -max / factor > val) ||
+		    (val > 0 && max / factor < val)) {
+			errno = ERANGE;
+			return 0;
+		}
+		val *= factor;
+		*ret = val;
+		return 1;
+	}
+	errno = EINVAL;
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int git_parse_unsigned(const char *value, uintmax_t *ret, uintmax_t max)
+{
+	if (value && *value) {
+		char *end;
+		uintmax_t val;
+		uintmax_t factor;
+
+		/* negative values would be accepted by strtoumax */
+		if (strchr(value, '-')) {
+			errno = EINVAL;
+			return 0;
+		}
+		errno = 0;
+		val = strtoumax(value, &end, 0);
+		if (errno == ERANGE)
+			return 0;
+		if (end == value) {
+			errno = EINVAL;
+			return 0;
+		}
+		factor = get_unit_factor(end);
+		if (!factor) {
+			errno = EINVAL;
+			return 0;
+		}
+		if (unsigned_mult_overflows(factor, val) ||
+		    factor * val > max) {
+			errno = ERANGE;
+			return 0;
+		}
+		val *= factor;
+		*ret = val;
+		return 1;
+	}
+	errno = EINVAL;
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int git_parse_int(const char *value, int *ret)
+{
+	intmax_t tmp;
+	if (!git_parse_signed(value, &tmp, maximum_signed_value_of_type(int)))
+		return 0;
+	*ret = tmp;
+	return 1;
+}
+
+int git_parse_int64(const char *value, int64_t *ret)
+{
+	intmax_t tmp;
+	if (!git_parse_signed(value, &tmp, maximum_signed_value_of_type(int64_t)))
+		return 0;
+	*ret = tmp;
+	return 1;
+}
+
+int git_parse_ulong(const char *value, unsigned long *ret)
+{
+	uintmax_t tmp;
+	if (!git_parse_unsigned(value, &tmp, maximum_unsigned_value_of_type(long)))
+		return 0;
+	*ret = tmp;
+	return 1;
+}
+
+int git_parse_ssize_t(const char *value, ssize_t *ret)
+{
+	intmax_t tmp;
+	if (!git_parse_signed(value, &tmp, maximum_signed_value_of_type(ssize_t)))
+		return 0;
+	*ret = tmp;
+	return 1;
+}
+
+int git_parse_maybe_bool_text(const char *value)
+{
+	if (!value)
+		return 1;
+	if (!*value)
+		return 0;
+	if (!strcasecmp(value, "true")
+	    || !strcasecmp(value, "yes")
+	    || !strcasecmp(value, "on"))
+		return 1;
+	if (!strcasecmp(value, "false")
+	    || !strcasecmp(value, "no")
+	    || !strcasecmp(value, "off"))
+		return 0;
+	return -1;
+}
+
+int git_parse_maybe_bool(const char *value)
+{
+	int v = git_parse_maybe_bool_text(value);
+	if (0 <= v)
+		return v;
+	if (git_parse_int(value, &v))
+		return !!v;
+	return -1;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Parse environment variable 'k' as a boolean (in various
+ * possible spellings); if missing, use the default value 'def'.
+ */
+int git_env_bool(const char *k, int def)
+{
+	const char *v = getenv(k);
+	int val;
+	if (!v)
+		return def;
+	val = git_parse_maybe_bool(v);
+	if (val < 0)
+		die(_("bad boolean environment value '%s' for '%s'"),
+		    v, k);
+	return val;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Parse environment variable 'k' as ulong with possibly a unit
+ * suffix; if missing, use the default value 'val'.
+ */
+unsigned long git_env_ulong(const char *k, unsigned long val)
+{
+	const char *v = getenv(k);
+	if (v && !git_parse_ulong(v, &val))
+		die(_("failed to parse %s"), k);
+	return val;
+}
diff --git a/parse.h b/parse.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..07d2193d6984ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parse.h
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#ifndef PARSE_H
+#define PARSE_H
+
+int git_parse_signed(const char *value, intmax_t *ret, intmax_t max);
+int git_parse_ssize_t(const char *, ssize_t *);
+int git_parse_ulong(const char *, unsigned long *);
+int git_parse_int(const char *value, int *ret);
+int git_parse_int64(const char *value, int64_t *ret);
+
+/**
+ * Same as `git_config_bool`, except that it returns -1 on error rather
+ * than dying.
+ */
+int git_parse_maybe_bool(const char *);
+int git_parse_maybe_bool_text(const char *value);
+
+int git_env_bool(const char *, int);
+unsigned long git_env_ulong(const char *, unsigned long);
+
+#endif /* PARSE_H */
diff --git a/pathspec.c b/pathspec.c
index 3a3a5724c44bcb..7f88f1c02bbf3b 100644
--- a/pathspec.c
+++ b/pathspec.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 #include "abspath.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 #include "dir.h"
 #include "environment.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
diff --git a/preload-index.c b/preload-index.c
index e44530c80cf51e..63fd35d64b141f 100644
--- a/preload-index.c
+++ b/preload-index.c
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #include "environment.h"
 #include "fsmonitor.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 #include "preload-index.h"
 #include "progress.h"
 #include "read-cache.h"
diff --git a/progress.c b/progress.c
index f695798acac72b..c83cb60bf17eb4 100644
--- a/progress.c
+++ b/progress.c
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 #include "trace.h"
 #include "trace2.h"
 #include "utf8.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 
 #define TP_IDX_MAX      8
 
diff --git a/prompt.c b/prompt.c
index 3baa33f63d87a6..8935fe4dfb9414 100644
--- a/prompt.c
+++ b/prompt.c
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 #include "environment.h"
 #include "run-command.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
diff --git a/rebase.c b/rebase.c
index 17a570f1ff97fa..69a1822da34ce7 100644
--- a/rebase.c
+++ b/rebase.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 #include "rebase.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
 
 /*
diff --git a/strbuf.c b/strbuf.c
index 4c9ac6dc5e3cd3..7827178d8e5e37 100644
--- a/strbuf.c
+++ b/strbuf.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
-#include "hex.h"
+#include "hex-ll.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "string-list.h"
 #include "utf8.h"
diff --git a/t/helper/test-env-helper.c b/t/helper/test-env-helper.c
index 66c88b8ff3d311..1c486888a42d0d 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-env-helper.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-env-helper.c
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #include "test-tool.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 #include "parse-options.h"
 
 static char const * const env__helper_usage[] = {
diff --git a/unpack-trees.c b/unpack-trees.c
index a203f9a3d7a6ac..c2b20b80d5a448 100644
--- a/unpack-trees.c
+++ b/unpack-trees.c
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #include "advice.h"
 #include "strvec.h"
 #include "repository.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 #include "dir.h"
 #include "environment.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
diff --git a/url.c b/url.c
index 2e1a9f6feec96b..282b12495ae7d4 100644
--- a/url.c
+++ b/url.c
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
-#include "hex.h"
+#include "hex-ll.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "url.h"
 
diff --git a/urlmatch.c b/urlmatch.c
index 1c45f23adf2c2f..1d0254abacbc3f 100644
--- a/urlmatch.c
+++ b/urlmatch.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
-#include "hex.h"
+#include "hex-ll.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "urlmatch.h"
 
diff --git a/wrapper.c b/wrapper.c
index 48065c4f533911..7da15a56da614c 100644
--- a/wrapper.c
+++ b/wrapper.c
@@ -3,9 +3,8 @@
  */
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 #include "abspath.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
-#include "object.h"
 #include "repository.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "trace2.h"
@@ -632,11 +631,6 @@ int rmdir_or_warn(const char *file)
 	return warn_if_unremovable("rmdir", file, rmdir(file));
 }
 
-int remove_or_warn(unsigned int mode, const char *file)
-{
-	return S_ISGITLINK(mode) ? rmdir_or_warn(file) : unlink_or_warn(file);
-}
-
 static int access_error_is_ok(int err, unsigned flag)
 {
 	return (is_missing_file_error(err) ||
diff --git a/wrapper.h b/wrapper.h
index 79c7321bb3700d..1b2b047ea06927 100644
--- a/wrapper.h
+++ b/wrapper.h
@@ -106,11 +106,6 @@ int unlink_or_msg(const char *file, struct strbuf *err);
  * not exist.
  */
 int rmdir_or_warn(const char *path);
-/*
- * Calls the correct function out of {unlink,rmdir}_or_warn based on
- * the supplied file mode.
- */
-int remove_or_warn(unsigned int mode, const char *path);
 
 /*
  * Call access(2), but warn for any error except "missing file"
diff --git a/write-or-die.c b/write-or-die.c
index d8355c0c3e3683..42a2dc73cd3f18 100644
--- a/write-or-die.c
+++ b/write-or-die.c
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
-#include "config.h"
+#include "parse.h"
 #include "run-command.h"
 #include "write-or-die.h"