diff --git a/builtin/count-objects.c b/builtin/count-objects.c
index a7cad052c6..3fae474f6f 100644
--- a/builtin/count-objects.c
+++ b/builtin/count-objects.c
@@ -78,10 +78,10 @@ static int count_cruft(const char *basename, const char *path, void *data)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-static int print_alternate(struct alternate_object_database *alt, void *data)
+static int print_alternate(struct object_directory *odb, void *data)
 {
 	printf("alternate: ");
-	quote_c_style(alt->path, NULL, stdout, 0);
+	quote_c_style(odb->path, NULL, stdout, 0);
 	putchar('\n');
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/builtin/fsck.c b/builtin/fsck.c
index b10f2b154c..55153cf92a 100644
--- a/builtin/fsck.c
+++ b/builtin/fsck.c
@@ -688,7 +688,7 @@ static struct option fsck_opts[] = {
 int cmd_fsck(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 {
 	int i;
-	struct alternate_object_database *alt;
+	struct object_directory *odb;
 
 	/* fsck knows how to handle missing promisor objects */
 	fetch_if_missing = 0;
@@ -725,14 +725,14 @@ int cmd_fsck(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		for_each_loose_object(mark_loose_for_connectivity, NULL, 0);
 		for_each_packed_object(mark_packed_for_connectivity, NULL, 0);
 	} else {
-		struct alternate_object_database *alt_odb_list;
+		struct object_directory *alt_odb_list;
 
 		fsck_object_dir(get_object_directory());
 
 		prepare_alt_odb(the_repository);
 		alt_odb_list = the_repository->objects->alt_odb_list;
-		for (alt = alt_odb_list; alt; alt = alt->next)
-			fsck_object_dir(alt->path);
+		for (odb = alt_odb_list; odb; odb = odb->next)
+			fsck_object_dir(odb->path);
 
 		if (check_full) {
 			struct packed_git *p;
@@ -840,12 +840,12 @@ int cmd_fsck(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			errors_found |= ERROR_COMMIT_GRAPH;
 
 		prepare_alt_odb(the_repository);
-		for (alt =  the_repository->objects->alt_odb_list; alt; alt = alt->next) {
+		for (odb = the_repository->objects->alt_odb_list; odb; odb = odb->next) {
 			child_process_init(&commit_graph_verify);
 			commit_graph_verify.argv = verify_argv;
 			commit_graph_verify.git_cmd = 1;
 			verify_argv[2] = "--object-dir";
-			verify_argv[3] = alt->path;
+			verify_argv[3] = odb->path;
 			if (run_command(&commit_graph_verify))
 				errors_found |= ERROR_COMMIT_GRAPH;
 		}
@@ -861,12 +861,12 @@ int cmd_fsck(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			errors_found |= ERROR_COMMIT_GRAPH;
 
 		prepare_alt_odb(the_repository);
-		for (alt =  the_repository->objects->alt_odb_list; alt; alt = alt->next) {
+		for (odb = the_repository->objects->alt_odb_list; odb; odb = odb->next) {
 			child_process_init(&midx_verify);
 			midx_verify.argv = midx_argv;
 			midx_verify.git_cmd = 1;
 			midx_argv[2] = "--object-dir";
-			midx_argv[3] = alt->path;
+			midx_argv[3] = odb->path;
 			if (run_command(&midx_verify))
 				errors_found |= ERROR_COMMIT_GRAPH;
 		}
diff --git a/builtin/submodule--helper.c b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
index 28b9449e82..3ae451bc46 100644
--- a/builtin/submodule--helper.c
+++ b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
@@ -1265,7 +1265,7 @@ struct submodule_alternate_setup {
 	SUBMODULE_ALTERNATE_ERROR_IGNORE, NULL }
 
 static int add_possible_reference_from_superproject(
-		struct alternate_object_database *alt, void *sas_cb)
+		struct object_directory *odb, void *sas_cb)
 {
 	struct submodule_alternate_setup *sas = sas_cb;
 	size_t len;
@@ -1274,11 +1274,11 @@ static int add_possible_reference_from_superproject(
 	 * If the alternate object store is another repository, try the
 	 * standard layout with .git/(modules/<name>)+/objects
 	 */
-	if (strip_suffix(alt->path, "/objects", &len)) {
+	if (strip_suffix(odb->path, "/objects", &len)) {
 		char *sm_alternate;
 		struct strbuf sb = STRBUF_INIT;
 		struct strbuf err = STRBUF_INIT;
-		strbuf_add(&sb, alt->path, len);
+		strbuf_add(&sb, odb->path, len);
 
 		/*
 		 * We need to end the new path with '/' to mark it as a dir,
diff --git a/commit-graph.c b/commit-graph.c
index 40c855f185..5dd3f5b15c 100644
--- a/commit-graph.c
+++ b/commit-graph.c
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ static void prepare_commit_graph_one(struct repository *r, const char *obj_dir)
  */
 static int prepare_commit_graph(struct repository *r)
 {
-	struct alternate_object_database *alt;
+	struct object_directory *odb;
 	char *obj_dir;
 	int config_value;
 
@@ -255,10 +255,10 @@ static int prepare_commit_graph(struct repository *r)
 	obj_dir = r->objects->objectdir;
 	prepare_commit_graph_one(r, obj_dir);
 	prepare_alt_odb(r);
-	for (alt = r->objects->alt_odb_list;
-	     !r->objects->commit_graph && alt;
-	     alt = alt->next)
-		prepare_commit_graph_one(r, alt->path);
+	for (odb = r->objects->alt_odb_list;
+	     !r->objects->commit_graph && odb;
+	     odb = odb->next)
+		prepare_commit_graph_one(r, odb->path);
 	return !!r->objects->commit_graph;
 }
 
diff --git a/object-store.h b/object-store.h
index 63b7605a3e..122d5f75e2 100644
--- a/object-store.h
+++ b/object-store.h
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@
 #include "sha1-array.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 
-struct alternate_object_database {
-	struct alternate_object_database *next;
+struct object_directory {
+	struct object_directory *next;
 
 	/* see alt_scratch_buf() */
 	struct strbuf scratch;
@@ -32,14 +32,14 @@ struct alternate_object_database {
 };
 void prepare_alt_odb(struct repository *r);
 char *compute_alternate_path(const char *path, struct strbuf *err);
-typedef int alt_odb_fn(struct alternate_object_database *, void *);
+typedef int alt_odb_fn(struct object_directory *, void *);
 int foreach_alt_odb(alt_odb_fn, void*);
 
 /*
  * Allocate a "struct alternate_object_database" but do _not_ actually
  * add it to the list of alternates.
  */
-struct alternate_object_database *alloc_alt_odb(const char *dir);
+struct object_directory *alloc_alt_odb(const char *dir);
 
 /*
  * Add the directory to the on-disk alternates file; the new entry will also
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ void add_to_alternates_memory(const char *dir);
  * alternate. Always use this over direct access to alt->scratch, as it
  * cleans up any previous use of the scratch buffer.
  */
-struct strbuf *alt_scratch_buf(struct alternate_object_database *alt);
+struct strbuf *alt_scratch_buf(struct object_directory *odb);
 
 struct packed_git {
 	struct packed_git *next;
@@ -100,8 +100,8 @@ struct raw_object_store {
 	/* Path to extra alternate object database if not NULL */
 	char *alternate_db;
 
-	struct alternate_object_database *alt_odb_list;
-	struct alternate_object_database **alt_odb_tail;
+	struct object_directory *alt_odb_list;
+	struct object_directory **alt_odb_tail;
 
 	/*
 	 * Objects that should be substituted by other objects
diff --git a/object.c b/object.c
index e54160550c..6af8e908bb 100644
--- a/object.c
+++ b/object.c
@@ -482,17 +482,17 @@ struct raw_object_store *raw_object_store_new(void)
 	return o;
 }
 
-static void free_alt_odb(struct alternate_object_database *alt)
+static void free_alt_odb(struct object_directory *odb)
 {
-	strbuf_release(&alt->scratch);
-	oid_array_clear(&alt->loose_objects_cache);
-	free(alt);
+	strbuf_release(&odb->scratch);
+	oid_array_clear(&odb->loose_objects_cache);
+	free(odb);
 }
 
 static void free_alt_odbs(struct raw_object_store *o)
 {
 	while (o->alt_odb_list) {
-		struct alternate_object_database *next;
+		struct object_directory *next;
 
 		next = o->alt_odb_list->next;
 		free_alt_odb(o->alt_odb_list);
diff --git a/packfile.c b/packfile.c
index f2850a00b5..d6d511cfd2 100644
--- a/packfile.c
+++ b/packfile.c
@@ -966,16 +966,16 @@ static void prepare_packed_git_mru(struct repository *r)
 
 static void prepare_packed_git(struct repository *r)
 {
-	struct alternate_object_database *alt;
+	struct object_directory *odb;
 
 	if (r->objects->packed_git_initialized)
 		return;
 	prepare_multi_pack_index_one(r, r->objects->objectdir, 1);
 	prepare_packed_git_one(r, r->objects->objectdir, 1);
 	prepare_alt_odb(r);
-	for (alt = r->objects->alt_odb_list; alt; alt = alt->next) {
-		prepare_multi_pack_index_one(r, alt->path, 0);
-		prepare_packed_git_one(r, alt->path, 0);
+	for (odb = r->objects->alt_odb_list; odb; odb = odb->next) {
+		prepare_multi_pack_index_one(r, odb->path, 0);
+		prepare_packed_git_one(r, odb->path, 0);
 	}
 	rearrange_packed_git(r);
 
diff --git a/sha1-file.c b/sha1-file.c
index dd0b6aa873..a3cc650a0a 100644
--- a/sha1-file.c
+++ b/sha1-file.c
@@ -353,16 +353,16 @@ void sha1_file_name(struct repository *r, struct strbuf *buf, const unsigned cha
 	fill_sha1_path(buf, sha1);
 }
 
-struct strbuf *alt_scratch_buf(struct alternate_object_database *alt)
+struct strbuf *alt_scratch_buf(struct object_directory *odb)
 {
-	strbuf_setlen(&alt->scratch, alt->base_len);
-	return &alt->scratch;
+	strbuf_setlen(&odb->scratch, odb->base_len);
+	return &odb->scratch;
 }
 
-static const char *alt_sha1_path(struct alternate_object_database *alt,
+static const char *alt_sha1_path(struct object_directory *odb,
 				 const unsigned char *sha1)
 {
-	struct strbuf *buf = alt_scratch_buf(alt);
+	struct strbuf *buf = alt_scratch_buf(odb);
 	fill_sha1_path(buf, sha1);
 	return buf->buf;
 }
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ static int alt_odb_usable(struct raw_object_store *o,
 			  struct strbuf *path,
 			  const char *normalized_objdir)
 {
-	struct alternate_object_database *alt;
+	struct object_directory *odb;
 
 	/* Detect cases where alternate disappeared */
 	if (!is_directory(path->buf)) {
@@ -388,8 +388,8 @@ static int alt_odb_usable(struct raw_object_store *o,
 	 * Prevent the common mistake of listing the same
 	 * thing twice, or object directory itself.
 	 */
-	for (alt = o->alt_odb_list; alt; alt = alt->next) {
-		if (!fspathcmp(path->buf, alt->path))
+	for (odb = o->alt_odb_list; odb; odb = odb->next) {
+		if (!fspathcmp(path->buf, odb->path))
 			return 0;
 	}
 	if (!fspathcmp(path->buf, normalized_objdir))
@@ -402,7 +402,7 @@ static int alt_odb_usable(struct raw_object_store *o,
  * Prepare alternate object database registry.
  *
  * The variable alt_odb_list points at the list of struct
- * alternate_object_database.  The elements on this list come from
+ * object_directory.  The elements on this list come from
  * non-empty elements from colon separated ALTERNATE_DB_ENVIRONMENT
  * environment variable, and $GIT_OBJECT_DIRECTORY/info/alternates,
  * whose contents is similar to that environment variable but can be
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@ static void read_info_alternates(struct repository *r,
 static int link_alt_odb_entry(struct repository *r, const char *entry,
 	const char *relative_base, int depth, const char *normalized_objdir)
 {
-	struct alternate_object_database *ent;
+	struct object_directory *ent;
 	struct strbuf pathbuf = STRBUF_INIT;
 
 	if (!is_absolute_path(entry) && relative_base) {
@@ -540,9 +540,9 @@ static void read_info_alternates(struct repository *r,
 	free(path);
 }
 
-struct alternate_object_database *alloc_alt_odb(const char *dir)
+struct object_directory *alloc_alt_odb(const char *dir)
 {
-	struct alternate_object_database *ent;
+	struct object_directory *ent;
 
 	FLEX_ALLOC_STR(ent, path, dir);
 	strbuf_init(&ent->scratch, 0);
@@ -684,7 +684,7 @@ char *compute_alternate_path(const char *path, struct strbuf *err)
 
 int foreach_alt_odb(alt_odb_fn fn, void *cb)
 {
-	struct alternate_object_database *ent;
+	struct object_directory *ent;
 	int r = 0;
 
 	prepare_alt_odb(the_repository);
@@ -743,10 +743,10 @@ static int check_and_freshen_local(const struct object_id *oid, int freshen)
 
 static int check_and_freshen_nonlocal(const struct object_id *oid, int freshen)
 {
-	struct alternate_object_database *alt;
+	struct object_directory *odb;
 	prepare_alt_odb(the_repository);
-	for (alt = the_repository->objects->alt_odb_list; alt; alt = alt->next) {
-		const char *path = alt_sha1_path(alt, oid->hash);
+	for (odb = the_repository->objects->alt_odb_list; odb; odb = odb->next) {
+		const char *path = alt_sha1_path(odb, oid->hash);
 		if (check_and_freshen_file(path, freshen))
 			return 1;
 	}
@@ -893,7 +893,7 @@ int git_open_cloexec(const char *name, int flags)
 static int stat_sha1_file(struct repository *r, const unsigned char *sha1,
 			  struct stat *st, const char **path)
 {
-	struct alternate_object_database *alt;
+	struct object_directory *odb;
 	static struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 
 	strbuf_reset(&buf);
@@ -905,8 +905,8 @@ static int stat_sha1_file(struct repository *r, const unsigned char *sha1,
 
 	prepare_alt_odb(r);
 	errno = ENOENT;
-	for (alt = r->objects->alt_odb_list; alt; alt = alt->next) {
-		*path = alt_sha1_path(alt, sha1);
+	for (odb = r->objects->alt_odb_list; odb; odb = odb->next) {
+		*path = alt_sha1_path(odb, sha1);
 		if (!lstat(*path, st))
 			return 0;
 	}
@@ -922,7 +922,7 @@ static int open_sha1_file(struct repository *r,
 			  const unsigned char *sha1, const char **path)
 {
 	int fd;
-	struct alternate_object_database *alt;
+	struct object_directory *odb;
 	int most_interesting_errno;
 	static struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 
@@ -936,8 +936,8 @@ static int open_sha1_file(struct repository *r,
 	most_interesting_errno = errno;
 
 	prepare_alt_odb(r);
-	for (alt = r->objects->alt_odb_list; alt; alt = alt->next) {
-		*path = alt_sha1_path(alt, sha1);
+	for (odb = r->objects->alt_odb_list; odb; odb = odb->next) {
+		*path = alt_sha1_path(odb, sha1);
 		fd = git_open(*path);
 		if (fd >= 0)
 			return fd;
@@ -2139,14 +2139,14 @@ struct loose_alt_odb_data {
 	void *data;
 };
 
-static int loose_from_alt_odb(struct alternate_object_database *alt,
+static int loose_from_alt_odb(struct object_directory *odb,
 			      void *vdata)
 {
 	struct loose_alt_odb_data *data = vdata;
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
 	int r;
 
-	strbuf_addstr(&buf, alt->path);
+	strbuf_addstr(&buf, odb->path);
 	r = for_each_loose_file_in_objdir_buf(&buf,
 					      data->cb, NULL, NULL,
 					      data->data);
diff --git a/sha1-name.c b/sha1-name.c
index faa60f69e3..2594aa79f8 100644
--- a/sha1-name.c
+++ b/sha1-name.c
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@ static int match_sha(unsigned, const unsigned char *, const unsigned char *);
 static void find_short_object_filename(struct disambiguate_state *ds)
 {
 	int subdir_nr = ds->bin_pfx.hash[0];
-	struct alternate_object_database *alt;
-	static struct alternate_object_database *fakeent;
+	struct object_directory *odb;
+	static struct object_directory *fakeent;
 
 	if (!fakeent) {
 		/*
@@ -110,24 +110,24 @@ static void find_short_object_filename(struct disambiguate_state *ds)
 	}
 	fakeent->next = the_repository->objects->alt_odb_list;
 
-	for (alt = fakeent; alt && !ds->ambiguous; alt = alt->next) {
+	for (odb = fakeent; odb && !ds->ambiguous; odb = odb->next) {
 		int pos;
 
-		if (!alt->loose_objects_subdir_seen[subdir_nr]) {
-			struct strbuf *buf = alt_scratch_buf(alt);
+		if (!odb->loose_objects_subdir_seen[subdir_nr]) {
+			struct strbuf *buf = alt_scratch_buf(odb);
 			for_each_file_in_obj_subdir(subdir_nr, buf,
 						    append_loose_object,
 						    NULL, NULL,
-						    &alt->loose_objects_cache);
-			alt->loose_objects_subdir_seen[subdir_nr] = 1;
+						    &odb->loose_objects_cache);
+			odb->loose_objects_subdir_seen[subdir_nr] = 1;
 		}
 
-		pos = oid_array_lookup(&alt->loose_objects_cache, &ds->bin_pfx);
+		pos = oid_array_lookup(&odb->loose_objects_cache, &ds->bin_pfx);
 		if (pos < 0)
 			pos = -1 - pos;
-		while (!ds->ambiguous && pos < alt->loose_objects_cache.nr) {
+		while (!ds->ambiguous && pos < odb->loose_objects_cache.nr) {
 			const struct object_id *oid;
-			oid = alt->loose_objects_cache.oid + pos;
+			oid = odb->loose_objects_cache.oid + pos;
 			if (!match_sha(ds->len, ds->bin_pfx.hash, oid->hash))
 				break;
 			update_candidates(ds, oid);
diff --git a/transport.c b/transport.c
index 5a74b609ff..040e92c134 100644
--- a/transport.c
+++ b/transport.c
@@ -1433,7 +1433,7 @@ struct alternate_refs_data {
 	void *data;
 };
 
-static int refs_from_alternate_cb(struct alternate_object_database *e,
+static int refs_from_alternate_cb(struct object_directory *e,
 				  void *data)
 {
 	struct strbuf path = STRBUF_INIT;
