diff --git a/builtin/upload-pack.c b/builtin/upload-pack.c
index 42dc4da5a1..67192cfa9e 100644
--- a/builtin/upload-pack.c
+++ b/builtin/upload-pack.c
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ int cmd_upload_pack(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	case protocol_v2:
 		serve_opts.advertise_capabilities = opts.advertise_refs;
 		serve_opts.stateless_rpc = opts.stateless_rpc;
+		serve_opts.config_context = "uploadpack";
 		serve(&serve_opts);
 		break;
 	case protocol_v1:
diff --git a/ls-refs.c b/ls-refs.c
index a06f12eca8..e8e31475f0 100644
--- a/ls-refs.c
+++ b/ls-refs.c
@@ -69,7 +69,9 @@ static int send_ref(const char *refname, const struct object_id *oid,
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int ls_refs(struct repository *r, struct argv_array *keys,
+int ls_refs(struct repository *r,
+	    const char *config_section,
+	    struct argv_array *keys,
 	    struct packet_reader *request)
 {
 	struct ls_refs_data data;
diff --git a/ls-refs.h b/ls-refs.h
index b62877e8da..da26fc9824 100644
--- a/ls-refs.h
+++ b/ls-refs.h
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
 struct repository;
 struct argv_array;
 struct packet_reader;
-extern int ls_refs(struct repository *r, struct argv_array *keys,
+extern int ls_refs(struct repository *r, const char *config_context,
+		   struct argv_array *keys,
 		   struct packet_reader *request);
 
 #endif /* LS_REFS_H */
diff --git a/serve.c b/serve.c
index bda085f09c..70f89cf0d9 100644
--- a/serve.c
+++ b/serve.c
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ struct protocol_capability {
 	 * This field should be NULL for capabilities which are not commands.
 	 */
 	int (*command)(struct repository *r,
+		       const char *config_context,
 		       struct argv_array *keys,
 		       struct packet_reader *request);
 };
@@ -158,7 +159,7 @@ enum request_state {
 	PROCESS_REQUEST_DONE,
 };
 
-static int process_request(void)
+static int process_request(struct serve_options *opts)
 {
 	enum request_state state = PROCESS_REQUEST_KEYS;
 	struct packet_reader reader;
@@ -222,7 +223,7 @@ static int process_request(void)
 	if (!command)
 		die("no command requested");
 
-	command->command(the_repository, &keys, &reader);
+	command->command(the_repository, opts->config_context, &keys, &reader);
 
 	argv_array_clear(&keys);
 	return 0;
@@ -249,10 +250,10 @@ void serve(struct serve_options *options)
 	 * a single request/response exchange
 	 */
 	if (options->stateless_rpc) {
-		process_request();
+		process_request(options);
 	} else {
 		for (;;)
-			if (process_request())
+			if (process_request(options))
 				break;
 	}
 }
diff --git a/serve.h b/serve.h
index fe65ba9f46..d527224cbb 100644
--- a/serve.h
+++ b/serve.h
@@ -8,6 +8,13 @@ extern int has_capability(const struct argv_array *keys, const char *capability,
 struct serve_options {
 	unsigned advertise_capabilities;
 	unsigned stateless_rpc;
+
+	/*
+	 * Some operations may need to know the context when looking up config;
+	 * e.g., set this to "uploadpack" to respect "uploadpack.hiderefs" (as
+	 * opposed to "receive.hiderefs").
+	 */
+	const char *config_context;
 };
 #define SERVE_OPTIONS_INIT { 0 }
 extern void serve(struct serve_options *options);
diff --git a/upload-pack.c b/upload-pack.c
index 5e81f1ff24..914bbb40bc 100644
--- a/upload-pack.c
+++ b/upload-pack.c
@@ -1413,8 +1413,8 @@ enum fetch_state {
 	FETCH_DONE,
 };
 
-int upload_pack_v2(struct repository *r, struct argv_array *keys,
-		   struct packet_reader *request)
+int upload_pack_v2(struct repository *r, const char *config_context,
+		   struct argv_array *keys, struct packet_reader *request)
 {
 	enum fetch_state state = FETCH_PROCESS_ARGS;
 	struct upload_pack_data data;
diff --git a/upload-pack.h b/upload-pack.h
index cab2178796..2a9f51197c 100644
--- a/upload-pack.h
+++ b/upload-pack.h
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ void upload_pack(struct upload_pack_options *options);
 struct repository;
 struct argv_array;
 struct packet_reader;
-extern int upload_pack_v2(struct repository *r, struct argv_array *keys,
-			  struct packet_reader *request);
+extern int upload_pack_v2(struct repository *r, const char *config_context,
+			  struct argv_array *keys, struct packet_reader *request);
 
 struct strbuf;
 extern int upload_pack_advertise(struct repository *r,
