diff --git a/builtin/index-pack.c b/builtin/index-pack.c
index c23d01de7d..8a6ce77940 100644
--- a/builtin/index-pack.c
+++ b/builtin/index-pack.c
@@ -449,8 +449,7 @@ static void *unpack_entry_data(off_t offset, unsigned long size,
 	int hdrlen;
 
 	if (!is_delta_type(type)) {
-		hdrlen = xsnprintf(hdr, sizeof(hdr), "%s %"PRIuMAX,
-				   type_name(type),(uintmax_t)size) + 1;
+		hdrlen = format_object_header(hdr, sizeof(hdr), type, size);
 		the_hash_algo->init_fn(&c);
 		the_hash_algo->update_fn(&c, hdr, hdrlen);
 	} else
diff --git a/bulk-checkin.c b/bulk-checkin.c
index 8785b2ac80..9e685f0f1a 100644
--- a/bulk-checkin.c
+++ b/bulk-checkin.c
@@ -220,8 +220,8 @@ static int deflate_to_pack(struct bulk_checkin_state *state,
 	if (seekback == (off_t) -1)
 		return error("cannot find the current offset");
 
-	header_len = xsnprintf((char *)obuf, sizeof(obuf), "%s %" PRIuMAX,
-			       type_name(type), (uintmax_t)size) + 1;
+	header_len = format_object_header((char *)obuf, sizeof(obuf),
+					 type, size);
 	the_hash_algo->init_fn(&ctx);
 	the_hash_algo->update_fn(&ctx, obuf, header_len);
 
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index cfba463aa9..64071a8d80 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -1310,6 +1310,27 @@ enum unpack_loose_header_result unpack_loose_header(git_zstream *stream,
 						    unsigned long bufsiz,
 						    struct strbuf *hdrbuf);
 
+/**
+ * format_object_header() is a thin wrapper around s xsnprintf() that
+ * writes the initial "<type> <obj-len>" part of the loose object
+ * header. It returns the size that snprintf() returns + 1.
+ *
+ * The format_object_header_extended() function allows for writing a
+ * type_name that's not one of the "enum object_type" types. This is
+ * used for "git hash-object --literally". Pass in a OBJ_NONE as the
+ * type, and a non-NULL "type_str" to do that.
+ *
+ * format_object_header() is a convenience wrapper for
+ * format_object_header_extended().
+ */
+int format_object_header_extended(char *str, size_t size, enum object_type type,
+				 const char *type_str, size_t objsize);
+static inline int format_object_header(char *str, size_t size,
+				      enum object_type type, size_t objsize)
+{
+	return format_object_header_extended(str, size, type, NULL, objsize);
+}
+
 /**
  * parse_loose_header() parses the starting "<type> <len>\0" of an
  * object. If it doesn't follow that format -1 is returned. To check
diff --git a/http-push.c b/http-push.c
index 3309aaf004..f0c044dcf7 100644
--- a/http-push.c
+++ b/http-push.c
@@ -363,7 +363,7 @@ static void start_put(struct transfer_request *request)
 	git_zstream stream;
 
 	unpacked = read_object_file(&request->obj->oid, &type, &len);
-	hdrlen = xsnprintf(hdr, sizeof(hdr), "%s %"PRIuMAX , type_name(type), (uintmax_t)len) + 1;
+	hdrlen = format_object_header(hdr, sizeof(hdr), type, len);
 
 	/* Set it up */
 	git_deflate_init(&stream, zlib_compression_level);
diff --git a/object-file.c b/object-file.c
index a462a21629..d384ef2952 100644
--- a/object-file.c
+++ b/object-file.c
@@ -1006,6 +1006,14 @@ void *xmmap(void *start, size_t length,
 	return ret;
 }
 
+int format_object_header_extended(char *str, size_t size, enum object_type type,
+				 const char *typestr, size_t objsize)
+{
+	const char *s = type == OBJ_NONE ? typestr : type_name(type);
+
+	return xsnprintf(str, size, "%s %"PRIuMAX, s, (uintmax_t)objsize) + 1;
+}
+
 /*
  * With an in-core object data in "map", rehash it to make sure the
  * object name actually matches "oid" to detect object corruption.
@@ -1034,7 +1042,7 @@ int check_object_signature(struct repository *r, const struct object_id *oid,
 		return -1;
 
 	/* Generate the header */
-	hdrlen = xsnprintf(hdr, sizeof(hdr), "%s %"PRIuMAX , type_name(obj_type), (uintmax_t)size) + 1;
+	hdrlen = format_object_header(hdr, sizeof(hdr), obj_type, size);
 
 	/* Sha1.. */
 	r->hash_algo->init_fn(&c);
@@ -1734,7 +1742,7 @@ static void write_object_file_prepare(const struct git_hash_algo *algo,
 	git_hash_ctx c;
 
 	/* Generate the header */
-	*hdrlen = xsnprintf(hdr, *hdrlen, "%s %"PRIuMAX , type, (uintmax_t)len)+1;
+	*hdrlen = format_object_header_extended(hdr, *hdrlen, OBJ_NONE, type, len);
 
 	/* Sha1.. */
 	algo->init_fn(&c);
@@ -2027,7 +2035,7 @@ int stream_loose_object(struct input_stream *in_stream, size_t len,
 
 	/* Since oid is not determined, save tmp file to odb path. */
 	strbuf_addf(&filename, "%s/", get_object_directory());
-	hdrlen = xsnprintf(hdr, sizeof(hdr), "%s %"PRIuMAX, type_name(OBJ_BLOB), len) + 1;
+	hdrlen = format_object_header(hdr, sizeof(hdr), OBJ_BLOB, len);
 
 	/* Common steps for write_loose_object and stream_loose_object to
 	 * start writing loose oject:
@@ -2168,7 +2176,7 @@ int force_object_loose(const struct object_id *oid, time_t mtime)
 	buf = read_object(the_repository, oid, &type, &len);
 	if (!buf)
 		return error(_("cannot read object for %s"), oid_to_hex(oid));
-	hdrlen = xsnprintf(hdr, sizeof(hdr), "%s %"PRIuMAX , type_name(type), (uintmax_t)len) + 1;
+	hdrlen = format_object_header(hdr, sizeof(hdr), type, len);
 	ret = write_loose_object(oid, hdr, hdrlen, buf, len, mtime, 0);
 	free(buf);
 
