diff --git a/Documentation/git-cherry-pick.txt b/Documentation/git-cherry-pick.txt
index 2601e1868e..cbb663a843 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-cherry-pick.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-cherry-pick.txt
@@ -59,10 +59,10 @@ OPTIONS
 
 --cleanup=<mode>::
 	This option determines how the commit message will be cleaned up before
-	being passed on. See linkgit:git-commit[1] for more details. In
-	particular, if the '<mode>' is given a value of `scissors`, scissors
-	will be appended to `MERGE_MSG` before being passed on to the commit
-	machinery in the case of a conflict.
+	being passed on to the commit machinery. See linkgit:git-commit[1] for more
+	details. In particular, if the '<mode>' is given a value of `scissors`,
+	scissors will be appended to `MERGE_MSG` before being passed on in the case
+	of a conflict.
 
 -x::
 	When recording the commit, append a line that says
diff --git a/Documentation/git-revert.txt b/Documentation/git-revert.txt
index cabeb9df2c..7fd254df92 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-revert.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-revert.txt
@@ -68,10 +68,10 @@ more details.
 
 --cleanup=<mode>::
 	This option determines how the commit message will be cleaned up before
-	being passed on. See linkgit:git-commit[1] for more details. In
-	particular, if the '<mode>' is given a value of `scissors`, scissors
-	will be appended to `MERGE_MSG` before being passed on to the commit
-	machinery in the case of a conflict.
+	being passed on to the commit machinery. See linkgit:git-commit[1] for more
+	details. In particular, if the '<mode>' is given a value of `scissors`,
+	scissors will be appended to `MERGE_MSG` before being passed on in the case
+	of a conflict.
 
 -n::
 --no-commit::
diff --git a/Documentation/merge-options.txt b/Documentation/merge-options.txt
index 405e16c617..61876dbc33 100644
--- a/Documentation/merge-options.txt
+++ b/Documentation/merge-options.txt
@@ -33,11 +33,11 @@ updated behaviour, the environment variable `GIT_MERGE_AUTOEDIT` can be
 set to `no` at the beginning of them.
 
 --cleanup=<mode>::
-	This option determines how the merge message will be cleaned up
-	before commiting or being passed on. See linkgit:git-commit[1] for more
-	details. In addition, if the '<mode>' is given a value of `scissors`,
-	scissors will be appended to `MERGE_MSG` before being passed on to the
-	commit machinery in the case of a merge conflict.
+	This option determines how the merge message will be cleaned up before
+	commiting. See linkgit:git-commit[1] for more details. In addition, if
+	the '<mode>' is given a value of `scissors`, scissors will be appended
+	to `MERGE_MSG` before being passed on to the commit machinery in the
+	case of a merge conflict.
 
 --ff::
 	When the merge resolves as a fast-forward, only update the branch
diff --git a/builtin/merge.c b/builtin/merge.c
index 90c64346e9..235cd3b2e1 100644
--- a/builtin/merge.c
+++ b/builtin/merge.c
@@ -804,14 +804,17 @@ static void abort_commit(struct commit_list *remoteheads, const char *err_msg)
 	exit(1);
 }
 
-static const char comment_line_explanation[] =
-N_("Lines starting with '%c' will be ignored.\n");
-
 static const char merge_editor_comment[] =
 N_("Please enter a commit message to explain why this merge is necessary,\n"
    "especially if it merges an updated upstream into a topic branch.\n"
-   "\n"
-   "An empty message aborts the commit.\n");
+   "\n");
+
+static const char scissors_editor_comment[] =
+N_("An empty message aborts the commit.\n");
+
+static const char no_scissors_editor_comment[] =
+N_("Lines starting with '%c' will be ignored, and an empty message aborts\n"
+   "the commit.\n");
 
 static void write_merge_heads(struct commit_list *);
 static void prepare_to_commit(struct commit_list *remoteheads)
@@ -824,11 +827,12 @@ static void prepare_to_commit(struct commit_list *remoteheads)
 		strbuf_addch(&msg, '\n');
 		if (cleanup_mode == COMMIT_MSG_CLEANUP_SCISSORS)
 			wt_status_append_cut_line(&msg);
-		else
-			strbuf_commented_addf(&msg, _(comment_line_explanation), comment_line_char);
 
 		strbuf_commented_addf(&msg, "\n");
 		strbuf_commented_addf(&msg, _(merge_editor_comment));
+		strbuf_commented_addf(&msg, _(cleanup_mode == COMMIT_MSG_CLEANUP_SCISSORS ?
+			scissors_editor_comment :
+			no_scissors_editor_comment), comment_line_char);
 	}
 	if (signoff)
 		append_signoff(&msg, ignore_non_trailer(msg.buf, msg.len), 0);
diff --git a/builtin/pull.c b/builtin/pull.c
index 292c1dac27..55ebb5808e 100644
--- a/builtin/pull.c
+++ b/builtin/pull.c
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 #include "lockfile.h"
 #include "wt-status.h"
 #include "commit-reach.h"
+#include "sequencer.h"
 
 enum rebase_type {
 	REBASE_INVALID = -1,
@@ -881,6 +882,22 @@ int cmd_pull(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 
 	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, pull_options, pull_usage, 0);
 
+	if (opt_cleanup) {
+		const char *prefix = "--cleanup=";
+		const char *cleanup_arg;
+
+		if (strncmp(opt_cleanup, prefix, strlen(prefix)))
+			BUG("expecting prefix %s, argument is %s", prefix, opt_cleanup);
+
+		cleanup_arg = &opt_cleanup[strlen(prefix)];
+
+		/*
+		 * this only checks the validity of cleanup_arg; we don't need
+		 * a valid value for use_editor
+		 */
+		get_cleanup_mode(cleanup_arg, 0, 1);
+	}
+
 	parse_repo_refspecs(argc, argv, &repo, &refspecs);
 
 	if (!opt_ff)
diff --git a/t/t3507-cherry-pick-conflict.sh b/t/t3507-cherry-pick-conflict.sh
index c3894ca9d6..a584b11c98 100755
--- a/t/t3507-cherry-pick-conflict.sh
+++ b/t/t3507-cherry-pick-conflict.sh
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ test_expect_success 'failed cherry-pick registers participants in index' '
 		1 s/ 0	/ 1	/
 		2 s/ 0	/ 2	/
 		3 s/ 0	/ 3	/
-	" <stages >expected &&
+	" stages >expected &&
 	git read-tree -u --reset HEAD &&
 
 	test_must_fail git cherry-pick picked &&
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ test_expect_success 'revert also handles conflicts sanely' '
 		1 s/ 0	/ 1	/
 		2 s/ 0	/ 2	/
 		3 s/ 0	/ 3	/
-	" <stages >expected-stages &&
+	" stages >expected-stages &&
 	git read-tree -u --reset HEAD &&
 
 	head=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
@@ -431,7 +431,7 @@ test_expect_success 'commit after failed cherry-pick does not add duplicated -s'
 	pristine_detach initial &&
 	test_must_fail git cherry-pick -s picked-signed &&
 	git commit -a -s &&
-	test $(git show -s |grep -c "Signed-off-by") = 1
+	test $(git show -s >tmp && grep -c "Signed-off-by" tmp && rm tmp) = 1
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'commit after failed cherry-pick adds -s at the right place' '
@@ -445,7 +445,7 @@ test_expect_success 'commit after failed cherry-pick adds -s at the right place'
 	Signed-off-by: C O Mitter <committer@example.com>
 	# Conflicts:
 	EOF
-	grep -e "^# Conflicts:" -e '^Signed-off-by' <.git/COMMIT_EDITMSG >actual &&
+	grep -e "^# Conflicts:" -e '^Signed-off-by' .git/COMMIT_EDITMSG >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual &&
 
 	cat <<-\EOF >expected &&
@@ -464,7 +464,7 @@ test_expect_success 'commit --amend -s places the sign-off at the right place' '
 
 	# emulate old-style conflicts block
 	mv .git/MERGE_MSG .git/MERGE_MSG+ &&
-	sed -e "/^# Conflicts:/,\$s/^# *//" <.git/MERGE_MSG+ >.git/MERGE_MSG &&
+	sed -e "/^# Conflicts:/,\$s/^# *//" .git/MERGE_MSG+ >.git/MERGE_MSG &&
 
 	git commit -a &&
 	git commit --amend -s &&
@@ -474,7 +474,7 @@ test_expect_success 'commit --amend -s places the sign-off at the right place' '
 	Signed-off-by: C O Mitter <committer@example.com>
 	Conflicts:
 	EOF
-	grep -e "^Conflicts:" -e '^Signed-off-by' <.git/COMMIT_EDITMSG >actual &&
+	grep -e "^Conflicts:" -e '^Signed-off-by' .git/COMMIT_EDITMSG >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
diff --git a/t/t5521-pull-options.sh b/t/t5521-pull-options.sh
index c19d8dbc9d..ccde8ba491 100755
--- a/t/t5521-pull-options.sh
+++ b/t/t5521-pull-options.sh
@@ -77,6 +77,14 @@ test_expect_success 'git pull -q -v' '
 	test_must_be_empty out &&
 	test -s err)
 '
+test_expect_success 'git pull --cleanup errors early on invalid argument' '
+	mkdir clonedcleanup &&
+	(cd clonedcleanup && git init &&
+	test_must_fail git pull --cleanup invalid "../parent" >out 2>err &&
+	test_must_be_empty out &&
+	test -s err)
+'
+
 
 test_expect_success 'git pull --force' '
 	mkdir clonedoldstyle &&
diff --git a/t/t7502-commit-porcelain.sh b/t/t7502-commit-porcelain.sh
index f035e4a507..5733d9cd34 100755
--- a/t/t7502-commit-porcelain.sh
+++ b/t/t7502-commit-porcelain.sh
@@ -16,9 +16,8 @@ commit_msg_is () {
 # Arguments: [<prefix] [<commit message>] [<commit options>]
 check_summary_oneline() {
 	test_tick &&
-	git commit ${3+"$3"} -m "$2" >act &&
-	head -1 <act >tmp &&
-	mv tmp act &&
+	git commit ${3+"$3"} -m "$2" >raw &&
+	head -n 1 raw >act &&
 
 	# branch name
 	SUMMARY_PREFIX="$(git name-rev --name-only HEAD)" &&
@@ -144,9 +143,11 @@ test_expect_success 'sign off' '
 	>positive &&
 	git add positive &&
 	git commit -s -m "thank you" &&
-	actual=$(git cat-file commit HEAD >tmp && sed -ne "s/Signed-off-by: //p" <tmp && rm tmp) &&
-	expected=$(git var GIT_COMMITTER_IDENT >tmp && sed -e "s/>.*/>/" <tmp && rm tmp) &&
-	test "z$actual" = "z$expected"
+	git cat-file commit HEAD >commit.msg &&
+	sed -ne "s/Signed-off-by: //p" commit.msg >actual &&
+	git var GIT_COMMITTER_IDENT >ident &&
+	sed -e "s/>.*/>/" ident >expected &&
+	test_cmp expected actual
 
 '
 
@@ -155,7 +156,7 @@ test_expect_success 'multiple -m' '
 	>negative &&
 	git add negative &&
 	git commit -m "one" -m "two" -m "three" &&
-	actual=$(git cat-file commit HEAD >tmp && sed -e "1,/^\$/d" <tmp && rm tmp) &&
+	actual=$(git cat-file commit HEAD >tmp && sed -e "1,/^\$/d" tmp && rm tmp) &&
 	expected=$(test_write_lines "one" "" "two" "" "three") &&
 	test "z$actual" = "z$expected"
 
@@ -165,9 +166,8 @@ test_expect_success 'verbose' '
 
 	echo minus >negative &&
 	git add negative &&
-	git status -v >actual &&
-	sed -ne "/^diff --git /p" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git status -v >raw &&
+	sed -ne "/^diff --git /p" raw >actual &&
 	echo "diff --git a/negative b/negative" >expect &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 
@@ -193,9 +193,8 @@ test_expect_success 'cleanup commit messages (verbatim option,-t)' '
 
 	echo >>negative &&
 	git commit --cleanup=verbatim --no-status -t expect -a &&
-	git cat-file -p HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file -p HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 
 '
@@ -204,9 +203,8 @@ test_expect_success 'cleanup commit messages (verbatim option,-F)' '
 
 	echo >>negative &&
 	git commit --cleanup=verbatim -F expect -a &&
-	git cat-file -p HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file -p HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 
 '
@@ -215,9 +213,8 @@ test_expect_success 'cleanup commit messages (verbatim option,-m)' '
 
 	echo >>negative &&
 	git commit --cleanup=verbatim -m "$mesg_with_comment_and_newlines" -a &&
-	git cat-file -p HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file -p HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 
 '
@@ -228,9 +225,8 @@ test_expect_success 'cleanup commit messages (whitespace option,-F)' '
 	test_write_lines "" "# text" "" >text &&
 	echo "# text" >expect &&
 	git commit --cleanup=whitespace -F text -a &&
-	git cat-file -p HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file -p HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 
 '
@@ -257,9 +253,8 @@ test_expect_success 'cleanup commit messages (scissors option,-F,-e)' '
 	# to be kept, too
 	EOF
 	git commit --cleanup=scissors -e -F text -a &&
-	git cat-file -p HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file -p HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
@@ -271,9 +266,8 @@ test_expect_success 'cleanup commit messages (scissors option,-F,-e, scissors on
 	to be removed
 	EOF
 	git commit --cleanup=scissors -e -F text -a --allow-empty-message &&
-	git cat-file -p HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file -p HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_must_be_empty actual
 '
 
@@ -283,9 +277,8 @@ test_expect_success 'cleanup commit messages (strip option,-F)' '
 	test_write_lines "" "# text" "sample" "" >text &&
 	echo sample >expect &&
 	git commit --cleanup=strip -F text -a &&
-	git cat-file -p HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file -p HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^\$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 
 '
@@ -489,9 +482,8 @@ test_expect_success 'Hand committing of a redundant merge removes dups' '
 	test_must_fail git merge second master &&
 	git checkout master g &&
 	EDITOR=: git commit -a &&
-	git cat-file commit HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -n -e "s/^parent //p" -e "/^$/q" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file commit HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -n -e "s/^parent //p" -e "/^$/q" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 
 '
@@ -500,9 +492,8 @@ test_expect_success 'A single-liner subject with a token plus colon is not a foo
 
 	git reset --hard &&
 	git commit -s -m "hello: kitty" --allow-empty &&
-	git cat-file commit HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file commit HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_line_count = 3 actual
 
 '
diff --git a/t/t7600-merge.sh b/t/t7600-merge.sh
index ed11b08db2..7f9c68cbe7 100755
--- a/t/t7600-merge.sh
+++ b/t/t7600-merge.sh
@@ -241,9 +241,8 @@ test_expect_success 'merge --squash c3 with c7' '
 	# Conflicts:
 	#	file
 	EOF
-	git cat-file commit HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e '1,/^$/d' <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file commit HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e '1,/^$/d' raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
@@ -264,9 +263,8 @@ test_expect_success 'merge c3 with c7 with commit.cleanup = scissors' '
 	# Conflicts:
 	#	file
 	EOF
-	git cat-file commit HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e '1,/^$/d' <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file commit HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e '1,/^$/d' raw >actual &&
 	test_i18ncmp expect actual
 '
 
@@ -289,9 +287,8 @@ test_expect_success 'merge c3 with c7 with --squash commit.cleanup = scissors' '
 	# Conflicts:
 	#	file
 	EOF
-	git cat-file commit HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e '1,/^$/d' <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file commit HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e '1,/^$/d' raw >actual &&
 	test_i18ncmp expect actual
 '
 
@@ -728,10 +725,10 @@ cat >editor <<\EOF
 (
 	echo "Merge work done on the side branch c1"
 	echo
-	cat <"$1"
+	cat "$1"
 ) >"$1.tmp" && mv "$1.tmp" "$1"
 # strip comments and blank lines from end of message
-sed -e '/^#/d' < "$1" | sed -e :a -e '/^\n*$/{$d;N;ba' -e '}' >expected
+sed -e '/^#/d' "$1" | sed -e :a -e '/^\n*$/{$d;N;ba' -e '}' >expected
 EOF
 chmod 755 editor
 
@@ -816,14 +813,14 @@ test_expect_success 'set up mod-256 conflict scenario' '
 	git commit -m base &&
 
 	# one side changes the first line of each to "master"
-	sed s/-1/-master/ <file >tmp &&
+	sed s/-1/-master/ file >tmp &&
 	mv tmp file &&
 	git commit -am master &&
 
 	# and the other to "side"; merging the two will
 	# yield 256 separate conflicts
 	git checkout -b side HEAD^ &&
-	sed s/-1/-side/ <file >tmp &&
+	sed s/-1/-side/ file >tmp &&
 	mv tmp file &&
 	git commit -am side
 '
diff --git a/t/t7604-merge-custom-message.sh b/t/t7604-merge-custom-message.sh
index c9685a318d..cd4f9607dc 100755
--- a/t/t7604-merge-custom-message.sh
+++ b/t/t7604-merge-custom-message.sh
@@ -16,16 +16,16 @@ create_merge_msgs() {
 }
 
 test_expect_success 'setup' '
-	echo c0 > c0.c &&
+	echo c0 >c0.c &&
 	git add c0.c &&
 	git commit -m c0 &&
 	git tag c0 &&
-	echo c1 > c1.c &&
+	echo c1 >c1.c &&
 	git add c1.c &&
 	git commit -m c1 &&
 	git tag c1 &&
 	git reset --hard c0 &&
-	echo c2 > c2.c &&
+	echo c2 >c2.c &&
 	git add c2.c &&
 	git commit -m c2 &&
 	git tag c2 &&
@@ -36,18 +36,16 @@ test_expect_success 'setup' '
 test_expect_success 'merge c2 with a custom message' '
 	git reset --hard c1 &&
 	git merge -m "$(cat exp.subject)" c2 &&
-	git cat-file commit HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file commit HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp exp.subject actual
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'merge --log appends to custom message' '
 	git reset --hard c1 &&
 	git merge --log -m "$(cat exp.subject)" c2 &&
-	git cat-file commit HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file commit HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp exp.log actual
 '
 
@@ -63,9 +61,8 @@ test_expect_success 'prepare file with comment line and trailing newlines'  '
 test_expect_success 'cleanup commit messages (verbatim option)' '
 	git reset --hard c1 &&
 	git merge --cleanup=verbatim -F expect c2 &&
-	git cat-file commit HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file commit HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
@@ -74,9 +71,8 @@ test_expect_success 'cleanup commit messages (whitespace option)' '
 	test_write_lines "" "# text" "" >text &&
 	echo "# text" >expect &&
 	git merge --cleanup=whitespace -F text c2 &&
-	git cat-file commit HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file commit HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
@@ -101,9 +97,8 @@ test_expect_success 'cleanup merge messages (scissors option)' '
 	# to be kept, too
 	EOF
 	git merge --cleanup=scissors -e -F text c2 &&
-	git cat-file commit HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file commit HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
@@ -112,9 +107,8 @@ test_expect_success 'cleanup commit messages (strip option)' '
 	test_write_lines "" "# text" "sample" "" >text &&
 	echo sample >expect &&
 	git merge --cleanup=strip -F text c2 &&
-	git cat-file commit HEAD >actual &&
-	sed -e "1,/^$/d" <actual >tmp &&
-	mv tmp actual &&
+	git cat-file commit HEAD >raw &&
+	sed -e "1,/^$/d" raw >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
