diff --git a/add-patch.c b/add-patch.c
index 2fad92ca373..8c41cdfe39b 100644
--- a/add-patch.c
+++ b/add-patch.c
@@ -280,6 +280,7 @@ static void add_p_state_clear(struct add_p_state *s)
 	clear_add_i_state(&s->s);
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)))
 static void err(struct add_p_state *s, const char *fmt, ...)
 {
 	va_list args;
diff --git a/advice.h b/advice.h
index bd26c385d00..9f8ffc73546 100644
--- a/advice.h
+++ b/advice.h
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ int advice_enabled(enum advice_type type);
 /**
  * Checks the visibility of the advice before printing.
  */
+__attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)))
 void advise_if_enabled(enum advice_type type, const char *advice, ...);
 
 int error_resolve_conflict(const char *me);
diff --git a/builtin/am.c b/builtin/am.c
index 0b2d886c81b..0c2ad96b70e 100644
--- a/builtin/am.c
+++ b/builtin/am.c
@@ -210,6 +210,7 @@ static void write_state_bool(const struct am_state *state,
  * If state->quiet is false, calls fprintf(fp, fmt, ...), and appends a newline
  * at the end.
  */
+__attribute__((format (printf, 3, 4)))
 static void say(const struct am_state *state, FILE *fp, const char *fmt, ...)
 {
 	va_list ap;
diff --git a/builtin/bisect--helper.c b/builtin/bisect--helper.c
index 9d9540a0abf..f184eaeac6d 100644
--- a/builtin/bisect--helper.c
+++ b/builtin/bisect--helper.c
@@ -117,6 +117,7 @@ static int write_in_file(const char *path, const char *mode, const char *format,
 	return fclose(fp);
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)))
 static int write_to_file(const char *path, const char *format, ...)
 {
 	int res;
@@ -129,6 +130,7 @@ static int write_to_file(const char *path, const char *format, ...)
 	return res;
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)))
 static int append_to_file(const char *path, const char *format, ...)
 {
 	int res;
diff --git a/builtin/index-pack.c b/builtin/index-pack.c
index 3fbc5d70777..8336466865c 100644
--- a/builtin/index-pack.c
+++ b/builtin/index-pack.c
@@ -369,9 +369,7 @@ static void parse_pack_header(void)
 	use(sizeof(struct pack_header));
 }
 
-static NORETURN void bad_object(off_t offset, const char *format,
-		       ...) __attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)));
-
+__attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)))
 static NORETURN void bad_object(off_t offset, const char *format, ...)
 {
 	va_list params;
diff --git a/builtin/receive-pack.c b/builtin/receive-pack.c
index a34742513ac..2d1f97e1ca7 100644
--- a/builtin/receive-pack.c
+++ b/builtin/receive-pack.c
@@ -425,9 +425,6 @@ static int proc_receive_ref_matches(struct command *cmd)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-static void rp_error(const char *err, ...) __attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2)));
-static void rp_warning(const char *err, ...) __attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2)));
-
 static void report_message(const char *prefix, const char *err, va_list params)
 {
 	int sz;
@@ -445,6 +442,7 @@ static void report_message(const char *prefix, const char *err, va_list params)
 		xwrite(2, msg, sz);
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2)))
 static void rp_warning(const char *err, ...)
 {
 	va_list params;
@@ -453,6 +451,7 @@ static void rp_warning(const char *err, ...)
 	va_end(params);
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2)))
 static void rp_error(const char *err, ...)
 {
 	va_list params;
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index ba04ff8bd36..f9aed2d45c7 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -1385,6 +1385,7 @@ enum get_oid_result {
 };
 
 int repo_get_oid(struct repository *r, const char *str, struct object_id *oid);
+__attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)))
 int get_oidf(struct object_id *oid, const char *fmt, ...);
 int repo_get_oid_commit(struct repository *r, const char *str, struct object_id *oid);
 int repo_get_oid_committish(struct repository *r, const char *str, struct object_id *oid);
diff --git a/commit-graph.c b/commit-graph.c
index 1a2602da618..3860a0d8477 100644
--- a/commit-graph.c
+++ b/commit-graph.c
@@ -2408,6 +2408,7 @@ int write_commit_graph(struct object_directory *odb,
 #define VERIFY_COMMIT_GRAPH_ERROR_HASH 2
 static int verify_commit_graph_error;
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2)))
 static void graph_report(const char *fmt, ...)
 {
 	va_list ap;
diff --git a/contrib/credential/osxkeychain/git-credential-osxkeychain.c b/contrib/credential/osxkeychain/git-credential-osxkeychain.c
index bcd3f575a3e..0b44a9b7cc6 100644
--- a/contrib/credential/osxkeychain/git-credential-osxkeychain.c
+++ b/contrib/credential/osxkeychain/git-credential-osxkeychain.c
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ static char *username;
 static char *password;
 static UInt16 port;
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2)))
 static void die(const char *err, ...)
 {
 	char msg[4096];
diff --git a/contrib/credential/wincred/git-credential-wincred.c b/contrib/credential/wincred/git-credential-wincred.c
index 5bdad41de1f..5091048f9c6 100644
--- a/contrib/credential/wincred/git-credential-wincred.c
+++ b/contrib/credential/wincred/git-credential-wincred.c
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 
 #define ARRAY_SIZE(x) (sizeof(x)/sizeof(x[0]))
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2)))
 static void die(const char *err, ...)
 {
 	char msg[4096];
diff --git a/gettext.c b/gettext.c
index af2413b47e8..bb5ba1fe7cc 100644
--- a/gettext.c
+++ b/gettext.c
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ const char *get_preferred_languages(void)
 }
 
 #ifndef NO_GETTEXT
+__attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2)))
 static int test_vsnprintf(const char *fmt, ...)
 {
 	char buf[26];
diff --git a/imap-send.c b/imap-send.c
index 9d06ef7cd25..a0540ba5cf4 100644
--- a/imap-send.c
+++ b/imap-send.c
@@ -451,6 +451,7 @@ static int buffer_gets(struct imap_buffer *b, char **s)
 	/* not reached */
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2)))
 static void imap_info(const char *msg, ...)
 {
 	va_list va;
@@ -463,6 +464,7 @@ static void imap_info(const char *msg, ...)
 	}
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2)))
 static void imap_warn(const char *msg, ...)
 {
 	va_list va;
@@ -504,6 +506,7 @@ static char *next_arg(char **s)
 	return ret;
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 3, 4)))
 static int nfsnprintf(char *buf, int blen, const char *fmt, ...)
 {
 	int ret;
diff --git a/mailmap.c b/mailmap.c
index d1f7c0d272d..462b3956340 100644
--- a/mailmap.c
+++ b/mailmap.c
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 #define debug_mm(...) fprintf(stderr, __VA_ARGS__)
 #define debug_str(X) ((X) ? (X) : "(none)")
 #else
+__attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2)))
 static inline void debug_mm(const char *format, ...) {}
 static inline const char *debug_str(const char *s) { return s; }
 #endif
diff --git a/merge-ort.c b/merge-ort.c
index 8cfa0ccd3c8..c3b3ab28c1f 100644
--- a/merge-ort.c
+++ b/merge-ort.c
@@ -530,6 +530,7 @@ static void clear_or_reinit_internal_opts(struct merge_options_internal *opti,
 	renames->callback_data_nr = renames->callback_data_alloc = 0;
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)))
 static int err(struct merge_options *opt, const char *err, ...)
 {
 	va_list params;
diff --git a/merge-recursive.c b/merge-recursive.c
index a67bf2acfa5..03f73cfc47c 100644
--- a/merge-recursive.c
+++ b/merge-recursive.c
@@ -167,6 +167,7 @@ static void flush_output(struct merge_options *opt)
 	}
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)))
 static int err(struct merge_options *opt, const char *err, ...)
 {
 	va_list params;
diff --git a/midx.c b/midx.c
index 9a35b0255d5..321c6fdd2f1 100644
--- a/midx.c
+++ b/midx.c
@@ -1172,6 +1172,7 @@ void clear_midx_file(struct repository *r)
 
 static int verify_midx_error;
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2)))
 static void midx_report(const char *fmt, ...)
 {
 	va_list ap;
diff --git a/quote.h b/quote.h
index 768cc6338e2..049d8dd0b3d 100644
--- a/quote.h
+++ b/quote.h
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ struct strbuf;
 
 void sq_quote_buf(struct strbuf *, const char *src);
 void sq_quote_argv(struct strbuf *, const char **argv);
+__attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)))
 void sq_quotef(struct strbuf *, const char *fmt, ...);
 
 /*
diff --git a/ref-filter.c b/ref-filter.c
index 4db0e40ff4c..f45d3a1b26d 100644
--- a/ref-filter.c
+++ b/ref-filter.c
@@ -213,6 +213,7 @@ static int used_atom_cnt, need_tagged, need_symref;
  * Expand string, append it to strbuf *sb, then return error code ret.
  * Allow to save few lines of code.
  */
+__attribute__((format (printf, 3, 4)))
 static int strbuf_addf_ret(struct strbuf *sb, int ret, const char *fmt, ...)
 {
 	va_list ap;
diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
index 0bec01cf38e..7f07cd00f3f 100644
--- a/sequencer.c
+++ b/sequencer.c
@@ -3521,6 +3521,7 @@ static int do_exec(struct repository *r, const char *command_line)
 	return status;
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)))
 static int safe_append(const char *filename, const char *fmt, ...)
 {
 	va_list ap;
@@ -3598,8 +3599,27 @@ static int do_label(struct repository *r, const char *name, int len)
 	return ret;
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 3, 4)))
 static const char *reflog_message(struct replay_opts *opts,
-	const char *sub_action, const char *fmt, ...);
+	const char *sub_action, const char *fmt, ...)
+{
+	va_list ap;
+	static struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
+	char *reflog_action = getenv(GIT_REFLOG_ACTION);
+
+	va_start(ap, fmt);
+	strbuf_reset(&buf);
+	strbuf_addstr(&buf, reflog_action ? reflog_action : action_name(opts));
+	if (sub_action)
+		strbuf_addf(&buf, " (%s)", sub_action);
+	if (fmt) {
+		strbuf_addstr(&buf, ": ");
+		strbuf_vaddf(&buf, fmt, ap);
+	}
+	va_end(ap);
+
+	return buf.buf;
+}
 
 static int do_reset(struct repository *r,
 		    const char *name, int len,
@@ -4178,27 +4198,6 @@ int apply_autostash_oid(const char *stash_oid)
 	return apply_save_autostash_oid(stash_oid, 1);
 }
 
-static const char *reflog_message(struct replay_opts *opts,
-	const char *sub_action, const char *fmt, ...)
-{
-	va_list ap;
-	static struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT;
-	char *reflog_action = getenv(GIT_REFLOG_ACTION);
-
-	va_start(ap, fmt);
-	strbuf_reset(&buf);
-	strbuf_addstr(&buf, reflog_action ? reflog_action : action_name(opts));
-	if (sub_action)
-		strbuf_addf(&buf, " (%s)", sub_action);
-	if (fmt) {
-		strbuf_addstr(&buf, ": ");
-		strbuf_vaddf(&buf, fmt, ap);
-	}
-	va_end(ap);
-
-	return buf.buf;
-}
-
 static int run_git_checkout(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts,
 			    const char *commit, const char *action)
 {
diff --git a/server-info.c b/server-info.c
index de0aa4498c6..7701d7c20a1 100644
--- a/server-info.c
+++ b/server-info.c
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ static int uic_is_stale(const struct update_info_ctx *uic)
 	return uic->old_fp == NULL;
 }
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)))
 static int uic_printf(struct update_info_ctx *uic, const char *fmt, ...)
 {
 	va_list ap;
diff --git a/strbuf.h b/strbuf.h
index a86dcaaf44d..5b1113abf8f 100644
--- a/strbuf.h
+++ b/strbuf.h
@@ -263,6 +263,7 @@ static inline void strbuf_insertstr(struct strbuf *sb, size_t pos,
 void strbuf_vinsertf(struct strbuf *sb, size_t pos, const char *fmt,
 		     va_list ap);
 
+__attribute__((format (printf, 3, 4)))
 void strbuf_insertf(struct strbuf *sb, size_t pos, const char *fmt, ...);
 
 /**
diff --git a/t/helper/test-advise.c b/t/helper/test-advise.c
index a7043df1d38..cb881139f73 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-advise.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-advise.c
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ int cmd__advise_if_enabled(int argc, const char **argv)
 	 * selected here and in t0018 where this command is being
 	 * executed.
 	 */
-	advise_if_enabled(ADVICE_NESTED_TAG, argv[1]);
+	advise_if_enabled(ADVICE_NESTED_TAG, "%s", argv[1]);
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/worktree.c b/worktree.c
index 237517baee6..092a4f92ad2 100644
--- a/worktree.c
+++ b/worktree.c
@@ -265,6 +265,7 @@ const char *worktree_prune_reason(struct worktree *wt, timestamp_t expire)
 }
 
 /* convenient wrapper to deal with NULL strbuf */
+__attribute__((format (printf, 2, 3)))
 static void strbuf_addf_gently(struct strbuf *buf, const char *fmt, ...)
 {
 	va_list params;