diff --git a/builtin/fsmonitor--daemon.c b/builtin/fsmonitor--daemon.c
index eafaafb45b..ab9cc09f7c 100644
--- a/builtin/fsmonitor--daemon.c
+++ b/builtin/fsmonitor--daemon.c
@@ -312,6 +312,75 @@ static void fsmonitor_batch__combine(struct fsmonitor_batch *batch_dest,
 			batch_src->interned_paths[k];
 }
 
+/*
+ * To keep the batch list from growing unbounded in response to filesystem
+ * activity, we try to truncate old batches from the end of the list as
+ * they become irrelevant.
+ *
+ * We assume that the .git/index will be updated with the most recent token
+ * any time the index is updated.  And future commands will only ask for
+ * recent changes *since* that new token.  So as tokens advance into the
+ * future, older batch items will never be requested/needed.  So we can
+ * truncate them without loss of functionality.
+ *
+ * However, multiple commands may be talking to the daemon concurrently
+ * or perform a slow command, so a little "token skew" is possible.
+ * Therefore, we want this to be a little bit lazy and have a generous
+ * delay.
+ *
+ * The current reader thread walked backwards in time from `token->batch_head`
+ * back to `batch_marker` somewhere in the middle of the batch list.
+ *
+ * Let's walk backwards in time from that marker an arbitrary delay
+ * and truncate the list there.  Note that these timestamps are completely
+ * artificial (based on when we pinned the batch item) and not on any
+ * filesystem activity.
+ *
+ * Return the obsolete portion of the list after we have removed it from
+ * the official list so that the caller can free it after leaving the lock.
+ */
+#define MY_TIME_DELAY_SECONDS (5 * 60) /* seconds */
+
+static struct fsmonitor_batch *with_lock__truncate_old_batches(
+	struct fsmonitor_daemon_state *state,
+	const struct fsmonitor_batch *batch_marker)
+{
+	/* assert current thread holding state->main_lock */
+
+	const struct fsmonitor_batch *batch;
+	struct fsmonitor_batch *remainder;
+
+	if (!batch_marker)
+		return NULL;
+
+	trace_printf_key(&trace_fsmonitor, "Truncate: mark (%"PRIu64",%"PRIu64")",
+			 batch_marker->batch_seq_nr,
+			 (uint64_t)batch_marker->pinned_time);
+
+	for (batch = batch_marker; batch; batch = batch->next) {
+		time_t t;
+
+		if (!batch->pinned_time) /* an overflow batch */
+			continue;
+
+		t = batch->pinned_time + MY_TIME_DELAY_SECONDS;
+		if (t > batch_marker->pinned_time) /* too close to marker */
+			continue;
+
+		goto truncate_past_here;
+	}
+
+	return NULL;
+
+truncate_past_here:
+	state->current_token_data->batch_tail = (struct fsmonitor_batch *)batch;
+
+	remainder = ((struct fsmonitor_batch *)batch)->next;
+	((struct fsmonitor_batch *)batch)->next = NULL;
+
+	return remainder;
+}
+
 static void fsmonitor_free_token_data(struct fsmonitor_token_data *token)
 {
 	if (!token)
@@ -425,6 +494,7 @@ static int do_handle_client(struct fsmonitor_daemon_state *state,
 	const char *p;
 	const struct fsmonitor_batch *batch_head;
 	const struct fsmonitor_batch *batch;
+	struct fsmonitor_batch *remainder = NULL;
 	intmax_t count = 0, duplicates = 0;
 	kh_str_t *shown;
 	int hash_ret;
@@ -652,11 +722,29 @@ static int do_handle_client(struct fsmonitor_daemon_state *state,
 			 * that work.
 			 */
 			fsmonitor_free_token_data(token_data);
+		} else if (batch) {
+			/*
+			 * We are holding the lock and are the only
+			 * reader of the ref-counted portion of the
+			 * list, so we get the honor of seeing if the
+			 * list can be truncated to save memory.
+			 *
+			 * The main loop did not walk to the end of the
+			 * list, so this batch is the first item in the
+			 * batch-list that is older than the requested
+			 * end-point sequence number.  See if the tail
+			 * end of the list is obsolete.
+			 */
+			remainder = with_lock__truncate_old_batches(state,
+								    batch);
 		}
 	}
 
 	pthread_mutex_unlock(&state->main_lock);
 
+	if (remainder)
+		fsmonitor_batch__free_list(remainder);
+
 	trace2_data_intmax("fsmonitor", the_repository, "response/length", total_response_len);
 	trace2_data_intmax("fsmonitor", the_repository, "response/count/files", count);
 	trace2_data_intmax("fsmonitor", the_repository, "response/count/duplicates", duplicates);