diff --git a/entry.c b/entry.c
index 6339d54843..2ce16414a7 100644
--- a/entry.c
+++ b/entry.c
@@ -440,12 +440,13 @@ static void mark_colliding_entries(const struct checkout *state,
 	}
 }
 
-int checkout_entry(struct cache_entry *ce, const struct checkout *state,
-		   char *topath, int *nr_checkouts)
+int checkout_entry_ca(struct cache_entry *ce, struct conv_attrs *ca,
+		      const struct checkout *state, char *topath,
+		      int *nr_checkouts)
 {
 	static struct strbuf path = STRBUF_INIT;
 	struct stat st;
-	struct conv_attrs ca_buf, *ca = NULL;
+	struct conv_attrs ca_buf;
 
 	if (ce->ce_flags & CE_WT_REMOVE) {
 		if (topath)
@@ -459,7 +460,7 @@ int checkout_entry(struct cache_entry *ce, const struct checkout *state,
 	}
 
 	if (topath) {
-		if (S_ISREG(ce->ce_mode)) {
+		if (S_ISREG(ce->ce_mode) && !ca) {
 			convert_attrs(state->istate, &ca_buf, ce->name);
 			ca = &ca_buf;
 		}
@@ -530,7 +531,7 @@ int checkout_entry(struct cache_entry *ce, const struct checkout *state,
 	if (nr_checkouts)
 		(*nr_checkouts)++;
 
-	if (S_ISREG(ce->ce_mode)) {
+	if (S_ISREG(ce->ce_mode) && !ca) {
 		convert_attrs(state->istate, &ca_buf, ce->name);
 		ca = &ca_buf;
 	}
diff --git a/entry.h b/entry.h
index ea7290bcd5..b8c0e170dc 100644
--- a/entry.h
+++ b/entry.h
@@ -26,9 +26,21 @@ struct checkout {
  * file named by ce, a temporary file is created by this function and
  * its name is returned in topath[], which must be able to hold at
  * least TEMPORARY_FILENAME_LENGTH bytes long.
+ *
+ * With checkout_entry_ca(), callers can optionally pass a preloaded
+ * conv_attrs struct (to avoid reloading it), when ce refers to a
+ * regular file. If ca is NULL, the attributes will be loaded
+ * internally when (and if) needed.
  */
-int checkout_entry(struct cache_entry *ce, const struct checkout *state,
-		   char *topath, int *nr_checkouts);
+int checkout_entry_ca(struct cache_entry *ce, struct conv_attrs *ca,
+		      const struct checkout *state, char *topath,
+		      int *nr_checkouts);
+static inline int checkout_entry(struct cache_entry *ce,
+				 const struct checkout *state, char *topath,
+				 int *nr_checkouts)
+{
+	return checkout_entry_ca(ce, NULL, state, topath, nr_checkouts);
+}
 
 void enable_delayed_checkout(struct checkout *state);
 int finish_delayed_checkout(struct checkout *state, int *nr_checkouts);