diff --git a/builtin/merge.c b/builtin/merge.c
index ff875f1f05..64c6c6f393 100644
--- a/builtin/merge.c
+++ b/builtin/merge.c
@@ -548,8 +548,8 @@ static void write_tree_trivial(unsigned char *sha1)
 		die("git write-tree failed to write a tree");
 }
 
-static int try_merge_command(const char *strategy, struct commit_list *common,
-			     const char *head_arg, struct commit_list *remotes)
+int try_merge_command(const char *strategy, struct commit_list *common,
+		      const char *head_arg, struct commit_list *remotes)
 {
 	const char **args;
 	int i = 0, x = 0, ret;
diff --git a/merge-recursive.h b/merge-recursive.h
index d1192f56d7..0cc465ec5d 100644
--- a/merge-recursive.h
+++ b/merge-recursive.h
@@ -54,4 +54,7 @@ int merge_recursive_generic(struct merge_options *o,
 void init_merge_options(struct merge_options *o);
 struct tree *write_tree_from_memory(struct merge_options *o);
 
+/* builtin/merge.c */
+int try_merge_command(const char *strategy, struct commit_list *common, const char *head_arg, struct commit_list *remotes);
+
 #endif