diff --git a/builtin-describe.c b/builtin-describe.c
index e515f9ca9b..62a19056ef 100644
--- a/builtin-describe.c
+++ b/builtin-describe.c
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ static int tags;	/* But allow any tags if --tags is specified */
 static int longformat;
 static int abbrev = DEFAULT_ABBREV;
 static int max_candidates = 10;
-const char *pattern = NULL;
+static const char *pattern;
 static int always;
 
 struct commit_name {