diff --git a/archive.c b/archive.c
index 7a888c5338..5919d9e505 100644
--- a/archive.c
+++ b/archive.c
@@ -658,6 +658,7 @@ int write_archive(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix,
 	rc = ar->write_archive(ar, &args);
 
 	string_list_clear_func(&args.extra_files, extra_file_info_clear);
+	free(args.refname);
 
 	return rc;
 }
diff --git a/archive.h b/archive.h
index e3d04e8ab3..33551b7ee1 100644
--- a/archive.h
+++ b/archive.h
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ struct repository;
 
 struct archiver_args {
 	struct repository *repo;
-	const char *refname;
+	char *refname;
 	const char *prefix;
 	const char *base;
 	size_t baselen;