diff --git a/config.mak.dev b/config.mak.dev
index bf1f3fcdee..2e19435915 100644
--- a/config.mak.dev
+++ b/config.mak.dev
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ DEVELOPER_CFLAGS += -Wstrict-prototypes
 DEVELOPER_CFLAGS += -Wunused
 DEVELOPER_CFLAGS += -Wvla
 
+DEVELOPER_CFLAGS += -DENABLE_SHA256
+
 ifndef COMPILER_FEATURES
 COMPILER_FEATURES := $(shell ./detect-compiler $(CC))
 endif
diff --git a/repository.c b/repository.c
index a4174ddb06..6f7f6f002b 100644
--- a/repository.c
+++ b/repository.c
@@ -89,6 +89,10 @@ void repo_set_gitdir(struct repository *repo,
 void repo_set_hash_algo(struct repository *repo, int hash_algo)
 {
 	repo->hash_algo = &hash_algos[hash_algo];
+#ifndef ENABLE_SHA256
+	if (hash_algo != GIT_HASH_SHA1)
+		die(_("The hash algorithm %s is not supported in this build."), repo->hash_algo->name);
+#endif
 }
 
 /*