diff --git a/builtin/commit.c b/builtin/commit.c
index 961e467..fe380a9 100644
--- a/builtin/commit.c
+++ b/builtin/commit.c
@@ -1364,13 +1364,14 @@
 	refresh_index(&the_index, REFRESH_QUIET|REFRESH_UNMERGED, &s.pathspec, NULL, NULL);
 
 	fd = hold_locked_index(&index_lock, 0);
-	if (0 <= fd)
-		update_index_if_able(&the_index, &index_lock);
 
 	s.is_initial = get_sha1(s.reference, sha1) ? 1 : 0;
 	s.ignore_submodule_arg = ignore_submodule_arg;
 	wt_status_collect(&s);
 
+	if (0 <= fd)
+		update_index_if_able(&the_index, &index_lock);
+
 	if (s.relative_paths)
 		s.prefix = prefix;