diff --git a/builtin/commit.c b/builtin/commit.c
index d6dd3df..7c2a3d4 100644
--- a/builtin/commit.c
+++ b/builtin/commit.c
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@
 	CLEANUP_NONE,
 	CLEANUP_ALL
 } cleanup_mode;
-static char *cleanup_arg;
+static const char *cleanup_arg;
 
 static enum commit_whence whence;
 static int use_editor = 1, include_status = 1;
@@ -1320,6 +1320,8 @@
 		include_status = git_config_bool(k, v);
 		return 0;
 	}
+	if (!strcmp(k, "commit.cleanup"))
+		return git_config_string(&cleanup_arg, k, v);
 
 	status = git_gpg_config(k, v, NULL);
 	if (status)