diff --git a/notes.c b/notes.c
index 47e38a1..4ee4fec 100644
--- a/notes.c
+++ b/notes.c
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 #include "cache.h"
-#include "commit.h"
 #include "notes.h"
 #include "utf8.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
@@ -24,10 +23,10 @@
 /*
  * Leaf nodes come in two variants, note entries and subtree entries,
  * distinguished by the LSb of the leaf node pointer (see above).
- * As a note entry, the key is the SHA1 of the referenced commit, and the
+ * As a note entry, the key is the SHA1 of the referenced object, and the
  * value is the SHA1 of the note object.
  * As a subtree entry, the key is the prefix SHA1 (w/trailing NULs) of the
- * referenced commit, using the last byte of the key to store the length of
+ * referenced object, using the last byte of the key to store the length of
  * the prefix. The value is the SHA1 of the tree object containing the notes
  * subtree.
  */
@@ -210,7 +209,7 @@
 				if (concatenate_notes(l->val_sha1,
 						entry->val_sha1))
 					die("failed to concatenate note %s "
-					    "into note %s for commit %s",
+					    "into note %s for object %s",
 					    sha1_to_hex(entry->val_sha1),
 					    sha1_to_hex(l->val_sha1),
 					    sha1_to_hex(l->key_sha1));
@@ -298,7 +297,7 @@
 static void load_subtree(struct leaf_node *subtree, struct int_node *node,
 		unsigned int n)
 {
-	unsigned char commit_sha1[20];
+	unsigned char object_sha1[20];
 	unsigned int prefix_len;
 	void *buf;
 	struct tree_desc desc;
@@ -311,23 +310,23 @@
 
 	prefix_len = subtree->key_sha1[19];
 	assert(prefix_len * 2 >= n);
-	memcpy(commit_sha1, subtree->key_sha1, prefix_len);
+	memcpy(object_sha1, subtree->key_sha1, prefix_len);
 	while (tree_entry(&desc, &entry)) {
 		int len = get_sha1_hex_segment(entry.path, strlen(entry.path),
-				commit_sha1 + prefix_len, 20 - prefix_len);
+				object_sha1 + prefix_len, 20 - prefix_len);
 		if (len < 0)
 			continue; /* entry.path is not a SHA1 sum. Skip */
 		len += prefix_len;
 
 		/*
-		 * If commit SHA1 is complete (len == 20), assume note object
-		 * If commit SHA1 is incomplete (len < 20), assume note subtree
+		 * If object SHA1 is complete (len == 20), assume note object
+		 * If object SHA1 is incomplete (len < 20), assume note subtree
 		 */
 		if (len <= 20) {
 			unsigned char type = PTR_TYPE_NOTE;
 			struct leaf_node *l = (struct leaf_node *)
 				xcalloc(sizeof(struct leaf_node), 1);
-			hashcpy(l->key_sha1, commit_sha1);
+			hashcpy(l->key_sha1, object_sha1);
 			hashcpy(l->val_sha1, entry.sha1);
 			if (len < 20) {
 				if (!S_ISDIR(entry.mode))
@@ -343,12 +342,12 @@
 
 static void initialize_notes(const char *notes_ref_name)
 {
-	unsigned char sha1[20], commit_sha1[20];
+	unsigned char sha1[20], object_sha1[20];
 	unsigned mode;
 	struct leaf_node root_tree;
 
-	if (!notes_ref_name || read_ref(notes_ref_name, commit_sha1) ||
-	    get_tree_entry(commit_sha1, "", sha1, &mode))
+	if (!notes_ref_name || read_ref(notes_ref_name, object_sha1) ||
+	    get_tree_entry(object_sha1, "", sha1, &mode))
 		return;
 
 	hashclr(root_tree.key_sha1);
@@ -356,9 +355,9 @@
 	load_subtree(&root_tree, &root_node, 0);
 }
 
-static unsigned char *lookup_notes(const unsigned char *commit_sha1)
+static unsigned char *lookup_notes(const unsigned char *object_sha1)
 {
-	struct leaf_node *found = note_tree_find(&root_node, 0, commit_sha1);
+	struct leaf_node *found = note_tree_find(&root_node, 0, object_sha1);
 	if (found)
 		return found->val_sha1;
 	return NULL;
@@ -371,7 +370,7 @@
 	initialized = 0;
 }
 
-void get_commit_notes(const struct commit *commit, struct strbuf *sb,
+void format_note(const unsigned char *object_sha1, struct strbuf *sb,
 		const char *output_encoding, int flags)
 {
 	static const char utf8[] = "utf-8";
@@ -390,7 +389,7 @@
 		initialized = 1;
 	}
 
-	sha1 = lookup_notes(commit->object.sha1);
+	sha1 = lookup_notes(object_sha1);
 	if (!sha1)
 		return;