diff --git a/Documentation/config.txt b/Documentation/config.txt
index 4c36aa9..c6cc7ab 100644
--- a/Documentation/config.txt
+++ b/Documentation/config.txt
@@ -203,8 +203,8 @@
 	based on the file's contents.  See linkgit:gitattributes[5].
 
 core.safecrlf::
-	If true, makes git check if converting `CRLF` as controlled by
-	`core.autocrlf` is reversible.  Git will verify if a command
+	If true, makes git check if converting `CRLF` is reversible when
+	end-of-line conversion is active.  Git will verify if a command
 	modifies a file in the work tree either directly or indirectly.
 	For example, committing a file followed by checking out the
 	same file should yield the original file in the work tree.  If
diff --git a/Documentation/gitattributes.txt b/Documentation/gitattributes.txt
index b396a87..f621b23 100644
--- a/Documentation/gitattributes.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gitattributes.txt
@@ -95,50 +95,138 @@
 `crlf`
 ^^^^^^
 
-This attribute controls the line-ending convention.
+This attribute enables and controls end-of-line normalization.  When a
+text file is normalized, its line endings are converted to LF in the
+repository.  To control what line ending style is used in the working
+directory, use the `eol` attribute for a single file and the
+`core.autocrlf` configuration variable for all text files.
 
 Set::
 
-	Setting the `crlf` attribute on a path is meant to mark
-	the path as a "text" file.  'core.autocrlf' conversion
-	takes place without guessing the content type by
-	inspection.
+	Setting the `crlf` attribute on a path enables end-of-line
+	normalization and marks the path as a text file.  End-of-line
+	conversion takes place without guessing the content type.
 
 Unset::
 
 	Unsetting the `crlf` attribute on a path tells git not to
 	attempt any end-of-line conversion upon checkin or checkout.
 
+Set to string value "auto"::
+
+	When `crlf` is set to "auto", the path is marked for automatic
+	end-of-line normalization.  If git decides that the content is
+	text, its line endings are normalized to LF on checkin.
+
 Unspecified::
 
-	Unspecified `crlf` attribute tells git to apply the
-	`core.autocrlf` conversion when the file content looks
-	like text.
+	If the `crlf` attribute is unspecified, git uses the `eol`
+	attribute and the `core.autocrlf` configuration variable to
+	determine if the file should be converted.
 
-Set to string value "input"::
+Any other value causes git to act as if `crlf` has been left
+unspecified.
 
-	This is similar to setting the attribute to `true`, but
-	also forces git to act as if `core.autocrlf` is set to
-	`input` for the path.
+`eol`
+^^^^^
 
-Any other value set to `crlf` attribute is ignored and git acts
-as if the attribute is left unspecified.
+This attribute sets a specific line-ending style to be used in the
+working directory.  It enables end-of-line normalization without any
+content checks, similar to setting the `crlf` attribute.
 
+Set to string value "crlf"::
 
-The `core.autocrlf` conversion
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+	This setting forces git to normalize line endings on checkin
+	and convert them to CRLF when the file is checked out,
+	regardless of `crlf` and `core.autocrlf`.
 
-If the configuration variable `core.autocrlf` is false, no
-conversion is done.
+Set to string value "lf"::
 
-When `core.autocrlf` is true, it means that the platform wants
-CRLF line endings for files in the working tree, and you want to
-convert them back to the normal LF line endings when checking
-in to the repository.
+	This setting forces git to normalize line endings to LF on
+	checkin and prevents conversion to CRLF when the file is
+	checked out, regardless of `crlf` and `core.autocrlf`.
+	`crlf=input` is a backwards compatibility alias for `eol=lf`.
 
-When `core.autocrlf` is set to "input", line endings are
-converted to LF upon checkin, but there is no conversion done
-upon checkout.
+End-of-line conversion
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+While git normally leaves file contents alone, it can be configured to
+normalize line endings to LF in the repository and, optionally, to
+convert them to CRLF when files are checked out.
+
+Here is an example that will make git normalize .txt, .vcproj and .sh
+files, ensure that .vcproj files have CRLF and .sh files have LF in
+the working directory, and prevent .jpg files from being normalized
+regardless of their content.
+
+------------------------
+*.txt		crlf
+*.vcproj	eol=crlf
+*.sh		eol=lf
+*.jpg		-crlf
+------------------------
+
+Other source code management systems normalize all text files in their
+repositories, and there are two ways to enable similar automatic
+normalization in git.
+
+If you simply want to have CRLF line endings in your working directory
+regardless of the repository you are working with, you can set the
+config variable "core.autocrlf" without changing any attributes.
+
+------------------------
+[core]
+	autocrlf = true
+------------------------
+
+This does not force normalization of all text files, but does ensure
+that text files that you introduce to the repository have their line
+endings normalized to LF when they are added, and that files that are
+already normalized in the repository stay normalized.  You can also
+set `autocrlf` to "input" to have automatic normalization of new text
+files without conversion to CRLF in the working directory.
+
+If you want to interoperate with a source code management system that
+enforces end-of-line normalization, or you simply want all text files
+in your repository to be normalized, you should instead set the `crlf`
+attribute to "auto" for _all_ files.
+
+------------------------
+*	crlf=auto
+------------------------
+
+This ensures that all files that git considers to be text will have
+normalized (LF) line endings in the repository.
+
+NOTE: When `crlf=auto` normalization is enabled in an existing
+repository, any text files containing CRLFs should be normalized.  If
+they are not they will be normalized the next time someone tries to
+change them, causing unfortunate misattribution.  From a clean working
+directory:
+
+-------------------------------------------------
+$ echo "* crlf=auto" >>.gitattributes
+$ rm .git/index     # Remove the index to force git to
+$ git reset         # re-scan the working directory
+$ git status        # Show files that will be normalized
+$ git add -u
+$ git add .gitattributes
+$ git commit -m "Introduce end-of-line normalization"
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+If any files that should not be normalized show up in 'git status',
+unset their `crlf` attribute before running 'git add -u'.
+
+------------------------
+manual.pdf	-crlf
+------------------------
+
+Conversely, text files that git does not detect can have normalization
+enabled manually.
+
+------------------------
+weirdchars.txt	crlf
+------------------------
 
 If `core.safecrlf` is set to "true" or "warn", git verifies if
 the conversion is reversible for the current setting of
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index d478eff..e1a2e14 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -535,7 +535,6 @@
 extern size_t packed_git_window_size;
 extern size_t packed_git_limit;
 extern size_t delta_base_cache_limit;
-extern int auto_crlf;
 extern int read_replace_refs;
 extern int fsync_object_files;
 extern int core_preload_index;
@@ -549,6 +548,14 @@
 
 extern enum safe_crlf safe_crlf;
 
+enum auto_crlf {
+	AUTO_CRLF_FALSE = 0,
+	AUTO_CRLF_TRUE = 1,
+	AUTO_CRLF_INPUT = -1,
+};
+
+extern enum auto_crlf auto_crlf;
+
 enum branch_track {
 	BRANCH_TRACK_UNSPECIFIED = -1,
 	BRANCH_TRACK_NEVER = 0,
diff --git a/config.c b/config.c
index 6963fbe..b60a1ff 100644
--- a/config.c
+++ b/config.c
@@ -461,7 +461,7 @@
 
 	if (!strcmp(var, "core.autocrlf")) {
 		if (value && !strcasecmp(value, "input")) {
-			auto_crlf = -1;
+			auto_crlf = AUTO_CRLF_INPUT;
 			return 0;
 		}
 		auto_crlf = git_config_bool(var, value);
diff --git a/convert.c b/convert.c
index a54c5fc..1144e0b 100644
--- a/convert.c
+++ b/convert.c
@@ -8,13 +8,23 @@
  * This should use the pathname to decide on whether it wants to do some
  * more interesting conversions (automatic gzip/unzip, general format
  * conversions etc etc), but by default it just does automatic CRLF<->LF
- * translation when the "auto_crlf" option is set.
+ * translation when the "crlf" attribute or "auto_crlf" option is set.
  */
 
-#define CRLF_GUESS	(-1)
-#define CRLF_BINARY	0
-#define CRLF_TEXT	1
-#define CRLF_INPUT	2
+enum action {
+	CRLF_GUESS = -1,
+	CRLF_BINARY = 0,
+	CRLF_TEXT,
+	CRLF_INPUT,
+	CRLF_CRLF,
+	CRLF_AUTO,
+};
+
+enum eol {
+	EOL_UNSET,
+	EOL_LF,
+	EOL_CRLF,
+};
 
 struct text_stat {
 	/* NUL, CR, LF and CRLF counts */
@@ -89,13 +99,14 @@
 	return 0;
 }
 
-static void check_safe_crlf(const char *path, int action,
+static void check_safe_crlf(const char *path, enum action action,
                             struct text_stat *stats, enum safe_crlf checksafe)
 {
 	if (!checksafe)
 		return;
 
-	if (action == CRLF_INPUT || auto_crlf <= 0) {
+	if (action == CRLF_INPUT ||
+	    (action == CRLF_GUESS && auto_crlf == AUTO_CRLF_INPUT)) {
 		/*
 		 * CRLFs would not be restored by checkout:
 		 * check if we'd remove CRLFs
@@ -106,7 +117,8 @@
 			else /* i.e. SAFE_CRLF_FAIL */
 				die("CRLF would be replaced by LF in %s.", path);
 		}
-	} else if (auto_crlf > 0) {
+	} else if (action == CRLF_CRLF ||
+		   (action == CRLF_GUESS && auto_crlf == AUTO_CRLF_TRUE)) {
 		/*
 		 * CRLFs would be added by checkout:
 		 * check if we have "naked" LFs
@@ -158,17 +170,18 @@
 }
 
 static int crlf_to_git(const char *path, const char *src, size_t len,
-                       struct strbuf *buf, int action, enum safe_crlf checksafe)
+		       struct strbuf *buf, enum action action, enum safe_crlf checksafe)
 {
 	struct text_stat stats;
 	char *dst;
 
-	if ((action == CRLF_BINARY) || !auto_crlf || !len)
+	if (action == CRLF_BINARY ||
+	    (action == CRLF_GUESS && auto_crlf == AUTO_CRLF_FALSE) || !len)
 		return 0;
 
 	gather_stats(src, len, &stats);
 
-	if (action == CRLF_GUESS) {
+	if (action == CRLF_AUTO || action == CRLF_GUESS) {
 		/*
 		 * We're currently not going to even try to convert stuff
 		 * that has bare CR characters. Does anybody do that crazy
@@ -183,12 +196,14 @@
 		if (is_binary(len, &stats))
 			return 0;
 
-		/*
-		 * If the file in the index has any CR in it, do not convert.
-		 * This is the new safer autocrlf handling.
-		 */
-		if (has_cr_in_index(path))
-			return 0;
+		if (action == CRLF_GUESS) {
+			/*
+			 * If the file in the index has any CR in it, do not convert.
+			 * This is the new safer autocrlf handling.
+			 */
+			if (has_cr_in_index(path))
+				return 0;
+		}
 	}
 
 	check_safe_crlf(path, action, &stats, checksafe);
@@ -201,7 +216,7 @@
 	if (strbuf_avail(buf) + buf->len < len)
 		strbuf_grow(buf, len - buf->len);
 	dst = buf->buf;
-	if (action == CRLF_GUESS) {
+	if (action == CRLF_AUTO || action == CRLF_GUESS) {
 		/*
 		 * If we guessed, we already know we rejected a file with
 		 * lone CR, and we can strip a CR without looking at what
@@ -224,13 +239,13 @@
 }
 
 static int crlf_to_worktree(const char *path, const char *src, size_t len,
-                            struct strbuf *buf, int action)
+			    struct strbuf *buf, enum action action)
 {
 	char *to_free = NULL;
 	struct text_stat stats;
 
 	if ((action == CRLF_BINARY) || (action == CRLF_INPUT) ||
-	    auto_crlf <= 0)
+	    (action != CRLF_CRLF && auto_crlf != AUTO_CRLF_TRUE))
 		return 0;
 
 	if (!len)
@@ -246,11 +261,13 @@
 	if (stats.lf == stats.crlf)
 		return 0;
 
-	if (action == CRLF_GUESS) {
-		/* If we have any CR or CRLF line endings, we do not touch it */
-		/* This is the new safer autocrlf-handling */
-		if (stats.cr > 0 || stats.crlf > 0)
-			return 0;
+	if (action == CRLF_AUTO || action == CRLF_GUESS) {
+		if (action == CRLF_GUESS) {
+			/* If we have any CR or CRLF line endings, we do not touch it */
+			/* This is the new safer autocrlf-handling */
+			if (stats.cr > 0 || stats.crlf > 0)
+				return 0;
+		}
 
 		/* If we have any bare CR characters, we're not going to touch it */
 		if (stats.cr != stats.crlf)
@@ -423,11 +440,13 @@
 static void setup_convert_check(struct git_attr_check *check)
 {
 	static struct git_attr *attr_crlf;
+	static struct git_attr *attr_eol;
 	static struct git_attr *attr_ident;
 	static struct git_attr *attr_filter;
 
 	if (!attr_crlf) {
 		attr_crlf = git_attr("crlf");
+		attr_eol = git_attr("eol");
 		attr_ident = git_attr("ident");
 		attr_filter = git_attr("filter");
 		user_convert_tail = &user_convert;
@@ -436,6 +455,7 @@
 	check[0].attr = attr_crlf;
 	check[1].attr = attr_ident;
 	check[2].attr = attr_filter;
+	check[3].attr = attr_eol;
 }
 
 static int count_ident(const char *cp, unsigned long size)
@@ -592,9 +612,24 @@
 		;
 	else if (!strcmp(value, "input"))
 		return CRLF_INPUT;
+	else if (!strcmp(value, "auto"))
+		return CRLF_AUTO;
 	return CRLF_GUESS;
 }
 
+static int git_path_check_eol(const char *path, struct git_attr_check *check)
+{
+	const char *value = check->value;
+
+	if (ATTR_UNSET(value))
+		;
+	else if (!strcmp(value, "lf"))
+		return EOL_LF;
+	else if (!strcmp(value, "crlf"))
+		return EOL_CRLF;
+	return EOL_UNSET;
+}
+
 static struct convert_driver *git_path_check_convert(const char *path,
 					     struct git_attr_check *check)
 {
@@ -616,20 +651,32 @@
 	return !!ATTR_TRUE(value);
 }
 
+enum action determine_action(enum action crlf_attr, enum eol eol_attr) {
+	if (crlf_attr == CRLF_BINARY)
+		return CRLF_BINARY;
+	if (eol_attr == EOL_LF)
+		return CRLF_INPUT;
+	if (eol_attr == EOL_CRLF)
+		return CRLF_CRLF;
+	return crlf_attr;
+}
+
 int convert_to_git(const char *path, const char *src, size_t len,
                    struct strbuf *dst, enum safe_crlf checksafe)
 {
-	struct git_attr_check check[3];
-	int crlf = CRLF_GUESS;
+	struct git_attr_check check[4];
+	enum action action = CRLF_GUESS;
+	enum eol eol = EOL_UNSET;
 	int ident = 0, ret = 0;
 	const char *filter = NULL;
 
 	setup_convert_check(check);
 	if (!git_checkattr(path, ARRAY_SIZE(check), check)) {
 		struct convert_driver *drv;
-		crlf = git_path_check_crlf(path, check + 0);
+		action = git_path_check_crlf(path, check + 0);
 		ident = git_path_check_ident(path, check + 1);
 		drv = git_path_check_convert(path, check + 2);
+		eol = git_path_check_eol(path, check + 3);
 		if (drv && drv->clean)
 			filter = drv->clean;
 	}
@@ -639,7 +686,8 @@
 		src = dst->buf;
 		len = dst->len;
 	}
-	ret |= crlf_to_git(path, src, len, dst, crlf, checksafe);
+	action = determine_action(action, eol);
+	ret |= crlf_to_git(path, src, len, dst, action, checksafe);
 	if (ret) {
 		src = dst->buf;
 		len = dst->len;
@@ -649,17 +697,19 @@
 
 int convert_to_working_tree(const char *path, const char *src, size_t len, struct strbuf *dst)
 {
-	struct git_attr_check check[3];
-	int crlf = CRLF_GUESS;
+	struct git_attr_check check[4];
+	enum action action = CRLF_GUESS;
+	enum eol eol = EOL_UNSET;
 	int ident = 0, ret = 0;
 	const char *filter = NULL;
 
 	setup_convert_check(check);
 	if (!git_checkattr(path, ARRAY_SIZE(check), check)) {
 		struct convert_driver *drv;
-		crlf = git_path_check_crlf(path, check + 0);
+		action = git_path_check_crlf(path, check + 0);
 		ident = git_path_check_ident(path, check + 1);
 		drv = git_path_check_convert(path, check + 2);
+		eol = git_path_check_eol(path, check + 3);
 		if (drv && drv->smudge)
 			filter = drv->smudge;
 	}
@@ -669,7 +719,8 @@
 		src = dst->buf;
 		len = dst->len;
 	}
-	ret |= crlf_to_worktree(path, src, len, dst, crlf);
+	action = determine_action(action, eol);
+	ret |= crlf_to_worktree(path, src, len, dst, action);
 	if (ret) {
 		src = dst->buf;
 		len = dst->len;
diff --git a/environment.c b/environment.c
index 739ec27..3c8abae 100644
--- a/environment.c
+++ b/environment.c
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
 int pager_use_color = 1;
 const char *editor_program;
 const char *excludes_file;
-int auto_crlf = 0;	/* 1: both ways, -1: only when adding git objects */
+enum auto_crlf auto_crlf = AUTO_CRLF_FALSE;
 int read_replace_refs = 1;
 enum safe_crlf safe_crlf = SAFE_CRLF_WARN;
 unsigned whitespace_rule_cfg = WS_DEFAULT_RULE;
diff --git a/t/t0025-crlf-auto.sh b/t/t0025-crlf-auto.sh
index 2c98338..2781f15 100755
--- a/t/t0025-crlf-auto.sh
+++ b/t/t0025-crlf-auto.sh
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
 	test -z "$onediff" -a -z "$twodiff" -a -z "$threediff"
 '
 
-test_expect_failure 'crlf=true causes a CRLF file to be normalized' '
+test_expect_success 'crlf=true causes a CRLF file to be normalized' '
 
 	rm -f .gitattributes tmp one two three &&
 	echo "two crlf" > .gitattributes &&
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@
 	test -n "$twodiff"
 '
 
-test_expect_failure 'eol=crlf gives a normalized file CRLFs with autocrlf=false' '
+test_expect_success 'eol=crlf gives a normalized file CRLFs with autocrlf=false' '
 
 	rm -f .gitattributes tmp one two three &&
 	git config core.autocrlf false &&
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
 	test -z "$onediff"
 '
 
-test_expect_failure 'eol=crlf gives a normalized file CRLFs with autocrlf=input' '
+test_expect_success 'eol=crlf gives a normalized file CRLFs with autocrlf=input' '
 
 	rm -f .gitattributes tmp one two three &&
 	git config core.autocrlf input &&
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@
 	test -z "$onediff"
 '
 
-test_expect_failure 'eol=lf gives a normalized file LFs with autocrlf=true' '
+test_expect_success 'eol=lf gives a normalized file LFs with autocrlf=true' '
 
 	rm -f .gitattributes tmp one two three &&
 	git config core.autocrlf true &&
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@
 	test -z "$onediff" -a -z "$twodiff" -a -z "$threediff"
 '
 
-test_expect_failure 'crlf=auto, autocrlf=true _does_ normalize CRLF files' '
+test_expect_success 'crlf=auto, autocrlf=true _does_ normalize CRLF files' '
 
 	rm -f .gitattributes tmp one two three &&
 	git config core.autocrlf true &&
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@
 	test -z "$threediff"
 '
 
-test_expect_failure 'eol=crlf _does_ normalize binary files' '
+test_expect_success 'eol=crlf _does_ normalize binary files' '
 
 	rm -f .gitattributes tmp one two three &&
 	echo "three eol=crlf" > .gitattributes &&