diff --git a/util/kit.sh b/util/kit.sh
index da19b8946e..1d4f27a2fa 100644
--- a/util/kit.sh
+++ b/util/kit.sh
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ case "${1:-}" in
 	;;
 esac
 
+repo=`expr "X${remote}X" : '^X--remote=\(.*\)X$'`
 
 case $# in
     3)
@@ -122,7 +123,7 @@ test ! -d $topdir || {
 mkdir $topdir || exit 1
 
 git archive --format=tar $remote $tag | ( cd $topdir; tar xf -)
-shorthash=`git ls-remote $remote $tag | cut -c1-8`
+shorthash=`git ls-remote $repo $tag | cut -c1-8`
 
 cd $topdir || exit 1