diff --git a/builtin/am.c b/builtin/am.c
index 82a41cbfc4..8b3dcb66f0 100644
--- a/builtin/am.c
+++ b/builtin/am.c
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  *
  * Based on git-am.sh by Junio C Hamano.
  */
-#define USE_THE_INDEX_COMPATIBILITY_MACROS
+#define USE_THE_INDEX_VARIABLE
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "config.h"
 #include "builtin.h"
@@ -1655,7 +1655,7 @@ static void do_commit(const struct am_state *state)
 	if (!state->no_verify && run_hooks("pre-applypatch"))
 		exit(1);
 
-	if (write_cache_as_tree(&tree, 0, NULL))
+	if (write_index_as_tree(&tree, &the_index, get_index_file(), 0, NULL))
 		die(_("git write-tree failed to write a tree"));
 
 	if (!get_oid_commit("HEAD", &parent)) {
@@ -2063,7 +2063,7 @@ static int clean_index(const struct object_id *head, const struct object_id *rem
 	if (fast_forward_to(head_tree, head_tree, 1))
 		return -1;
 
-	if (write_cache_as_tree(&index, 0, NULL))
+	if (write_index_as_tree(&index, &the_index, get_index_file(), 0, NULL))
 		return -1;
 
 	index_tree = parse_tree_indirect(&index);
diff --git a/builtin/commit.c b/builtin/commit.c
index 44b763d7cd..985a0445b7 100644
--- a/builtin/commit.c
+++ b/builtin/commit.c
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  * Based on git-commit.sh by Junio C Hamano and Linus Torvalds
  */
 
-#define USE_THE_INDEX_COMPATIBILITY_MACROS
+#define USE_THE_INDEX_VARIABLE
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "config.h"
 #include "lockfile.h"
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ static const char *prepare_index(const char **argv, const char *prefix,
 		discard_index(&the_index);
 		read_index_from(&the_index, get_lock_file_path(&index_lock),
 				get_git_dir());
-		if (update_main_cache_tree(WRITE_TREE_SILENT) == 0) {
+		if (cache_tree_update(&the_index, WRITE_TREE_SILENT) == 0) {
 			if (reopen_lock_file(&index_lock) < 0)
 				die(_("unable to write index file"));
 			if (write_locked_index(&the_index, &index_lock, 0))
@@ -444,7 +444,7 @@ static const char *prepare_index(const char **argv, const char *prefix,
 				       LOCK_DIE_ON_ERROR);
 		add_files_to_cache(also ? prefix : NULL, &pathspec, 0);
 		refresh_cache_or_die(refresh_flags);
-		update_main_cache_tree(WRITE_TREE_SILENT);
+		cache_tree_update(&the_index, WRITE_TREE_SILENT);
 		if (write_locked_index(&the_index, &index_lock, 0))
 			die(_("unable to write new_index file"));
 		commit_style = COMMIT_NORMAL;
@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@ static const char *prepare_index(const char **argv, const char *prefix,
 		refresh_cache_or_die(refresh_flags);
 		if (the_index.cache_changed
 		    || !cache_tree_fully_valid(the_index.cache_tree))
-			update_main_cache_tree(WRITE_TREE_SILENT);
+			cache_tree_update(&the_index, WRITE_TREE_SILENT);
 		if (write_locked_index(&the_index, &index_lock,
 				       COMMIT_LOCK | SKIP_IF_UNCHANGED))
 			die(_("unable to write new_index file"));
@@ -516,7 +516,7 @@ static const char *prepare_index(const char **argv, const char *prefix,
 	repo_hold_locked_index(the_repository, &index_lock, LOCK_DIE_ON_ERROR);
 	add_remove_files(&partial);
 	refresh_index(&the_index, REFRESH_QUIET, NULL, NULL, NULL);
-	update_main_cache_tree(WRITE_TREE_SILENT);
+	cache_tree_update(&the_index, WRITE_TREE_SILENT);
 	if (write_locked_index(&the_index, &index_lock, 0))
 		die(_("unable to write new_index file"));
 
@@ -991,9 +991,9 @@ static int prepare_to_commit(const char *index_file, const char *prefix,
 		struct object_id oid;
 		const char *parent = "HEAD";
 
-		if (!active_nr) {
-			discard_cache();
-			if (read_cache() < 0)
+		if (!the_index.cache_nr) {
+			discard_index(&the_index);
+			if (repo_read_index(the_repository) < 0)
 				die(_("Cannot read index"));
 		}
 
@@ -1079,7 +1079,7 @@ static int prepare_to_commit(const char *index_file, const char *prefix,
 	}
 	read_index_from(&the_index, index_file, get_git_dir());
 
-	if (update_main_cache_tree(0)) {
+	if (cache_tree_update(&the_index, 0)) {
 		error(_("Error building trees"));
 		return 0;
 	}
diff --git a/builtin/merge.c b/builtin/merge.c
index 74de2ebd2b..2aafbf6745 100644
--- a/builtin/merge.c
+++ b/builtin/merge.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
  * Based on git-merge.sh by Junio C Hamano.
  */
 
-#define USE_THE_INDEX_COMPATIBILITY_MACROS
+#define USE_THE_INDEX_VARIABLE
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "config.h"
 #include "parse-options.h"
@@ -390,8 +390,8 @@ static void restore_state(const struct object_id *head,
 	run_command(&cmd);
 
 refresh_cache:
-	discard_cache();
-	if (read_cache() < 0)
+	discard_index(&the_index);
+	if (repo_read_index(the_repository) < 0)
 		die(_("could not read index"));
 }
 
@@ -706,7 +706,7 @@ static int read_tree_trivial(struct object_id *common, struct object_id *head,
 
 static void write_tree_trivial(struct object_id *oid)
 {
-	if (write_cache_as_tree(oid, 0, NULL))
+	if (write_index_as_tree(oid, &the_index, get_index_file(), 0, NULL))
 		die(_("git write-tree failed to write a tree"));
 }
 
diff --git a/builtin/mv.c b/builtin/mv.c
index 19790ce38f..edd7b931fd 100644
--- a/builtin/mv.c
+++ b/builtin/mv.c
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  *
  * Copyright (C) 2006 Johannes Schindelin
  */
-#define USE_THE_INDEX_COMPATIBILITY_MACROS
+#define USE_THE_INDEX_VARIABLE
 #include "builtin.h"
 #include "config.h"
 #include "pathspec.h"
@@ -489,7 +489,8 @@ remove_entry:
 			if ((mode & SPARSE) &&
 			    path_in_sparse_checkout(dst, &the_index)) {
 				/* from out-of-cone to in-cone */
-				int dst_pos = cache_name_pos(dst, strlen(dst));
+				int dst_pos = index_name_pos(&the_index, dst,
+							     strlen(dst));
 				struct cache_entry *dst_ce = the_index.cache[dst_pos];
 
 				dst_ce->ce_flags &= ~CE_SKIP_WORKTREE;
@@ -500,7 +501,8 @@ remove_entry:
 				   !(mode & SPARSE) &&
 				   !path_in_sparse_checkout(dst, &the_index)) {
 				/* from in-cone to out-of-cone */
-				int dst_pos = cache_name_pos(dst, strlen(dst));
+				int dst_pos = index_name_pos(&the_index, dst,
+							     strlen(dst));
 				struct cache_entry *dst_ce = the_index.cache[dst_pos];
 
 				/*
diff --git a/builtin/rm.c b/builtin/rm.c
index 4a4aec0d00..8844f90655 100644
--- a/builtin/rm.c
+++ b/builtin/rm.c
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  *
  * Copyright (C) Linus Torvalds 2006
  */
-#define USE_THE_INDEX_COMPATIBILITY_MACROS
+#define USE_THE_INDEX_VARIABLE
 #include "builtin.h"
 #include "advice.h"
 #include "config.h"
diff --git a/builtin/stash.c b/builtin/stash.c
index 9fcd2e5d99..f93d04f11e 100644
--- a/builtin/stash.c
+++ b/builtin/stash.c
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#define USE_THE_INDEX_COMPATIBILITY_MACROS
+#define USE_THE_INDEX_VARIABLE
 #include "builtin.h"
 #include "config.h"
 #include "parse-options.h"
@@ -529,7 +529,8 @@ static int do_apply_stash(const char *prefix, struct stash_info *info,
 					 NULL, NULL, NULL))
 		return -1;
 
-	if (write_cache_as_tree(&c_tree, 0, NULL))
+	if (write_index_as_tree(&c_tree, &the_index, get_index_file(), 0,
+				NULL))
 		return error(_("cannot apply a stash in the middle of a merge"));
 
 	if (index) {
@@ -553,7 +554,8 @@ static int do_apply_stash(const char *prefix, struct stash_info *info,
 
 			discard_index(&the_index);
 			repo_read_index(the_repository);
-			if (write_cache_as_tree(&index_tree, 0, NULL))
+			if (write_index_as_tree(&index_tree, &the_index,
+						get_index_file(), 0, NULL))
 				return error(_("could not save index tree"));
 
 			reset_head();
@@ -1378,7 +1380,8 @@ static int do_create_stash(const struct pathspec *ps, struct strbuf *stash_msg_b
 
 	strbuf_addf(&commit_tree_label, "index on %s\n", msg.buf);
 	commit_list_insert(head_commit, &parents);
-	if (write_cache_as_tree(&info->i_tree, 0, NULL) ||
+	if (write_index_as_tree(&info->i_tree, &the_index, get_index_file(), 0,
+				NULL) ||
 	    commit_tree(commit_tree_label.buf, commit_tree_label.len,
 			&info->i_tree, parents, &info->i_commit, NULL, NULL)) {
 		if (!quiet)
diff --git a/builtin/update-index.c b/builtin/update-index.c
index 82d5902cc8..bf38885d54 100644
--- a/builtin/update-index.c
+++ b/builtin/update-index.c
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  *
  * Copyright (C) Linus Torvalds, 2005
  */
-#define USE_THE_INDEX_COMPATIBILITY_MACROS
+#define USE_THE_INDEX_VARIABLE
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "bulk-checkin.h"
 #include "config.h"
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ static int process_path(const char *path, struct stat *st, int stat_errno)
 	if (has_symlink_leading_path(path, len))
 		return error("'%s' is beyond a symbolic link", path);
 
-	pos = cache_name_pos(path, len);
+	pos = index_name_pos(&the_index, path, len);
 	ce = pos < 0 ? NULL : the_index.cache[pos];
 	if (ce && ce_skip_worktree(ce)) {
 		/*
diff --git a/builtin/write-tree.c b/builtin/write-tree.c
index 45d61707e7..078010315f 100644
--- a/builtin/write-tree.c
+++ b/builtin/write-tree.c
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  *
  * Copyright (C) Linus Torvalds, 2005
  */
-#define USE_THE_INDEX_COMPATIBILITY_MACROS
+#define USE_THE_INDEX_VARIABLE
 #include "builtin.h"
 #include "cache.h"
 #include "config.h"
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@ int cmd_write_tree(int argc, const char **argv, const char *cmd_prefix)
 	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, cmd_prefix, write_tree_options,
 			     write_tree_usage, 0);
 
-	ret = write_cache_as_tree(&oid, flags, tree_prefix);
+	ret = write_index_as_tree(&oid, &the_index, get_index_file(), flags,
+				  tree_prefix);
 	switch (ret) {
 	case 0:
 		printf("%s\n", oid_to_hex(&oid));
diff --git a/cache-tree.h b/cache-tree.h
index 8efeccebfc..bd97caa07b 100644
--- a/cache-tree.h
+++ b/cache-tree.h
@@ -53,19 +53,4 @@ int write_index_as_tree(struct object_id *oid, struct index_state *index_state,
 void prime_cache_tree(struct repository *, struct index_state *, struct tree *);
 
 int cache_tree_matches_traversal(struct cache_tree *, struct name_entry *ent, struct traverse_info *info);
-
-#ifdef USE_THE_INDEX_COMPATIBILITY_MACROS
-static inline int write_cache_as_tree(struct object_id *oid, int flags, const char *prefix)
-{
-	return write_index_as_tree(oid, &the_index, get_index_file(), flags, prefix);
-}
-
-static inline int update_main_cache_tree(int flags)
-{
-	if (!the_index.cache_tree)
-		the_index.cache_tree = cache_tree();
-	return cache_tree_update(&the_index, flags);
-}
-#endif
-
 #endif
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index 52d017335e..12789903e8 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -449,18 +449,8 @@ typedef int (*must_prefetch_predicate)(const struct cache_entry *);
 void prefetch_cache_entries(const struct index_state *istate,
 			    must_prefetch_predicate must_prefetch);
 
-#if defined(USE_THE_INDEX_COMPATIBILITY_MACROS) || defined(USE_THE_INDEX_VARIABLE)
+#ifdef USE_THE_INDEX_VARIABLE
 extern struct index_state the_index;
-
-#ifndef USE_THE_INDEX_VARIABLE
-#ifdef USE_THE_INDEX_COMPATIBILITY_MACROS
-#define active_nr (the_index.cache_nr)
-
-#define read_cache() repo_read_index(the_repository)
-#define discard_cache() discard_index(&the_index)
-#define cache_name_pos(name, namelen) index_name_pos(&the_index,(name),(namelen))
-#endif
-#endif
 #endif
 
 #define TYPE_BITS 3
diff --git a/contrib/coccinelle/index-compatibility.cocci b/contrib/coccinelle/index-compatibility.cocci
index 8520f03128..31e36cf3c4 100644
--- a/contrib/coccinelle/index-compatibility.cocci
+++ b/contrib/coccinelle/index-compatibility.cocci
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 // the_index.* variables
 @@
 identifier AC = active_cache;
+identifier AN = active_nr;
 identifier ACC = active_cache_changed;
 identifier ACT = active_cache_tree;
 @@
@@ -8,6 +9,9 @@ identifier ACT = active_cache_tree;
 - AC
 + the_index.cache
 |
+- AN
++ the_index.cache_nr
+|
 - ACC
 + the_index.cache_changed
 |
@@ -15,19 +19,13 @@ identifier ACT = active_cache_tree;
 + the_index.cache_tree
 )
 
-@@
-identifier AN = active_nr;
-identifier f != prepare_to_commit;
-@@
-  f(...) {<...
-- AN
-+ the_index.cache_nr
-  ...>}
-
 // "the_repository" simple cases
 @@
 @@
 (
+- read_cache
++ repo_read_index
+|
 - read_cache_unmerged
 + repo_read_index_unmerged
 |
@@ -96,6 +94,15 @@ identifier f != prepare_to_commit;
 |
 - resolve_undo_clear
 + resolve_undo_clear_index
+|
+- cache_name_pos
++ index_name_pos
+|
+- update_main_cache_tree
++ cache_tree_update
+|
+- discard_cache
++ discard_index
 )
   (
 + &the_index,
@@ -137,3 +144,14 @@ identifier f != prepare_to_commit;
   ...
 + , NULL, NULL, NULL
   )
+
+@@
+expression O;
+@@
+- write_cache_as_tree
++ write_index_as_tree
+  (
+- O,
++ O, &the_index, get_index_file(),
+  ...
+  )
diff --git a/contrib/coccinelle/index-compatibility.pending.cocci b/contrib/coccinelle/index-compatibility.pending.cocci
deleted file mode 100644
index 01f875d006..0000000000
--- a/contrib/coccinelle/index-compatibility.pending.cocci
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-// "the_repository" simple cases
-@@
-@@
-(
-- read_cache
-+ repo_read_index
-)
-  (
-+ the_repository,
-  ...)
-
-// "the_index" simple cases
-@@
-@@
-(
-- discard_cache
-+ discard_index
-|
-- cache_name_pos
-+ index_name_pos
-)
-  (
-+ &the_index,
-  ...)