diff --git a/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh b/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh
index daed6a1d03..a81ef5a482 100644
--- a/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh
+++ b/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # Copyright (C) 2006,2007 Shawn O. Pearce <spearce@spearce.org>
 # Distributed under the GNU General Public License, version 2.0.
 #
-# This script allows you to see the current branch in your prompt.
+# This script allows you to see repository status in your prompt.
 #
 # To enable:
 #
@@ -13,24 +13,27 @@
 #    3a) Change your PS1 to call __git_ps1 as
 #        command-substitution:
 #        Bash: PS1='[\u@\h \W$(__git_ps1 " (%s)")]\$ '
-#        ZSH:  PS1='[%n@%m %c$(__git_ps1 " (%s)")]\$ '
+#        ZSH:  setopt PROMPT_SUBST ; PS1='[%n@%m %c$(__git_ps1 " (%s)")]\$ '
 #        the optional argument will be used as format string.
-#    3b) Alternatively, for a slighly faster prompt, if you are
-#        using bash, __git_ps1 can be used for PROMPT_COMMAND
+#    3b) Alternatively, for a slightly faster prompt, __git_ps1 can
+#        be used for PROMPT_COMMAND in Bash or for precmd() in Zsh
 #        with two parameters, <pre> and <post>, which are strings
 #        you would put in $PS1 before and after the status string
 #        generated by the git-prompt machinery.  e.g.
 #        Bash: PROMPT_COMMAND='__git_ps1 "\u@\h:\w" "\\\$ "'
+#          will show username, at-sign, host, colon, cwd, then
+#          various status string, followed by dollar and SP, as
+#          your prompt.
 #        ZSH:  precmd () { __git_ps1 "%n" ":%~$ " "|%s" }
-#        will show username, at-sign, host, colon, cwd, then
-#        various status string, followed by dollar and SP, as
-#        your prompt.
+#          will show username, pipe, then various status string,
+#          followed by colon, cwd, dollar and SP, as your prompt.
 #        Optionally, you can supply a third argument with a printf
 #        format string to finetune the output of the branch status
 #
-# The argument to __git_ps1 will be displayed only if you are currently
-# in a git repository.  The %s token will be the name of the current
-# branch.
+# The repository status will be displayed only if you are currently in a
+# git repository. The %s token is the placeholder for the shown status.
+#
+# The prompt status always includes the current branch name.
 #
 # In addition, if you set GIT_PS1_SHOWDIRTYSTATE to a nonempty value,
 # unstaged (*) and staged (+) changes will be shown next to the branch
@@ -78,7 +81,8 @@
 #
 # If you would like a colored hint about the current dirty state, set
 # GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS to a nonempty value. The colors are based on
-# the colored output of "git status -sb".
+# the colored output of "git status -sb" and are available only when
+# using __git_ps1 for PROMPT_COMMAND or precmd.
 
 # stores the divergence from upstream in $p
 # used by GIT_PS1_SHOWUPSTREAM
@@ -201,8 +205,8 @@ __git_ps1_show_upstream ()
 }
 
 # Helper function that is meant to be called from __git_ps1.  It
-# builds up a gitstring injecting color codes into the appropriate
-# places.
+# injects color codes into the appropriate gitstring variables used
+# to build a gitstring.
 __git_ps1_colorize_gitstring ()
 {
 	if [[ -n ${ZSH_VERSION-} ]]; then
@@ -210,74 +214,40 @@ __git_ps1_colorize_gitstring ()
 		local c_green='%F{green}'
 		local c_lblue='%F{blue}'
 		local c_clear='%f'
-		local bad_color=$c_red
-		local ok_color=$c_green
-		local branch_color="$c_clear"
-		local flags_color="$c_lblue"
-		local branchstring="$c${b##refs/heads/}"
-
-		if [ $detached = no ]; then
-			branch_color="$ok_color"
-		else
-			branch_color="$bad_color"
-		fi
-
-		gitstring="$branch_color$branchstring$c_clear"
-
-		if [ -n "$w$i$s$u$r$p" ]; then
-			gitstring="$gitstring$z"
-		fi
-		if [ "$w" = "*" ]; then
-			gitstring="$gitstring$bad_color$w"
-		fi
-		if [ -n "$i" ]; then
-			gitstring="$gitstring$ok_color$i"
-		fi
-		if [ -n "$s" ]; then
-			gitstring="$gitstring$flags_color$s"
-		fi
-		if [ -n "$u" ]; then
-			gitstring="$gitstring$bad_color$u"
-		fi
-		gitstring="$gitstring$c_clear$r$p"
-		return
+	else
+		# Using \[ and \] around colors is necessary to prevent
+		# issues with command line editing/browsing/completion!
+		local c_red='\[\e[31m\]'
+		local c_green='\[\e[32m\]'
+		local c_lblue='\[\e[1;34m\]'
+		local c_clear='\[\e[0m\]'
 	fi
-	local c_red='\e[31m'
-	local c_green='\e[32m'
-	local c_lblue='\e[1;34m'
-	local c_clear='\e[0m'
 	local bad_color=$c_red
 	local ok_color=$c_green
-	local branch_color="$c_clear"
 	local flags_color="$c_lblue"
-	local branchstring="$c${b##refs/heads/}"
 
+	local branch_color=""
 	if [ $detached = no ]; then
 		branch_color="$ok_color"
 	else
 		branch_color="$bad_color"
 	fi
+	c="$branch_color$c"
 
-	# Setting gitstring directly with \[ and \] around colors
-	# is necessary to prevent wrapping issues!
-	gitstring="\[$branch_color\]$branchstring\[$c_clear\]"
-
-	if [ -n "$w$i$s$u$r$p" ]; then
-		gitstring="$gitstring$z"
-	fi
+	z="$c_clear$z"
 	if [ "$w" = "*" ]; then
-		gitstring="$gitstring\[$bad_color\]$w"
+		w="$bad_color$w"
 	fi
 	if [ -n "$i" ]; then
-		gitstring="$gitstring\[$ok_color\]$i"
+		i="$ok_color$i"
 	fi
 	if [ -n "$s" ]; then
-		gitstring="$gitstring\[$flags_color\]$s"
+		s="$flags_color$s"
 	fi
 	if [ -n "$u" ]; then
-		gitstring="$gitstring\[$bad_color\]$u"
+		u="$bad_color$u"
 	fi
-	gitstring="$gitstring\[$c_clear\]$r$p"
+	r="$c_clear$r"
 }
 
 # __git_ps1 accepts 0 or 1 arguments (i.e., format string)
@@ -453,14 +423,16 @@ __git_ps1 ()
 	fi
 
 	local z="${GIT_PS1_STATESEPARATOR-" "}"
+
+	# NO color option unless in PROMPT_COMMAND mode
+	if [ $pcmode = yes ] && [ -n "${GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS-}" ]; then
+		__git_ps1_colorize_gitstring
+	fi
+
 	local f="$w$i$s$u"
+	local gitstring="$c${b##refs/heads/}${f:+$z$f}$r$p"
+
 	if [ $pcmode = yes ]; then
-		local gitstring=
-		if [ -n "${GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS-}" ]; then
-			__git_ps1_colorize_gitstring
-		else
-			gitstring="$c${b##refs/heads/}${f:+$z$f}$r$p"
-		fi
 		if [[ -n ${ZSH_VERSION-} ]]; then
 			gitstring=$(printf -- "$printf_format" "$gitstring")
 		else
@@ -468,7 +440,6 @@ __git_ps1 ()
 		fi
 		PS1="$ps1pc_start$gitstring$ps1pc_end"
 	else
-		# NO color option unless in PROMPT_COMMAND mode
-		printf -- "$printf_format" "$c${b##refs/heads/}${f:+$z$f}$r$p"
+		printf -- "$printf_format" "$gitstring"
 	fi
 }
diff --git a/t/t9903-bash-prompt.sh b/t/t9903-bash-prompt.sh
index c05458cbe6..3c3e4e8c38 100755
--- a/t/t9903-bash-prompt.sh
+++ b/t/t9903-bash-prompt.sh
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ test_description='test git-specific bash prompt functions'
 . "$GIT_BUILD_DIR/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh"
 
 actual="$TRASH_DIRECTORY/actual"
+c_red='\\[\\e[31m\\]'
+c_green='\\[\\e[32m\\]'
+c_lblue='\\[\\e[1;34m\\]'
+c_clear='\\[\\e[0m\\]'
 
 test_expect_success 'setup for prompt tests' '
 	git init otherrepo &&
@@ -424,4 +428,141 @@ test_expect_success 'prompt - format string starting with dash' '
 	test_cmp expected "$actual"
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'prompt - pc mode' '
+	printf "BEFORE: (master):AFTER" >expected &&
+	printf "" >expected_output &&
+	(
+		__git_ps1 "BEFORE:" ":AFTER" >"$actual" &&
+		test_cmp expected_output "$actual" &&
+		printf "%s" "$PS1" >"$actual"
+	) &&
+	test_cmp expected "$actual"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'prompt - bash color pc mode - branch name' '
+	printf "BEFORE: (${c_green}master${c_clear}):AFTER" >expected &&
+	(
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS=y &&
+		__git_ps1 "BEFORE:" ":AFTER" >"$actual"
+		printf "%s" "$PS1" >"$actual"
+	) &&
+	test_cmp expected "$actual"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'prompt - bash color pc mode - detached head' '
+	printf "BEFORE: (${c_red}(%s...)${c_clear}):AFTER" $(git log -1 --format="%h" b1^) >expected &&
+	git checkout b1^ &&
+	test_when_finished "git checkout master" &&
+	(
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS=y &&
+		__git_ps1 "BEFORE:" ":AFTER" &&
+		printf "%s" "$PS1" >"$actual"
+	) &&
+	test_cmp expected "$actual"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'prompt - bash color pc mode - dirty status indicator - dirty worktree' '
+	printf "BEFORE: (${c_green}master${c_clear} ${c_red}*${c_clear}):AFTER" >expected &&
+	echo "dirty" >file &&
+	test_when_finished "git reset --hard" &&
+	(
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWDIRTYSTATE=y &&
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS=y &&
+		__git_ps1 "BEFORE:" ":AFTER" &&
+		printf "%s" "$PS1" >"$actual"
+	) &&
+	test_cmp expected "$actual"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'prompt - bash color pc mode - dirty status indicator - dirty index' '
+	printf "BEFORE: (${c_green}master${c_clear} ${c_green}+${c_clear}):AFTER" >expected &&
+	echo "dirty" >file &&
+	test_when_finished "git reset --hard" &&
+	git add -u &&
+	(
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWDIRTYSTATE=y &&
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS=y &&
+		__git_ps1 "BEFORE:" ":AFTER" &&
+		printf "%s" "$PS1" >"$actual"
+	) &&
+	test_cmp expected "$actual"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'prompt - bash color pc mode - dirty status indicator - dirty index and worktree' '
+	printf "BEFORE: (${c_green}master${c_clear} ${c_red}*${c_green}+${c_clear}):AFTER" >expected &&
+	echo "dirty index" >file &&
+	test_when_finished "git reset --hard" &&
+	git add -u &&
+	echo "dirty worktree" >file &&
+	(
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS=y &&
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWDIRTYSTATE=y &&
+		__git_ps1 "BEFORE:" ":AFTER" &&
+		printf "%s" "$PS1" >"$actual"
+	) &&
+	test_cmp expected "$actual"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'prompt - bash color pc mode - dirty status indicator - before root commit' '
+	printf "BEFORE: (${c_green}master${c_clear} ${c_green}#${c_clear}):AFTER" >expected &&
+	(
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWDIRTYSTATE=y &&
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS=y &&
+		cd otherrepo &&
+		__git_ps1 "BEFORE:" ":AFTER" &&
+		printf "%s" "$PS1" >"$actual"
+	) &&
+	test_cmp expected "$actual"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'prompt - bash color pc mode - inside .git directory' '
+	printf "BEFORE: (${c_green}GIT_DIR!${c_clear}):AFTER" >expected &&
+	echo "dirty" >file &&
+	test_when_finished "git reset --hard" &&
+	(
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWDIRTYSTATE=y &&
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS=y &&
+		cd .git &&
+		__git_ps1 "BEFORE:" ":AFTER" &&
+		printf "%s" "$PS1" >"$actual"
+	) &&
+	test_cmp expected "$actual"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'prompt - bash color pc mode - stash status indicator' '
+	printf "BEFORE: (${c_green}master${c_clear} ${c_lblue}\$${c_clear}):AFTER" >expected &&
+	echo 2 >file &&
+	git stash &&
+	test_when_finished "git stash drop" &&
+	(
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWSTASHSTATE=y &&
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS=y &&
+		__git_ps1 "BEFORE:" ":AFTER" &&
+		printf "%s" "$PS1" >"$actual"
+	) &&
+	test_cmp expected "$actual"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'prompt - bash color pc mode - untracked files status indicator' '
+	printf "BEFORE: (${c_green}master${c_clear} ${c_red}%%${c_clear}):AFTER" >expected &&
+	(
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWUNTRACKEDFILES=y &&
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS=y &&
+		__git_ps1 "BEFORE:" ":AFTER" &&
+		printf "%s" "$PS1" >"$actual"
+	) &&
+	test_cmp expected "$actual"
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'prompt - zsh color pc mode' '
+	printf "BEFORE: (%%F{green}master%%f):AFTER" >expected &&
+	(
+		ZSH_VERSION=5.0.0 &&
+		GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS=y &&
+		__git_ps1 "BEFORE:" ":AFTER" >"$actual"
+		printf "%s" "$PS1" >"$actual"
+	) &&
+	test_cmp expected "$actual"
+'
+
 test_done