diff --git a/commit-graph.c b/commit-graph.c
index a899f429093..7365958d9d3 100644
--- a/commit-graph.c
+++ b/commit-graph.c
@@ -38,11 +38,13 @@ void git_test_write_commit_graph_or_die(void)
 #define GRAPH_CHUNKID_OIDFANOUT 0x4f494446 /* "OIDF" */
 #define GRAPH_CHUNKID_OIDLOOKUP 0x4f49444c /* "OIDL" */
 #define GRAPH_CHUNKID_DATA 0x43444154 /* "CDAT" */
+#define GRAPH_CHUNKID_GENERATION_DATA 0x47444154 /* "GDAT" */
+#define GRAPH_CHUNKID_GENERATION_DATA_OVERFLOW 0x47444f56 /* "GDOV" */
 #define GRAPH_CHUNKID_EXTRAEDGES 0x45444745 /* "EDGE" */
 #define GRAPH_CHUNKID_BLOOMINDEXES 0x42494458 /* "BIDX" */
 #define GRAPH_CHUNKID_BLOOMDATA 0x42444154 /* "BDAT" */
 #define GRAPH_CHUNKID_BASE 0x42415345 /* "BASE" */
-#define MAX_NUM_CHUNKS 7
+#define MAX_NUM_CHUNKS 9
 
 #define GRAPH_DATA_WIDTH (the_hash_algo->rawsz + 16)
 
@@ -61,6 +63,8 @@ void git_test_write_commit_graph_or_die(void)
 #define GRAPH_MIN_SIZE (GRAPH_HEADER_SIZE + 4 * GRAPH_CHUNKLOOKUP_WIDTH \
 			+ GRAPH_FANOUT_SIZE + the_hash_algo->rawsz)
 
+#define CORRECTED_COMMIT_DATE_OFFSET_OVERFLOW (1ULL << 31)
+
 /* Remember to update object flag allocation in object.h */
 #define REACHABLE       (1u<<15)
 
@@ -394,6 +398,20 @@ struct commit_graph *parse_commit_graph(struct repository *r,
 				graph->chunk_commit_data = data + chunk_offset;
 			break;
 
+		case GRAPH_CHUNKID_GENERATION_DATA:
+			if (graph->chunk_generation_data)
+				chunk_repeated = 1;
+			else
+				graph->chunk_generation_data = data + chunk_offset;
+			break;
+
+		case GRAPH_CHUNKID_GENERATION_DATA_OVERFLOW:
+			if (graph->chunk_generation_data_overflow)
+				chunk_repeated = 1;
+			else
+				graph->chunk_generation_data_overflow = data + chunk_offset;
+			break;
+
 		case GRAPH_CHUNKID_EXTRAEDGES:
 			if (graph->chunk_extra_edges)
 				chunk_repeated = 1;
@@ -754,8 +772,8 @@ static void fill_commit_graph_info(struct commit *item, struct commit_graph *g,
 {
 	const unsigned char *commit_data;
 	struct commit_graph_data *graph_data;
-	uint32_t lex_index;
-	uint64_t date_high, date_low;
+	uint32_t lex_index, offset_pos;
+	uint64_t date_high, date_low, offset;
 
 	while (pos < g->num_commits_in_base)
 		g = g->base_graph;
@@ -773,7 +791,19 @@ static void fill_commit_graph_info(struct commit *item, struct commit_graph *g,
 	date_low = get_be32(commit_data + g->hash_len + 12);
 	item->date = (timestamp_t)((date_high << 32) | date_low);
 
-	graph_data->generation = get_be32(commit_data + g->hash_len + 8) >> 2;
+	if (g->chunk_generation_data) {
+		offset = (timestamp_t)get_be32(g->chunk_generation_data + sizeof(uint32_t) * lex_index);
+
+		if (offset & CORRECTED_COMMIT_DATE_OFFSET_OVERFLOW) {
+			if (!g->chunk_generation_data_overflow)
+				die(_("commit-graph requires overflow generation data but has none"));
+
+			offset_pos = offset ^ CORRECTED_COMMIT_DATE_OFFSET_OVERFLOW;
+			graph_data->generation = get_be64(g->chunk_generation_data_overflow + 8 * offset_pos);
+		} else
+			graph_data->generation = item->date + offset;
+	} else
+		graph_data->generation = get_be32(commit_data + g->hash_len + 8) >> 2;
 
 	if (g->topo_levels)
 		*topo_level_slab_at(g->topo_levels, item) = get_be32(commit_data + g->hash_len + 8) >> 2;
@@ -945,6 +975,7 @@ struct write_commit_graph_context {
 	struct oid_array oids;
 	struct packed_commit_list commits;
 	int num_extra_edges;
+	int num_generation_data_overflows;
 	unsigned long approx_nr_objects;
 	struct progress *progress;
 	int progress_done;
@@ -963,7 +994,8 @@ struct write_commit_graph_context {
 		 report_progress:1,
 		 split:1,
 		 changed_paths:1,
-		 order_by_pack:1;
+		 order_by_pack:1,
+		 write_generation_data:1;
 
 	struct topo_level_slab *topo_levels;
 	const struct commit_graph_opts *opts;
@@ -1123,6 +1155,45 @@ static int write_graph_chunk_data(struct hashfile *f,
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int write_graph_chunk_generation_data(struct hashfile *f,
+					      struct write_commit_graph_context *ctx)
+{
+	int i, num_generation_data_overflows = 0;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < ctx->commits.nr; i++) {
+		struct commit *c = ctx->commits.list[i];
+		timestamp_t offset = commit_graph_data_at(c)->generation - c->date;
+		display_progress(ctx->progress, ++ctx->progress_cnt);
+
+		if (offset > GENERATION_NUMBER_V2_OFFSET_MAX) {
+			offset = CORRECTED_COMMIT_DATE_OFFSET_OVERFLOW | num_generation_data_overflows;
+			num_generation_data_overflows++;
+		}
+
+		hashwrite_be32(f, offset);
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static int write_graph_chunk_generation_data_overflow(struct hashfile *f,
+						       struct write_commit_graph_context *ctx)
+{
+	int i;
+	for (i = 0; i < ctx->commits.nr; i++) {
+		struct commit *c = ctx->commits.list[i];
+		timestamp_t offset = commit_graph_data_at(c)->generation - c->date;
+		display_progress(ctx->progress, ++ctx->progress_cnt);
+
+		if (offset > GENERATION_NUMBER_V2_OFFSET_MAX) {
+			hashwrite_be32(f, offset >> 32);
+			hashwrite_be32(f, (uint32_t) offset);
+		}
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
 static int write_graph_chunk_extra_edges(struct hashfile *f,
 					 struct write_commit_graph_context *ctx)
 {
@@ -1386,6 +1457,9 @@ static void compute_generation_numbers(struct write_commit_graph_context *ctx)
 				if (current->date && current->date > max_corrected_commit_date)
 					max_corrected_commit_date = current->date - 1;
 				commit_graph_data_at(current)->generation = max_corrected_commit_date + 1;
+
+				if (commit_graph_data_at(current)->generation - current->date > GENERATION_NUMBER_V2_OFFSET_MAX)
+					ctx->num_generation_data_overflows++;
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -1719,6 +1793,21 @@ static int write_commit_graph_file(struct write_commit_graph_context *ctx)
 	chunks[2].id = GRAPH_CHUNKID_DATA;
 	chunks[2].size = (hashsz + 16) * ctx->commits.nr;
 	chunks[2].write_fn = write_graph_chunk_data;
+
+	if (git_env_bool(GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH_NO_GDAT, 0))
+		ctx->write_generation_data = 0;
+	if (ctx->write_generation_data) {
+		chunks[num_chunks].id = GRAPH_CHUNKID_GENERATION_DATA;
+		chunks[num_chunks].size = sizeof(uint32_t) * ctx->commits.nr;
+		chunks[num_chunks].write_fn = write_graph_chunk_generation_data;
+		num_chunks++;
+	}
+	if (ctx->num_generation_data_overflows) {
+		chunks[num_chunks].id = GRAPH_CHUNKID_GENERATION_DATA_OVERFLOW;
+		chunks[num_chunks].size = sizeof(timestamp_t) * ctx->num_generation_data_overflows;
+		chunks[num_chunks].write_fn = write_graph_chunk_generation_data_overflow;
+		num_chunks++;
+	}
 	if (ctx->num_extra_edges) {
 		chunks[num_chunks].id = GRAPH_CHUNKID_EXTRAEDGES;
 		chunks[num_chunks].size = 4 * ctx->num_extra_edges;
@@ -2139,6 +2228,8 @@ int write_commit_graph(struct object_directory *odb,
 	ctx->split = flags & COMMIT_GRAPH_WRITE_SPLIT ? 1 : 0;
 	ctx->opts = opts;
 	ctx->total_bloom_filter_data_size = 0;
+	ctx->write_generation_data = 1;
+	ctx->num_generation_data_overflows = 0;
 
 	bloom_settings.bits_per_entry = git_env_ulong("GIT_TEST_BLOOM_SETTINGS_BITS_PER_ENTRY",
 						      bloom_settings.bits_per_entry);
@@ -2445,16 +2536,17 @@ int verify_commit_graph(struct repository *r, struct commit_graph *g, int flags)
 			continue;
 
 		/*
-		 * If one of our parents has generation GENERATION_NUMBER_V1_MAX, then
-		 * our generation is also GENERATION_NUMBER_V1_MAX. Decrement to avoid
-		 * extra logic in the following condition.
+		 * If we are using topological level and one of our parents has
+		 * generation GENERATION_NUMBER_V1_MAX, then our generation is
+		 * also GENERATION_NUMBER_V1_MAX. Decrement to avoid extra logic
+		 * in the following condition.
 		 */
-		if (max_generation == GENERATION_NUMBER_V1_MAX)
+		if (!g->chunk_generation_data && max_generation == GENERATION_NUMBER_V1_MAX)
 			max_generation--;
 
 		generation = commit_graph_generation(graph_commit);
-		if (generation != max_generation + 1)
-			graph_report(_("commit-graph generation for commit %s is %"PRItime" != %"PRItime),
+		if (generation < max_generation + 1)
+			graph_report(_("commit-graph generation for commit %s is %"PRItime" < %"PRItime),
 				     oid_to_hex(&cur_oid),
 				     generation,
 				     max_generation + 1);
diff --git a/commit-graph.h b/commit-graph.h
index 2e9aa7824ee..19a02001fde 100644
--- a/commit-graph.h
+++ b/commit-graph.h
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include "oidset.h"
 
 #define GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH "GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH"
+#define GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH_NO_GDAT "GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH_NO_GDAT"
 #define GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH_DIE_ON_PARSE "GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH_DIE_ON_PARSE"
 #define GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH_CHANGED_PATHS "GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH_CHANGED_PATHS"
 
@@ -68,6 +69,8 @@ struct commit_graph {
 	const uint32_t *chunk_oid_fanout;
 	const unsigned char *chunk_oid_lookup;
 	const unsigned char *chunk_commit_data;
+	const unsigned char *chunk_generation_data;
+	const unsigned char *chunk_generation_data_overflow;
 	const unsigned char *chunk_extra_edges;
 	const unsigned char *chunk_base_graphs;
 	const unsigned char *chunk_bloom_indexes;
diff --git a/commit.h b/commit.h
index 742d96c41e8..eff94f3f7c2 100644
--- a/commit.h
+++ b/commit.h
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #define GENERATION_NUMBER_INFINITY ((1ULL << 63) - 1)
 #define GENERATION_NUMBER_V1_MAX 0x3FFFFFFF
 #define GENERATION_NUMBER_ZERO 0
+#define GENERATION_NUMBER_V2_OFFSET_MAX ((1ULL << 31) - 1)
 
 struct commit_list {
 	struct commit *item;
diff --git a/t/README b/t/README
index c730a707705..8a121487279 100644
--- a/t/README
+++ b/t/README
@@ -393,6 +393,9 @@ GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH=<boolean>, when true, forces the commit-graph to
 be written after every 'git commit' command, and overrides the
 'core.commitGraph' setting to true.
 
+GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH_NO_GDAT=<boolean>, when true, forces the
+commit-graph to be written without generation data chunk.
+
 GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH_CHANGED_PATHS=<boolean>, when true, forces
 commit-graph write to compute and write changed path Bloom filters for
 every 'git commit-graph write', as if the `--changed-paths` option was
diff --git a/t/helper/test-read-graph.c b/t/helper/test-read-graph.c
index 5f585a17256..75927b2c81d 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-read-graph.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-read-graph.c
@@ -33,6 +33,10 @@ int cmd__read_graph(int argc, const char **argv)
 		printf(" oid_lookup");
 	if (graph->chunk_commit_data)
 		printf(" commit_metadata");
+	if (graph->chunk_generation_data)
+		printf(" generation_data");
+	if (graph->chunk_generation_data_overflow)
+		printf(" generation_data_overflow");
 	if (graph->chunk_extra_edges)
 		printf(" extra_edges");
 	if (graph->chunk_bloom_indexes)
diff --git a/t/t4216-log-bloom.sh b/t/t4216-log-bloom.sh
index d11040ce41c..dbde0161882 100755
--- a/t/t4216-log-bloom.sh
+++ b/t/t4216-log-bloom.sh
@@ -40,11 +40,11 @@ test_expect_success 'setup test - repo, commits, commit graph, log outputs' '
 '
 
 graph_read_expect () {
-	NUM_CHUNKS=5
+	NUM_CHUNKS=6
 	cat >expect <<- EOF
 	header: 43475048 1 $(test_oid oid_version) $NUM_CHUNKS 0
 	num_commits: $1
-	chunks: oid_fanout oid_lookup commit_metadata bloom_indexes bloom_data
+	chunks: oid_fanout oid_lookup commit_metadata generation_data bloom_indexes bloom_data
 	EOF
 	test-tool read-graph >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
diff --git a/t/t5318-commit-graph.sh b/t/t5318-commit-graph.sh
index 2ed0c1544da..fa27df579a5 100755
--- a/t/t5318-commit-graph.sh
+++ b/t/t5318-commit-graph.sh
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ graph_git_behavior 'no graph' full commits/3 commits/1
 graph_read_expect() {
 	OPTIONAL=""
 	NUM_CHUNKS=3
-	if test ! -z $2
+	if test ! -z "$2"
 	then
 		OPTIONAL=" $2"
 		NUM_CHUNKS=$((3 + $(echo "$2" | wc -w)))
@@ -103,14 +103,14 @@ test_expect_success 'exit with correct error on bad input to --stdin-commits' '
 	# valid commit and tree OID
 	git rev-parse HEAD HEAD^{tree} >in &&
 	git commit-graph write --stdin-commits <in &&
-	graph_read_expect 3
+	graph_read_expect 3 generation_data
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'write graph' '
 	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/full" &&
 	git commit-graph write &&
 	test_path_is_file $objdir/info/commit-graph &&
-	graph_read_expect "3"
+	graph_read_expect "3" generation_data
 '
 
 test_expect_success POSIXPERM 'write graph has correct permissions' '
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ test_expect_success 'write graph with merges' '
 	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/full" &&
 	git commit-graph write &&
 	test_path_is_file $objdir/info/commit-graph &&
-	graph_read_expect "10" "extra_edges"
+	graph_read_expect "10" "generation_data extra_edges"
 '
 
 graph_git_behavior 'merge 1 vs 2' full merge/1 merge/2
@@ -254,7 +254,7 @@ test_expect_success 'write graph with new commit' '
 	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/full" &&
 	git commit-graph write &&
 	test_path_is_file $objdir/info/commit-graph &&
-	graph_read_expect "11" "extra_edges"
+	graph_read_expect "11" "generation_data extra_edges"
 '
 
 graph_git_behavior 'full graph, commit 8 vs merge 1' full commits/8 merge/1
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ test_expect_success 'write graph with nothing new' '
 	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/full" &&
 	git commit-graph write &&
 	test_path_is_file $objdir/info/commit-graph &&
-	graph_read_expect "11" "extra_edges"
+	graph_read_expect "11" "generation_data extra_edges"
 '
 
 graph_git_behavior 'cleared graph, commit 8 vs merge 1' full commits/8 merge/1
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ test_expect_success 'build graph from latest pack with closure' '
 	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/full" &&
 	cat new-idx | git commit-graph write --stdin-packs &&
 	test_path_is_file $objdir/info/commit-graph &&
-	graph_read_expect "9" "extra_edges"
+	graph_read_expect "9" "generation_data extra_edges"
 '
 
 graph_git_behavior 'graph from pack, commit 8 vs merge 1' full commits/8 merge/1
@@ -287,7 +287,7 @@ test_expect_success 'build graph from commits with closure' '
 	git rev-parse merge/1 >>commits-in &&
 	cat commits-in | git commit-graph write --stdin-commits &&
 	test_path_is_file $objdir/info/commit-graph &&
-	graph_read_expect "6"
+	graph_read_expect "6" "generation_data"
 '
 
 graph_git_behavior 'graph from commits, commit 8 vs merge 1' full commits/8 merge/1
@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ test_expect_success 'build graph from commits with append' '
 	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/full" &&
 	git rev-parse merge/3 | git commit-graph write --stdin-commits --append &&
 	test_path_is_file $objdir/info/commit-graph &&
-	graph_read_expect "10" "extra_edges"
+	graph_read_expect "10" "generation_data extra_edges"
 '
 
 graph_git_behavior 'append graph, commit 8 vs merge 1' full commits/8 merge/1
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ test_expect_success 'build graph using --reachable' '
 	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/full" &&
 	git commit-graph write --reachable &&
 	test_path_is_file $objdir/info/commit-graph &&
-	graph_read_expect "11" "extra_edges"
+	graph_read_expect "11" "generation_data extra_edges"
 '
 
 graph_git_behavior 'append graph, commit 8 vs merge 1' full commits/8 merge/1
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ test_expect_success 'write graph in bare repo' '
 	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/bare" &&
 	git commit-graph write &&
 	test_path_is_file $baredir/info/commit-graph &&
-	graph_read_expect "11" "extra_edges"
+	graph_read_expect "11" "generation_data extra_edges"
 '
 
 graph_git_behavior 'bare repo with graph, commit 8 vs merge 1' bare commits/8 merge/1
@@ -454,8 +454,9 @@ test_expect_success 'warn on improper hash version' '
 
 test_expect_success 'git commit-graph verify' '
 	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/full" &&
-	git rev-parse commits/8 | git commit-graph write --stdin-commits &&
-	git commit-graph verify >output
+	git rev-parse commits/8 | GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH_NO_GDAT=1 git commit-graph write --stdin-commits &&
+	git commit-graph verify >output &&
+	graph_read_expect 9 extra_edges
 '
 
 NUM_COMMITS=9
@@ -741,4 +742,56 @@ test_expect_success 'corrupt commit-graph write (missing tree)' '
 	)
 '
 
+# We test the overflow-related code with the following repo history:
+#
+#               4:F - 5:N - 6:U
+#              /                \
+# 1:U - 2:N - 3:U                M:N
+#              \                /
+#               7:N - 8:F - 9:N
+#
+# Here the commits denoted by U have committer date of zero seconds
+# since Unix epoch, the commits denoted by N have committer date
+# starting from 1112354055 seconds since Unix epoch (default committer
+# date for the test suite), and the commits denoted by F have committer
+# date of (2 ^ 31 - 2) seconds since Unix epoch.
+#
+# The largest offset observed is 2 ^ 31, just large enough to overflow.
+#
+
+test_expect_success 'set up and verify repo with generation data overflow chunk' '
+	objdir=".git/objects" &&
+	UNIX_EPOCH_ZERO="@0 +0000" &&
+	FUTURE_DATE="@2147483646 +0000" &&
+	test_oid_cache <<-EOF &&
+	oid_version sha1:1
+	oid_version sha256:2
+	EOF
+	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY" &&
+	mkdir repo &&
+	cd repo &&
+	git init &&
+	test_commit --date "$UNIX_EPOCH_ZERO" 1 &&
+	test_commit 2 &&
+	test_commit --date "$UNIX_EPOCH_ZERO" 3 &&
+	git commit-graph write --reachable &&
+	graph_read_expect 3 generation_data &&
+	test_commit --date "$FUTURE_DATE" 4 &&
+	test_commit 5 &&
+	test_commit --date "$UNIX_EPOCH_ZERO" 6 &&
+	git branch left &&
+	git reset --hard 3 &&
+	test_commit 7 &&
+	test_commit --date "$FUTURE_DATE" 8 &&
+	test_commit 9 &&
+	git branch right &&
+	git reset --hard 3 &&
+	test_merge M left right &&
+	git commit-graph write --reachable &&
+	graph_read_expect 10 "generation_data generation_data_overflow" &&
+	git commit-graph verify
+'
+
+graph_git_behavior 'generation data overflow chunk repo' repo left right
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t5324-split-commit-graph.sh b/t/t5324-split-commit-graph.sh
index 4d3842b83b9..587757b62d9 100755
--- a/t/t5324-split-commit-graph.sh
+++ b/t/t5324-split-commit-graph.sh
@@ -13,11 +13,11 @@ test_expect_success 'setup repo' '
 	infodir=".git/objects/info" &&
 	graphdir="$infodir/commit-graphs" &&
 	test_oid_cache <<-EOM
-	shallow sha1:1760
-	shallow sha256:2064
+	shallow sha1:2132
+	shallow sha256:2436
 
-	base sha1:1376
-	base sha256:1496
+	base sha1:1408
+	base sha256:1528
 
 	oid_version sha1:1
 	oid_version sha256:2
@@ -31,9 +31,9 @@ graph_read_expect() {
 		NUM_BASE=$2
 	fi
 	cat >expect <<- EOF
-	header: 43475048 1 $(test_oid oid_version) 3 $NUM_BASE
+	header: 43475048 1 $(test_oid oid_version) 4 $NUM_BASE
 	num_commits: $1
-	chunks: oid_fanout oid_lookup commit_metadata
+	chunks: oid_fanout oid_lookup commit_metadata generation_data
 	EOF
 	test-tool read-graph >output &&
 	test_cmp expect output
diff --git a/t/t6600-test-reach.sh b/t/t6600-test-reach.sh
index af10f0dc090..e2d33a8a4c4 100755
--- a/t/t6600-test-reach.sh
+++ b/t/t6600-test-reach.sh
@@ -55,6 +55,9 @@ test_expect_success 'setup' '
 	git show-ref -s commit-5-5 | git commit-graph write --stdin-commits &&
 	mv .git/objects/info/commit-graph commit-graph-half &&
 	chmod u+w commit-graph-half &&
+	GIT_TEST_COMMIT_GRAPH_NO_GDAT=1 git commit-graph write --reachable &&
+	mv .git/objects/info/commit-graph commit-graph-no-gdat &&
+	chmod u+w commit-graph-no-gdat &&
 	git config core.commitGraph true
 '
 
@@ -67,6 +70,9 @@ run_all_modes () {
 	test_cmp expect actual &&
 	cp commit-graph-half .git/objects/info/commit-graph &&
 	"$@" <input >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	cp commit-graph-no-gdat .git/objects/info/commit-graph &&
+	"$@" <input >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 }
 
diff --git a/t/test-lib-functions.sh b/t/test-lib-functions.sh
index 999982fe4a9..3ad712c3acc 100644
--- a/t/test-lib-functions.sh
+++ b/t/test-lib-functions.sh
@@ -202,6 +202,12 @@ test_commit () {
 		--signoff)
 			signoff="$1"
 			;;
+		--date)
+			notick=yes
+			GIT_COMMITTER_DATE="$2"
+			GIT_AUTHOR_DATE="$2"
+			shift
+			;;
 		-C)
 			indir="$2"
 			shift
