diff --git a/Documentation/fetch-options.txt b/Documentation/fetch-options.txt
index 622bd84768..41fc7ca3c6 100644
--- a/Documentation/fetch-options.txt
+++ b/Documentation/fetch-options.txt
@@ -78,6 +78,13 @@ linkgit:git-config[1].
 --dry-run::
 	Show what would be done, without making any changes.
 
+--porcelain::
+	Print the output to standard output in an easy-to-parse format for
+	scripts. See section OUTPUT in linkgit:git-fetch[1] for details.
++
+This is incompatible with `--recurse-submodules=[yes|on-demand]` and takes
+precedence over the `fetch.output` config option.
+
 ifndef::git-pull[]
 --[no-]write-fetch-head::
 	Write the list of remote refs fetched in the `FETCH_HEAD`
diff --git a/Documentation/git-fetch.txt b/Documentation/git-fetch.txt
index fba66f1460..f123139c58 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-fetch.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-fetch.txt
@@ -204,6 +204,15 @@ representing the status of a single ref. Each line is of the form:
  <flag> <summary> <from> -> <to> [<reason>]
 -------------------------------
 
+When using `--porcelain`, the output format is intended to be
+machine-parseable. In contrast to the human-readable output formats it
+thus prints to standard output instead of standard error. Each line is
+of the form:
+
+-------------------------------
+<flag> <old-object-id> <new-object-id> <local-reference>
+-------------------------------
+
 The status of up-to-date refs is shown only if the --verbose option is
 used.
 
diff --git a/builtin/fetch.c b/builtin/fetch.c
index 7a3d620c4c..462fc86b99 100644
--- a/builtin/fetch.c
+++ b/builtin/fetch.c
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ enum display_format {
 	DISPLAY_FORMAT_UNKNOWN = 0,
 	DISPLAY_FORMAT_FULL,
 	DISPLAY_FORMAT_COMPACT,
+	DISPLAY_FORMAT_PORCELAIN,
 };
 
 struct display_state {
@@ -754,6 +755,9 @@ static void display_state_init(struct display_state *display_state, struct ref *
 		display_state->refcol_width = refcol_width(ref_map,
 							   display_state->format == DISPLAY_FORMAT_COMPACT);
 		break;
+	case DISPLAY_FORMAT_PORCELAIN:
+		/* We don't need to precompute anything here. */
+		break;
 	default:
 		BUG("unexpected display format %d", display_state->format);
 	}
@@ -824,8 +828,12 @@ static void print_compact(struct display_state *display_state,
 static void display_ref_update(struct display_state *display_state, char code,
 			       const char *summary, const char *error,
 			       const char *remote, const char *local,
+			       const struct object_id *old_oid,
+			       const struct object_id *new_oid,
 			       int summary_width)
 {
+	FILE *f = stderr;
+
 	if (verbosity < 0)
 		return;
 
@@ -858,12 +866,17 @@ static void display_ref_update(struct display_state *display_state, char code,
 
 		break;
 	}
+	case DISPLAY_FORMAT_PORCELAIN:
+		strbuf_addf(&display_state->buf, "%c %s %s %s", code,
+			    oid_to_hex(old_oid), oid_to_hex(new_oid), local);
+		f = stdout;
+		break;
 	default:
 		BUG("unexpected display format %d", display_state->format);
 	};
 	strbuf_addch(&display_state->buf, '\n');
 
-	fputs(display_state->buf.buf, stderr);
+	fputs(display_state->buf.buf, f);
 }
 
 static int update_local_ref(struct ref *ref,
@@ -881,7 +894,8 @@ static int update_local_ref(struct ref *ref,
 	if (oideq(&ref->old_oid, &ref->new_oid)) {
 		if (verbosity > 0)
 			display_ref_update(display_state, '=', _("[up to date]"), NULL,
-					   remote_ref->name, ref->name, summary_width);
+					   remote_ref->name, ref->name,
+					   &ref->old_oid, &ref->new_oid, summary_width);
 		return 0;
 	}
 
@@ -894,7 +908,8 @@ static int update_local_ref(struct ref *ref,
 		 */
 		display_ref_update(display_state, '!', _("[rejected]"),
 				   _("can't fetch into checked-out branch"),
-				   remote_ref->name, ref->name, summary_width);
+				   remote_ref->name, ref->name,
+				   &ref->old_oid, &ref->new_oid, summary_width);
 		return 1;
 	}
 
@@ -905,12 +920,14 @@ static int update_local_ref(struct ref *ref,
 			r = s_update_ref("updating tag", ref, transaction, 0);
 			display_ref_update(display_state, r ? '!' : 't', _("[tag update]"),
 					   r ? _("unable to update local ref") : NULL,
-					   remote_ref->name, ref->name, summary_width);
+					   remote_ref->name, ref->name,
+					   &ref->old_oid, &ref->new_oid, summary_width);
 			return r;
 		} else {
 			display_ref_update(display_state, '!', _("[rejected]"),
 					   _("would clobber existing tag"),
-					   remote_ref->name, ref->name, summary_width);
+					   remote_ref->name, ref->name,
+					   &ref->old_oid, &ref->new_oid, summary_width);
 			return 1;
 		}
 	}
@@ -943,7 +960,8 @@ static int update_local_ref(struct ref *ref,
 		r = s_update_ref(msg, ref, transaction, 0);
 		display_ref_update(display_state, r ? '!' : '*', what,
 				   r ? _("unable to update local ref") : NULL,
-				   remote_ref->name, ref->name, summary_width);
+				   remote_ref->name, ref->name,
+				   &ref->old_oid, &ref->new_oid, summary_width);
 		return r;
 	}
 
@@ -965,7 +983,8 @@ static int update_local_ref(struct ref *ref,
 		r = s_update_ref("fast-forward", ref, transaction, 1);
 		display_ref_update(display_state, r ? '!' : ' ', quickref.buf,
 				   r ? _("unable to update local ref") : NULL,
-				   remote_ref->name, ref->name, summary_width);
+				   remote_ref->name, ref->name,
+				   &ref->old_oid, &ref->new_oid, summary_width);
 		strbuf_release(&quickref);
 		return r;
 	} else if (force || ref->force) {
@@ -977,12 +996,14 @@ static int update_local_ref(struct ref *ref,
 		r = s_update_ref("forced-update", ref, transaction, 1);
 		display_ref_update(display_state, r ? '!' : '+', quickref.buf,
 				   r ? _("unable to update local ref") : _("forced update"),
-				   remote_ref->name, ref->name, summary_width);
+				   remote_ref->name, ref->name,
+				   &ref->old_oid, &ref->new_oid, summary_width);
 		strbuf_release(&quickref);
 		return r;
 	} else {
 		display_ref_update(display_state, '!', _("[rejected]"), _("non-fast-forward"),
-				   remote_ref->name, ref->name, summary_width);
+				   remote_ref->name, ref->name,
+				   &ref->old_oid, &ref->new_oid, summary_width);
 		return 1;
 	}
 }
@@ -1223,7 +1244,9 @@ static int store_updated_refs(struct display_state *display_state,
 				display_ref_update(display_state, '*',
 						   *kind ? kind : "branch", NULL,
 						   rm->name,
-						   "FETCH_HEAD", summary_width);
+						   "FETCH_HEAD",
+						   &rm->new_oid, &rm->old_oid,
+						   summary_width);
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -1363,6 +1386,7 @@ static int prune_refs(struct display_state *display_state,
 		for (ref = stale_refs; ref; ref = ref->next) {
 			display_ref_update(display_state, '-', _("[deleted]"), NULL,
 					   _("(none)"), ref->name,
+					   &ref->new_oid, &ref->old_oid,
 					   summary_width);
 			warn_dangling_symref(stderr, dangling_msg, ref->name);
 		}
@@ -1795,7 +1819,8 @@ static int add_remote_or_group(const char *name, struct string_list *list)
 	return 1;
 }
 
-static void add_options_to_argv(struct strvec *argv)
+static void add_options_to_argv(struct strvec *argv,
+				enum display_format format)
 {
 	if (dry_run)
 		strvec_push(argv, "--dry-run");
@@ -1831,6 +1856,8 @@ static void add_options_to_argv(struct strvec *argv)
 		strvec_push(argv, "--ipv6");
 	if (!write_fetch_head)
 		strvec_push(argv, "--no-write-fetch-head");
+	if (format == DISPLAY_FORMAT_PORCELAIN)
+		strvec_pushf(argv, "--porcelain");
 }
 
 /* Fetch multiple remotes in parallel */
@@ -1839,6 +1866,7 @@ struct parallel_fetch_state {
 	const char **argv;
 	struct string_list *remotes;
 	int next, result;
+	enum display_format format;
 };
 
 static int fetch_next_remote(struct child_process *cp,
@@ -1858,7 +1886,7 @@ static int fetch_next_remote(struct child_process *cp,
 	strvec_push(&cp->args, remote);
 	cp->git_cmd = 1;
 
-	if (verbosity >= 0)
+	if (verbosity >= 0 && state->format != DISPLAY_FORMAT_PORCELAIN)
 		printf(_("Fetching %s\n"), remote);
 
 	return 1;
@@ -1890,7 +1918,8 @@ static int fetch_finished(int result, struct strbuf *out,
 	return 0;
 }
 
-static int fetch_multiple(struct string_list *list, int max_children)
+static int fetch_multiple(struct string_list *list, int max_children,
+			  enum display_format format)
 {
 	int i, result = 0;
 	struct strvec argv = STRVEC_INIT;
@@ -1903,10 +1932,10 @@ static int fetch_multiple(struct string_list *list, int max_children)
 
 	strvec_pushl(&argv, "fetch", "--append", "--no-auto-gc",
 		     "--no-write-commit-graph", NULL);
-	add_options_to_argv(&argv);
+	add_options_to_argv(&argv, format);
 
 	if (max_children != 1 && list->nr != 1) {
-		struct parallel_fetch_state state = { argv.v, list, 0, 0 };
+		struct parallel_fetch_state state = { argv.v, list, 0, 0, format };
 		const struct run_process_parallel_opts opts = {
 			.tr2_category = "fetch",
 			.tr2_label = "parallel/fetch",
@@ -1930,7 +1959,7 @@ static int fetch_multiple(struct string_list *list, int max_children)
 
 			strvec_pushv(&cmd.args, argv.v);
 			strvec_push(&cmd.args, name);
-			if (verbosity >= 0)
+			if (verbosity >= 0 && format != DISPLAY_FORMAT_PORCELAIN)
 				printf(_("Fetching %s\n"), name);
 			cmd.git_cmd = 1;
 			if (run_command(&cmd)) {
@@ -2081,6 +2110,7 @@ int cmd_fetch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	int fetch_write_commit_graph = -1;
 	int stdin_refspecs = 0;
 	int negotiate_only = 0;
+	int porcelain = 0;
 	int i;
 
 	struct option builtin_fetch_options[] = {
@@ -2115,6 +2145,7 @@ int cmd_fetch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			    PARSE_OPT_OPTARG, option_fetch_parse_recurse_submodules),
 		OPT_BOOL(0, "dry-run", &dry_run,
 			 N_("dry run")),
+		OPT_BOOL(0, "porcelain", &porcelain, N_("machine-readable output")),
 		OPT_BOOL(0, "write-fetch-head", &write_fetch_head,
 			 N_("write fetched references to the FETCH_HEAD file")),
 		OPT_BOOL('k', "keep", &keep, N_("keep downloaded pack")),
@@ -2220,6 +2251,26 @@ int cmd_fetch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		fetch_config_from_gitmodules(sfjc, rs);
 	}
 
+
+	if (porcelain) {
+		switch (recurse_submodules_cli) {
+		case RECURSE_SUBMODULES_OFF:
+		case RECURSE_SUBMODULES_DEFAULT:
+			/*
+			 * Reference updates in submodules would be ambiguous
+			 * in porcelain mode, so we reject this combination.
+			 */
+			recurse_submodules = RECURSE_SUBMODULES_OFF;
+			break;
+
+		default:
+			die(_("options '%s' and '%s' cannot be used together"),
+			    "--porcelain", "--recurse-submodules");
+		}
+
+		config.display_format = DISPLAY_FORMAT_PORCELAIN;
+	}
+
 	if (negotiate_only && !negotiation_tip.nr)
 		die(_("--negotiate-only needs one or more --negotiation-tip=*"));
 
@@ -2339,10 +2390,9 @@ int cmd_fetch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			max_children = fetch_parallel_config;
 
 		/* TODO should this also die if we have a previous partial-clone? */
-		result = fetch_multiple(&list, max_children);
+		result = fetch_multiple(&list, max_children, config.display_format);
 	}
 
-
 	/*
 	 * This is only needed after fetch_one(), which does not fetch
 	 * submodules by itself.
@@ -2361,7 +2411,7 @@ int cmd_fetch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		if (max_children < 0)
 			max_children = fetch_parallel_config;
 
-		add_options_to_argv(&options);
+		add_options_to_argv(&options, config.display_format);
 		result = fetch_submodules(the_repository,
 					  &options,
 					  submodule_prefix,
diff --git a/t/t5574-fetch-output.sh b/t/t5574-fetch-output.sh
index 9890f6f381..90e6dcb9a7 100755
--- a/t/t5574-fetch-output.sh
+++ b/t/t5574-fetch-output.sh
@@ -61,6 +61,141 @@ test_expect_success 'fetch compact output' '
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'fetch porcelain output' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf porcelain" &&
+
+	# Set up a bunch of references that we can use to demonstrate different
+	# kinds of flag symbols in the output format.
+	MAIN_OLD=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
+	git branch "fast-forward" &&
+	git branch "deleted-branch" &&
+	git checkout -b force-updated &&
+	test_commit --no-tag force-update-old &&
+	FORCE_UPDATED_OLD=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
+	git checkout main &&
+
+	# Clone and pre-seed the repositories. We fetch references into two
+	# namespaces so that we can test that rejected and force-updated
+	# references are reported properly.
+	refspecs="refs/heads/*:refs/unforced/* +refs/heads/*:refs/forced/*" &&
+	git clone . porcelain &&
+	git -C porcelain fetch origin $refspecs &&
+
+	# Now that we have set up the client repositories we can change our
+	# local references.
+	git branch new-branch &&
+	git branch -d deleted-branch &&
+	git checkout fast-forward &&
+	test_commit --no-tag fast-forward-new &&
+	FAST_FORWARD_NEW=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
+	git checkout force-updated &&
+	git reset --hard HEAD~ &&
+	test_commit --no-tag force-update-new &&
+	FORCE_UPDATED_NEW=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
+
+	cat >expect <<-EOF &&
+	- $MAIN_OLD $ZERO_OID refs/forced/deleted-branch
+	- $MAIN_OLD $ZERO_OID refs/unforced/deleted-branch
+	  $MAIN_OLD $FAST_FORWARD_NEW refs/unforced/fast-forward
+	! $FORCE_UPDATED_OLD $FORCE_UPDATED_NEW refs/unforced/force-updated
+	* $ZERO_OID $MAIN_OLD refs/unforced/new-branch
+	  $MAIN_OLD $FAST_FORWARD_NEW refs/forced/fast-forward
+	+ $FORCE_UPDATED_OLD $FORCE_UPDATED_NEW refs/forced/force-updated
+	* $ZERO_OID $MAIN_OLD refs/forced/new-branch
+	  $MAIN_OLD $FAST_FORWARD_NEW refs/remotes/origin/fast-forward
+	+ $FORCE_UPDATED_OLD $FORCE_UPDATED_NEW refs/remotes/origin/force-updated
+	* $ZERO_OID $MAIN_OLD refs/remotes/origin/new-branch
+	EOF
+
+	# Execute a dry-run fetch first. We do this to assert that the dry-run
+	# and non-dry-run fetches produces the same output. Execution of the
+	# fetch is expected to fail as we have a rejected reference update.
+	test_must_fail git -C porcelain fetch \
+		--porcelain --dry-run --prune origin $refspecs >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+
+	# And now we perform a non-dry-run fetch.
+	test_must_fail git -C porcelain fetch \
+		--porcelain --prune origin $refspecs >actual 2>stderr &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	test_must_be_empty stderr
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'fetch porcelain with multiple remotes' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf porcelain" &&
+
+	git switch --create multiple-remotes &&
+	git clone . porcelain &&
+	git -C porcelain remote add second-remote "$PWD" &&
+	git -C porcelain fetch second-remote &&
+
+	test_commit --no-tag multi-commit &&
+	old_commit=$(git rev-parse HEAD~) &&
+	new_commit=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
+
+	cat >expect <<-EOF &&
+	  $old_commit $new_commit refs/remotes/origin/multiple-remotes
+	  $old_commit $new_commit refs/remotes/second-remote/multiple-remotes
+	EOF
+
+	git -C porcelain fetch --porcelain --all >actual 2>stderr &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+	test_must_be_empty stderr
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'fetch porcelain refuses to work with submodules' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf porcelain" &&
+
+	cat >expect <<-EOF &&
+	fatal: options ${SQ}--porcelain${SQ} and ${SQ}--recurse-submodules${SQ} cannot be used together
+	EOF
+
+	git init porcelain &&
+	test_must_fail git -C porcelain fetch --porcelain --recurse-submodules=yes 2>stderr &&
+	test_cmp expect stderr &&
+
+	test_must_fail git -C porcelain fetch --porcelain --recurse-submodules=on-demand 2>stderr &&
+	test_cmp expect stderr
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'fetch porcelain overrides fetch.output config' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf porcelain" &&
+
+	git switch --create config-override &&
+	git clone . porcelain &&
+	test_commit new-commit &&
+	old_commit=$(git rev-parse HEAD~) &&
+	new_commit=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
+
+	cat >expect <<-EOF &&
+	  $old_commit $new_commit refs/remotes/origin/config-override
+	* $ZERO_OID $new_commit refs/tags/new-commit
+	EOF
+
+	git -C porcelain -c fetch.output=compact fetch --porcelain >stdout 2>stderr &&
+	test_must_be_empty stderr &&
+	test_cmp expect stdout
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'fetch --no-porcelain overrides previous --porcelain' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf no-porcelain" &&
+
+	git switch --create no-porcelain &&
+	git clone . no-porcelain &&
+	test_commit --no-tag no-porcelain &&
+	old_commit=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD~) &&
+	new_commit=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD) &&
+
+	cat >expect <<-EOF &&
+	From $(test-tool path-utils real_path .)/.
+	   $old_commit..$new_commit  no-porcelain -> origin/no-porcelain
+	EOF
+
+	git -C no-porcelain fetch --porcelain --no-porcelain >stdout 2>stderr &&
+	test_cmp expect stderr &&
+	test_must_be_empty stdout
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'fetch output with HEAD' '
 	test_when_finished "rm -rf head" &&
 	git clone . head &&
@@ -90,6 +225,30 @@ test_expect_success 'fetch output with HEAD' '
 	test_cmp expect actual.err
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'fetch porcelain output with HEAD' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf head" &&
+	git clone . head &&
+	COMMIT_ID=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
+
+	git -C head fetch --porcelain --dry-run origin HEAD >actual &&
+	cat >expect <<-EOF &&
+	* $ZERO_OID $COMMIT_ID FETCH_HEAD
+	EOF
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+
+	git -C head fetch --porcelain origin HEAD >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+
+	git -C head fetch --porcelain --dry-run origin HEAD:foo >actual &&
+	cat >expect <<-EOF &&
+	* $ZERO_OID $COMMIT_ID refs/heads/foo
+	EOF
+	test_cmp expect actual &&
+
+	git -C head fetch --porcelain origin HEAD:foo >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'fetch output with object ID' '
 	test_when_finished "rm -rf object-id" &&
 	git clone . object-id &&
