diff --git a/run-command.c b/run-command.c
index a8501e38ceb..7ab2dd28f3c 100644
--- a/run-command.c
+++ b/run-command.c
@@ -1471,6 +1471,7 @@ enum child_state {
 	GIT_CP_WAIT_CLEANUP,
 };
 
+int run_processes_parallel_ungroup;
 struct parallel_processes {
 	void *data;
 
@@ -1494,6 +1495,7 @@ struct parallel_processes {
 	struct pollfd *pfd;
 
 	unsigned shutdown : 1;
+	unsigned ungroup : 1;
 
 	int output_owner;
 	struct strbuf buffered_output; /* of finished children */
@@ -1537,7 +1539,7 @@ static void pp_init(struct parallel_processes *pp,
 		    get_next_task_fn get_next_task,
 		    start_failure_fn start_failure,
 		    task_finished_fn task_finished,
-		    void *data)
+		    void *data, int ungroup)
 {
 	int i;
 
@@ -1559,15 +1561,21 @@ static void pp_init(struct parallel_processes *pp,
 	pp->nr_processes = 0;
 	pp->output_owner = 0;
 	pp->shutdown = 0;
+	pp->ungroup = ungroup;
 	CALLOC_ARRAY(pp->children, n);
-	CALLOC_ARRAY(pp->pfd, n);
+	if (pp->ungroup)
+		pp->pfd = NULL;
+	else
+		CALLOC_ARRAY(pp->pfd, n);
 	strbuf_init(&pp->buffered_output, 0);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {
 		strbuf_init(&pp->children[i].err, 0);
 		child_process_init(&pp->children[i].process);
-		pp->pfd[i].events = POLLIN | POLLHUP;
-		pp->pfd[i].fd = -1;
+		if (pp->pfd) {
+			pp->pfd[i].events = POLLIN | POLLHUP;
+			pp->pfd[i].fd = -1;
+		}
 	}
 
 	pp_for_signal = pp;
@@ -1615,24 +1623,31 @@ static int pp_start_one(struct parallel_processes *pp)
 		BUG("bookkeeping is hard");
 
 	code = pp->get_next_task(&pp->children[i].process,
-				 &pp->children[i].err,
+				 pp->ungroup ? NULL : &pp->children[i].err,
 				 pp->data,
 				 &pp->children[i].data);
 	if (!code) {
-		strbuf_addbuf(&pp->buffered_output, &pp->children[i].err);
-		strbuf_reset(&pp->children[i].err);
+		if (!pp->ungroup) {
+			strbuf_addbuf(&pp->buffered_output, &pp->children[i].err);
+			strbuf_reset(&pp->children[i].err);
+		}
 		return 1;
 	}
-	pp->children[i].process.err = -1;
-	pp->children[i].process.stdout_to_stderr = 1;
+	if (!pp->ungroup) {
+		pp->children[i].process.err = -1;
+		pp->children[i].process.stdout_to_stderr = 1;
+	}
 	pp->children[i].process.no_stdin = 1;
 
 	if (start_command(&pp->children[i].process)) {
-		code = pp->start_failure(&pp->children[i].err,
+		code = pp->start_failure(pp->ungroup ? NULL :
+					 &pp->children[i].err,
 					 pp->data,
 					 pp->children[i].data);
-		strbuf_addbuf(&pp->buffered_output, &pp->children[i].err);
-		strbuf_reset(&pp->children[i].err);
+		if (!pp->ungroup) {
+			strbuf_addbuf(&pp->buffered_output, &pp->children[i].err);
+			strbuf_reset(&pp->children[i].err);
+		}
 		if (code)
 			pp->shutdown = 1;
 		return code;
@@ -1640,7 +1655,8 @@ static int pp_start_one(struct parallel_processes *pp)
 
 	pp->nr_processes++;
 	pp->children[i].state = GIT_CP_WORKING;
-	pp->pfd[i].fd = pp->children[i].process.err;
+	if (pp->pfd)
+		pp->pfd[i].fd = pp->children[i].process.err;
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -1674,6 +1690,7 @@ static void pp_buffer_stderr(struct parallel_processes *pp, int output_timeout)
 static void pp_output(struct parallel_processes *pp)
 {
 	int i = pp->output_owner;
+
 	if (pp->children[i].state == GIT_CP_WORKING &&
 	    pp->children[i].err.len) {
 		strbuf_write(&pp->children[i].err, stderr);
@@ -1696,7 +1713,7 @@ static int pp_collect_finished(struct parallel_processes *pp)
 
 		code = finish_command(&pp->children[i].process);
 
-		code = pp->task_finished(code,
+		code = pp->task_finished(code, pp->ungroup ? NULL :
 					 &pp->children[i].err, pp->data,
 					 pp->children[i].data);
 
@@ -1707,10 +1724,13 @@ static int pp_collect_finished(struct parallel_processes *pp)
 
 		pp->nr_processes--;
 		pp->children[i].state = GIT_CP_FREE;
-		pp->pfd[i].fd = -1;
+		if (pp->pfd)
+			pp->pfd[i].fd = -1;
 		child_process_init(&pp->children[i].process);
 
-		if (i != pp->output_owner) {
+		if (pp->ungroup) {
+			; /* no strbuf_*() work to do here */
+		} else if (i != pp->output_owner) {
 			strbuf_addbuf(&pp->buffered_output, &pp->children[i].err);
 			strbuf_reset(&pp->children[i].err);
 		} else {
@@ -1747,9 +1767,14 @@ int run_processes_parallel(int n,
 	int i, code;
 	int output_timeout = 100;
 	int spawn_cap = 4;
+	int ungroup = run_processes_parallel_ungroup;
 	struct parallel_processes pp;
 
-	pp_init(&pp, n, get_next_task, start_failure, task_finished, pp_cb);
+	/* unset for the next API user */
+	run_processes_parallel_ungroup = 0;
+
+	pp_init(&pp, n, get_next_task, start_failure, task_finished, pp_cb,
+		ungroup);
 	while (1) {
 		for (i = 0;
 		    i < spawn_cap && !pp.shutdown &&
@@ -1766,8 +1791,15 @@ int run_processes_parallel(int n,
 		}
 		if (!pp.nr_processes)
 			break;
-		pp_buffer_stderr(&pp, output_timeout);
-		pp_output(&pp);
+		if (ungroup) {
+			int i;
+
+			for (i = 0; i < pp.max_processes; i++)
+				pp.children[i].state = GIT_CP_WAIT_CLEANUP;
+		} else {
+			pp_buffer_stderr(&pp, output_timeout);
+			pp_output(&pp);
+		}
 		code = pp_collect_finished(&pp);
 		if (code) {
 			pp.shutdown = 1;
diff --git a/run-command.h b/run-command.h
index 5bd0c933e80..bf4236f1164 100644
--- a/run-command.h
+++ b/run-command.h
@@ -405,6 +405,9 @@ void check_pipe(int err);
  * pp_cb is the callback cookie as passed to run_processes_parallel.
  * You can store a child process specific callback cookie in pp_task_cb.
  *
+ * See run_processes_parallel() below for a discussion of the "struct
+ * strbuf *out" parameter.
+ *
  * Even after returning 0 to indicate that there are no more processes,
  * this function will be called again until there are no more running
  * child processes.
@@ -423,9 +426,8 @@ typedef int (*get_next_task_fn)(struct child_process *cp,
  * This callback is called whenever there are problems starting
  * a new process.
  *
- * You must not write to stdout or stderr in this function. Add your
- * message to the strbuf out instead, which will be printed without
- * messing up the output of the other parallel processes.
+ * See run_processes_parallel() below for a discussion of the "struct
+ * strbuf *out" parameter.
  *
  * pp_cb is the callback cookie as passed into run_processes_parallel,
  * pp_task_cb is the callback cookie as passed into get_next_task_fn.
@@ -441,9 +443,8 @@ typedef int (*start_failure_fn)(struct strbuf *out,
 /**
  * This callback is called on every child process that finished processing.
  *
- * You must not write to stdout or stderr in this function. Add your
- * message to the strbuf out instead, which will be printed without
- * messing up the output of the other parallel processes.
+ * See run_processes_parallel() below for a discussion of the "struct
+ * strbuf *out" parameter.
  *
  * pp_cb is the callback cookie as passed into run_processes_parallel,
  * pp_task_cb is the callback cookie as passed into get_next_task_fn.
@@ -464,11 +465,26 @@ typedef int (*task_finished_fn)(int result,
  *
  * The children started via this function run in parallel. Their output
  * (both stdout and stderr) is routed to stderr in a manner that output
- * from different tasks does not interleave.
+ * from different tasks does not interleave (but see "ungroup" below).
  *
  * start_failure_fn and task_finished_fn can be NULL to omit any
  * special handling.
+ *
+ * If the "ungroup" option isn't specified, the API will set the
+ * "stdout_to_stderr" parameter in "struct child_process" and provide
+ * the callbacks with a "struct strbuf *out" parameter to write output
+ * to. In this case the callbacks must not write to stdout or
+ * stderr as such output will mess up the output of the other parallel
+ * processes. If "ungroup" option is specified callbacks will get a
+ * NULL "struct strbuf *out" parameter, and are responsible for
+ * emitting their own output, including dealing with any race
+ * conditions due to writing in parallel to stdout and stderr.
+ * The "ungroup" option can be enabled by setting the global
+ * "run_processes_parallel_ungroup" to "1" before invoking
+ * run_processes_parallel(), it will be set back to "0" as soon as the
+ * API reads that setting.
  */
+extern int run_processes_parallel_ungroup;
 int run_processes_parallel(int n,
 			   get_next_task_fn,
 			   start_failure_fn,
diff --git a/t/helper/test-run-command.c b/t/helper/test-run-command.c
index f3b90aa834a..34cce45b584 100644
--- a/t/helper/test-run-command.c
+++ b/t/helper/test-run-command.c
@@ -31,7 +31,11 @@ static int parallel_next(struct child_process *cp,
 		return 0;
 
 	strvec_pushv(&cp->args, d->args.v);
-	strbuf_addstr(err, "preloaded output of a child\n");
+	if (err)
+		strbuf_addstr(err, "preloaded output of a child\n");
+	else
+		fprintf(stderr, "preloaded output of a child\n");
+
 	number_callbacks++;
 	return 1;
 }
@@ -41,7 +45,10 @@ static int no_job(struct child_process *cp,
 		  void *cb,
 		  void **task_cb)
 {
-	strbuf_addstr(err, "no further jobs available\n");
+	if (err)
+		strbuf_addstr(err, "no further jobs available\n");
+	else
+		fprintf(stderr, "no further jobs available\n");
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -50,7 +57,10 @@ static int task_finished(int result,
 			 void *pp_cb,
 			 void *pp_task_cb)
 {
-	strbuf_addstr(err, "asking for a quick stop\n");
+	if (err)
+		strbuf_addstr(err, "asking for a quick stop\n");
+	else
+		fprintf(stderr, "asking for a quick stop\n");
 	return 1;
 }
 
@@ -407,6 +417,12 @@ int cmd__run_command(int argc, const char **argv)
 	if (!strcmp(argv[1], "run-command"))
 		exit(run_command(&proc));
 
+	if (!strcmp(argv[1], "--ungroup")) {
+		argv += 1;
+		argc -= 1;
+		run_processes_parallel_ungroup = 1;
+	}
+
 	jobs = atoi(argv[2]);
 	strvec_clear(&proc.args);
 	strvec_pushv(&proc.args, (const char **)argv + 3);
diff --git a/t/t0061-run-command.sh b/t/t0061-run-command.sh
index ee281909bc3..7b5423eebda 100755
--- a/t/t0061-run-command.sh
+++ b/t/t0061-run-command.sh
@@ -134,16 +134,34 @@ test_expect_success 'run_command runs in parallel with more jobs available than
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'run_command runs ungrouped in parallel with more jobs available than tasks' '
+	test-tool run-command --ungroup run-command-parallel 5 sh -c "printf \"%s\n%s\n\" Hello World" >out 2>err &&
+	test_line_count = 8 out &&
+	test_line_count = 4 err
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'run_command runs in parallel with as many jobs as tasks' '
 	test-tool run-command run-command-parallel 4 sh -c "printf \"%s\n%s\n\" Hello World" 2>actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'run_command runs ungrouped in parallel with as many jobs as tasks' '
+	test-tool run-command --ungroup run-command-parallel 4 sh -c "printf \"%s\n%s\n\" Hello World" >out 2>err &&
+	test_line_count = 8 out &&
+	test_line_count = 4 err
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'run_command runs in parallel with more tasks than jobs available' '
 	test-tool run-command run-command-parallel 3 sh -c "printf \"%s\n%s\n\" Hello World" 2>actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'run_command runs ungrouped in parallel with more tasks than jobs available' '
+	test-tool run-command --ungroup run-command-parallel 3 sh -c "printf \"%s\n%s\n\" Hello World" >out 2>err &&
+	test_line_count = 8 out &&
+	test_line_count = 4 err
+'
+
 cat >expect <<-EOF
 preloaded output of a child
 asking for a quick stop
@@ -158,6 +176,12 @@ test_expect_success 'run_command is asked to abort gracefully' '
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'run_command is asked to abort gracefully (ungroup)' '
+	test-tool run-command --ungroup run-command-abort 3 false >out 2>err &&
+	test_must_be_empty out &&
+	test_line_count = 6 err
+'
+
 cat >expect <<-EOF
 no further jobs available
 EOF
@@ -167,6 +191,12 @@ test_expect_success 'run_command outputs ' '
 	test_cmp expect actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'run_command outputs (ungroup) ' '
+	test-tool run-command --ungroup run-command-no-jobs 3 sh -c "printf \"%s\n%s\n\" Hello World" >out 2>err &&
+	test_must_be_empty out &&
+	test_cmp expect err
+'
+
 test_trace () {
 	expect="$1"
 	shift
