[]

One general question up here, more comments inline.
The current order for a clean-filter is like this, I removed the error handling:

int convert_to_git()
{
	ret |= apply_filter(path, src, len, -1, dst, filter);
	if (ret && dst) {
		src = dst->buf;
		len = dst->len;
	}
	ret |= crlf_to_git(path, src, len, dst, ca.crlf_action, checksafe);
	return ret | ident_to_git(path, src, len, dst, ca.ident);
}

The first step is the clean filter, the CRLF-LF conversion (if needed),
then ident.
The current implementation streams the whole file content to the filter,
(STDIN of the filter) and reads back STDOUT from the filter into a STRBUF.
This is to use the UNIX-like STDIN--STDOUT method for writing a filter.

However, int would_convert_to_git_filter_fd() and convert_to_git_filter_fd()
offer a sort of short-cut:
The filter reads from the file directly, and the output of the filter is
read into a STRBUF.

It looks as if the multi-filter approach can use this in a similar way:
Give the pathname to the filter, the filter opens the file for reading
and stream the result via the pkt-line protocol into Git.
This needs some more changes, and may be very well go into a separate patch
series. (and should).

What I am asking for:
When a multi-filter is used, the content is handled to the filter via pkt-line,
and the result is given to Git via pkt-line ?
Nothing wrong with it, I just wonder, if it should be mentioned somewhere.

This is half-kosher, I would say,
(And I really. really would like to see an implementation in C ;-)

A read function may look like this:

   ret = read(0, &buffer, 4);
   if (ret < 0) {
     /* Error, nothing we can do */
     exit(1);
   } else if (ret == 0) {
     /* EOF  */
     exit(0);
   } else if (ret < 4) {
     /* 
      * Go and read more, until we have 4 bytes or EOF or Error */
   } else {
     /* Good case, see below */
   }

Is CAP_ too generic, and GIT_FILTER_CAP (or so) less calling for trouble ? 

+
+struct cmd2process {
+	struct hashmap_entry ent; /* must be the first member! */
+	int supported_capabilities;
+	const char *cmd;
+	struct child_process process;
+};
+
+static int cmd_process_map_initialized;
+static struct hashmap cmd_process_map;
+
+static int cmd2process_cmp(const struct cmd2process *e1,
+                           const struct cmd2process *e2,
+                           const void *unused)
+{
+	return strcmp(e1->cmd, e2->cmd);
+}
+
+static struct cmd2process *find_multi_file_filter_entry(struct hashmap *hashmap, const char *cmd)
+{
+	struct cmd2process key;
+	hashmap_entry_init(&key, strhash(cmd));
+	key.cmd = cmd;
+	return hashmap_get(hashmap, &key, NULL);
+}
+
+static void kill_multi_file_filter(struct hashmap *hashmap, struct cmd2process *entry)
+{
+	if (!entry)
+		return;
+	sigchain_push(SIGPIPE, SIG_IGN);
+	/*
+	 * We kill the filter most likely because an error happened already.
+	 * That's why we are not interested in any error code here.
+	 */
+	close(entry->process.in);
+	close(entry->process.out);
+	sigchain_pop(SIGPIPE);
+	finish_command(&entry->process);
+	hashmap_remove(hashmap, entry, NULL);
+	free(entry);
+}
+
+static int packet_write_list(int fd, const char *line, ...)
+{
+	va_list args;
+	int err;
+	va_start(args, line);
+	for (;;)
+	{
+		if (!line)
+			break;
+		if (strlen(line) > PKTLINE_DATA_MAXLEN)
+			return -1;
+		err = packet_write_fmt_gently(fd, "%s", line);
+		if (err)
+			return err;
+		line = va_arg(args, const char*);
+	}
+	va_end(args);
+	return packet_flush_gently(fd);
+}
+
+static struct cmd2process *start_multi_file_filter(struct hashmap *hashmap, const char *cmd)
+{
+	int err;
+	struct cmd2process *entry;
+	struct child_process *process;
+	const char *argv[] = { cmd, NULL };
+	struct string_list cap_list = STRING_LIST_INIT_NODUP;
+	char *cap_buf;
+	const char *cap_name;
+
+	entry = xmalloc(sizeof(*entry));
+	hashmap_entry_init(entry, strhash(cmd));
+	entry->cmd = cmd;
+	entry->supported_capabilities = 0;
+	process = &entry->process;
+
+	child_process_init(process);
+	process->argv = argv;
+	process->use_shell = 1;
+	process->in = -1;
+	process->out = -1;
+
+	if (start_command(process)) {
+		error("cannot fork to run external filter '%s'", cmd);
+		kill_multi_file_filter(hashmap, entry);
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
+	sigchain_push(SIGPIPE, SIG_IGN);
+
+	err = packet_write_list(process->in, "git-filter-client", "version=2", NULL);
+	if (err)
+		goto done;
+
+	err = strcmp(packet_read_line(process->out, NULL), "git-filter-server");
+	if (err) {
+		error("external filter '%s' does not support long running filter protocol", cmd);
+		goto done;
+	}
+	err = strcmp(packet_read_line(process->out, NULL), "version=2");
+	if (err)
+		goto done;
+
+	err = packet_write_list(process->in, "clean=true", "smudge=true", NULL);
+
+	for (;;)
+	{
+		cap_buf = packet_read_line(process->out, NULL);
+		if (!cap_buf)
+			break;
+		string_list_split_in_place(&cap_list, cap_buf, '=', 1);
+
+		if (cap_list.nr != 2 || strcmp(cap_list.items[1].string, "true"))
+			continue;
+
+		cap_name = cap_list.items[0].string;
+		if (!strcmp(cap_name, "clean")) {
+			entry->supported_capabilities |= CAP_CLEAN;
+		} else if (!strcmp(cap_name, "smudge")) {
+			entry->supported_capabilities |= CAP_SMUDGE;
+		} else {
+			warning(
+				"external filter '%s' requested unsupported filter capability '%s'",
+				cmd, cap_name
+			);
+		}
+
+		string_list_clear(&cap_list, 0);
+	}
+
+done:
+	sigchain_pop(SIGPIPE);
+
+	if (err || errno == EPIPE) {
+		error("initialization for external filter '%s' failed", cmd);
+		kill_multi_file_filter(hashmap, entry);
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
+	hashmap_add(hashmap, entry);
+	return entry;
+}
+
+static void read_multi_file_filter_values(int fd, struct strbuf *status) {
+	struct strbuf **pair;
+	char *line;
+	for (;;) {
+		line = packet_read_line(fd, NULL);
+		if (!line)
+			break;
+		pair = strbuf_split_str(line, '=', 2);
+		if (pair[0] && pair[0]->len && pair[1]) {
+			if (!strcmp(pair[0]->buf, "status=")) {
+				strbuf_reset(status);
+				strbuf_addbuf(status, pair[1]);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+static int apply_multi_file_filter(const char *path, const char *src, size_t len,
+                                   int fd, struct strbuf *dst, const char *cmd,
+                                   const int wanted_capability)
+{
+	int err;
+	struct cmd2process *entry;
+	struct child_process *process;
+	struct stat file_stat;
+	struct strbuf nbuf = STRBUF_INIT;
+	struct strbuf filter_status = STRBUF_INIT;
+	char *filter_type;
+
+	if (!cmd_process_map_initialized) {
+		cmd_process_map_initialized = 1;
+		hashmap_init(&cmd_process_map, (hashmap_cmp_fn) cmd2process_cmp, 0);
+		entry = NULL;
+	} else {
+		entry = find_multi_file_filter_entry(&cmd_process_map, cmd);
+	}
+
+	fflush(NULL);
+
+	if (!entry) {
+		entry = start_multi_file_filter(&cmd_process_map, cmd);
+		if (!entry)
+			return 0;
+	}
+	process = &entry->process;
+
+	if (!(wanted_capability & entry->supported_capabilities))
+		return 0;
+
+	if (CAP_CLEAN & wanted_capability)
+		filter_type = "clean";
+	else if (CAP_SMUDGE & wanted_capability)
+		filter_type = "smudge";
+	else
+		die("unexpected filter type");
+
+	if (fd >= 0 && !src) {
+		if (fstat(fd, &file_stat) == -1)
+			return 0;
+		len = xsize_t(file_stat.st_size);
+	}
+
+	sigchain_push(SIGPIPE, SIG_IGN);
+
+
+	err = (strlen(filter_type) > PKTLINE_DATA_MAXLEN);

Extra () needed ?
More () in the code...

No more comments today (except that the kill is overkill)