diff --git a/builtin/gc.c b/builtin/gc.c
index fb329c2cff..cb9ca89a97 100644
--- a/builtin/gc.c
+++ b/builtin/gc.c
@@ -467,37 +467,19 @@ out:
 static int too_many_loose_objects(int limit)
 {
 	/*
-	 * Quickly check if a "gc" is needed, by estimating how
-	 * many loose objects there are.  Because SHA-1 is evenly
-	 * distributed, we can check only one and get a reasonable
-	 * estimate.
+	 * This is weird, but stems from legacy behaviour: the GC auto
+	 * threshold was always essentially interpreted as if it was rounded up
+	 * to the next multiple 256 of, so we retain this behaviour for now.
 	 */
-	DIR *dir;
-	struct dirent *ent;
-	int auto_threshold;
-	int num_loose = 0;
-	int needed = 0;
-	const unsigned hexsz_loose = the_hash_algo->hexsz - 2;
-	char *path;
+	int auto_threshold = DIV_ROUND_UP(limit, 256) * 256;
+	unsigned long loose_count;
 
-	path = repo_git_path(the_repository, "objects/17");
-	dir = opendir(path);
-	free(path);
-	if (!dir)
+	if (odb_source_loose_count_objects(the_repository->objects->sources,
+					   ODB_COUNT_OBJECTS_APPROXIMATE,
+					   &loose_count) < 0)
 		return 0;
 
-	auto_threshold = DIV_ROUND_UP(limit, 256);
-	while ((ent = readdir(dir)) != NULL) {
-		if (strspn(ent->d_name, "0123456789abcdef") != hexsz_loose ||
-		    ent->d_name[hexsz_loose] != '\0')
-			continue;
-		if (++num_loose > auto_threshold) {
-			needed = 1;
-			break;
-		}
-	}
-	closedir(dir);
-	return needed;
+	return loose_count > auto_threshold;
 }
 
 static struct packed_git *find_base_packs(struct string_list *packs,
@@ -592,9 +574,13 @@ static uint64_t total_ram(void)
 static uint64_t estimate_repack_memory(struct gc_config *cfg,
 				       struct packed_git *pack)
 {
-	unsigned long nr_objects = repo_approximate_object_count(the_repository);
+	unsigned long nr_objects;
 	size_t os_cache, heap;
 
+	if (odb_count_objects(the_repository->objects,
+			      ODB_COUNT_OBJECTS_APPROXIMATE, &nr_objects) < 0)
+		return 0;
+
 	if (!pack || !nr_objects)
 		return 0;
 
diff --git a/builtin/multi-pack-index.c b/builtin/multi-pack-index.c
index 2f24c113c8..0f72d96c02 100644
--- a/builtin/multi-pack-index.c
+++ b/builtin/multi-pack-index.c
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "trace2.h"
 #include "odb.h"
+#include "odb/source.h"
 #include "replace-object.h"
 #include "repository.h"
 
diff --git a/builtin/submodule--helper.c b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
index 143f7cb3cc..4957487536 100644
--- a/builtin/submodule--helper.c
+++ b/builtin/submodule--helper.c
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 #include "object-file.h"
 #include "object-name.h"
 #include "odb.h"
+#include "odb/source.h"
 #include "advice.h"
 #include "branch.h"
 #include "list-objects-filter-options.h"
diff --git a/commit-graph.c b/commit-graph.c
index f8e24145a5..c030003330 100644
--- a/commit-graph.c
+++ b/commit-graph.c
@@ -2607,7 +2607,8 @@ int write_commit_graph(struct odb_source *source,
 			replace = ctx.opts->split_flags & COMMIT_GRAPH_SPLIT_REPLACE;
 	}
 
-	ctx.approx_nr_objects = repo_approximate_object_count(r);
+	if (odb_count_objects(r->objects, ODB_COUNT_OBJECTS_APPROXIMATE, &ctx.approx_nr_objects) < 0)
+		ctx.approx_nr_objects = 0;
 
 	if (ctx.append && g) {
 		for (i = 0; i < g->num_commits; i++) {
diff --git a/object-file.c b/object-file.c
index c62e5496e0..5629f35015 100644
--- a/object-file.c
+++ b/object-file.c
@@ -1868,6 +1868,63 @@ int odb_source_loose_for_each_object(struct odb_source *source,
 					     NULL, NULL, &data);
 }
 
+static int count_loose_object(const struct object_id *oid UNUSED,
+			      struct object_info *oi UNUSED,
+			      void *payload)
+{
+	unsigned long *count = payload;
+	(*count)++;
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int odb_source_loose_count_objects(struct odb_source *source,
+				   enum odb_count_objects_flags flags,
+				   unsigned long *out)
+{
+	const unsigned hexsz = source->odb->repo->hash_algo->hexsz - 2;
+	char *path = NULL;
+	DIR *dir = NULL;
+	int ret;
+
+	if (flags & ODB_COUNT_OBJECTS_APPROXIMATE) {
+		unsigned long count = 0;
+		struct dirent *ent;
+
+		path = xstrfmt("%s/17", source->path);
+
+		dir = opendir(path);
+		if (!dir) {
+			if (errno == ENOENT) {
+				*out = 0;
+				ret = 0;
+				goto out;
+			}
+
+			ret = error_errno("cannot open object shard '%s'", path);
+			goto out;
+		}
+
+		while ((ent = readdir(dir)) != NULL) {
+			if (strspn(ent->d_name, "0123456789abcdef") != hexsz ||
+			    ent->d_name[hexsz] != '\0')
+				continue;
+			count++;
+		}
+
+		*out = count * 256;
+		ret = 0;
+	} else {
+		ret = odb_source_loose_for_each_object(source, NULL, count_loose_object,
+						       out, 0);
+	}
+
+out:
+	if (dir)
+		closedir(dir);
+	free(path);
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static int append_loose_object(const struct object_id *oid,
 			       const char *path UNUSED,
 			       void *data)
diff --git a/object-file.h b/object-file.h
index ff6da65296..f8d8805a18 100644
--- a/object-file.h
+++ b/object-file.h
@@ -139,6 +139,20 @@ int odb_source_loose_for_each_object(struct odb_source *source,
 				     void *cb_data,
 				     unsigned flags);
 
+/*
+ * Count the number of loose objects in this source.
+ *
+ * The object count is approximated by opening a single sharding directory for
+ * loose objects and scanning its contents. The result is then extrapolated by
+ * 256. This should generally work as a reasonable estimate given that the
+ * object hash is supposed to be indistinguishable from random.
+ *
+ * Returns 0 on success, a negative error code otherwise.
+ */
+int odb_source_loose_count_objects(struct odb_source *source,
+				   enum odb_count_objects_flags flags,
+				   unsigned long *out);
+
 /**
  * format_object_header() is a thin wrapper around s xsnprintf() that
  * writes the initial "<type> <obj-len>" part of the loose object
diff --git a/object-name.c b/object-name.c
index 7b14c3bf9b..e5adec4c9d 100644
--- a/object-name.c
+++ b/object-name.c
@@ -837,7 +837,11 @@ int repo_find_unique_abbrev_r(struct repository *r, char *hex,
 	const unsigned hexsz = algo->hexsz;
 
 	if (len < 0) {
-		unsigned long count = repo_approximate_object_count(r);
+		unsigned long count;
+
+		if (odb_count_objects(r->objects, ODB_COUNT_OBJECTS_APPROXIMATE, &count) < 0)
+			count = 0;
+
 		/*
 		 * Add one because the MSB only tells us the highest bit set,
 		 * not including the value of all the _other_ bits (so "15"
diff --git a/odb.c b/odb.c
index 84a31084d3..350e23f3c0 100644
--- a/odb.c
+++ b/odb.c
@@ -917,6 +917,41 @@ int odb_for_each_object(struct object_database *odb,
 	return 0;
 }
 
+int odb_count_objects(struct object_database *odb,
+		      enum odb_count_objects_flags flags,
+		      unsigned long *out)
+{
+	struct odb_source *source;
+	unsigned long count = 0;
+	int ret;
+
+	if (odb->object_count_valid && odb->object_count_flags == flags) {
+		*out = odb->object_count;
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	odb_prepare_alternates(odb);
+	for (source = odb->sources; source; source = source->next) {
+		unsigned long c;
+
+		ret = odb_source_count_objects(source, flags, &c);
+		if (ret < 0)
+			goto out;
+
+		count += c;
+	}
+
+	odb->object_count = count;
+	odb->object_count_valid = 1;
+	odb->object_count_flags = flags;
+
+	*out = count;
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	return ret;
+}
+
 void odb_assert_oid_type(struct object_database *odb,
 			 const struct object_id *oid, enum object_type expect)
 {
@@ -1030,7 +1065,7 @@ void odb_reprepare(struct object_database *o)
 	for (source = o->sources; source; source = source->next)
 		odb_source_reprepare(source);
 
-	o->approximate_object_count_valid = 0;
+	o->object_count_valid = 0;
 
 	obj_read_unlock();
 }
diff --git a/odb.h b/odb.h
index 86e0365c24..7b004f1cf4 100644
--- a/odb.h
+++ b/odb.h
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 
 #include "hashmap.h"
 #include "object.h"
-#include "odb/source.h"
 #include "oidset.h"
 #include "oidmap.h"
 #include "string-list.h"
@@ -12,6 +11,7 @@
 struct oidmap;
 struct oidtree;
 struct strbuf;
+struct strvec;
 struct repository;
 struct multi_pack_index;
 
@@ -112,8 +112,9 @@ struct object_database {
 	 * These two fields are not meant for direct access. Use
 	 * repo_approximate_object_count() instead.
 	 */
-	unsigned long approximate_object_count;
-	unsigned approximate_object_count_valid : 1;
+	unsigned long object_count;
+	unsigned object_count_flags;
+	unsigned object_count_valid : 1;
 
 	/*
 	 * Submodule source paths that will be added as additional sources to
@@ -339,6 +340,42 @@ struct object_info {
  */
 #define OBJECT_INFO_INIT { 0 }
 
+/* Flags that can be passed to `odb_read_object_info_extended()`. */
+enum object_info_flags {
+	/* Invoke lookup_replace_object() on the given hash. */
+	OBJECT_INFO_LOOKUP_REPLACE = (1 << 0),
+
+	/* Do not reprepare object sources when the first lookup has failed. */
+	OBJECT_INFO_QUICK = (1 << 1),
+
+	/*
+	 * Do not attempt to fetch the object if missing (even if fetch_is_missing is
+	 * nonzero).
+	 */
+	OBJECT_INFO_SKIP_FETCH_OBJECT = (1 << 2),
+
+	/* Die if object corruption (not just an object being missing) was detected. */
+	OBJECT_INFO_DIE_IF_CORRUPT = (1 << 3),
+
+	/*
+	 * We have already tried reading the object, but it couldn't be found
+	 * via any of the attached sources, and are now doing a second read.
+	 * This second read asks the individual sources to also evaluate
+	 * whether any on-disk state may have changed that may have caused the
+	 * object to appear.
+	 *
+	 * This flag is for internal use, only. The second read only occurs
+	 * when `OBJECT_INFO_QUICK` was not passed.
+	 */
+	OBJECT_INFO_SECOND_READ = (1 << 4),
+
+	/*
+	 * This is meant for bulk prefetching of missing blobs in a partial
+	 * clone. Implies OBJECT_INFO_SKIP_FETCH_OBJECT and OBJECT_INFO_QUICK.
+	 */
+	OBJECT_INFO_FOR_PREFETCH = (OBJECT_INFO_SKIP_FETCH_OBJECT | OBJECT_INFO_QUICK),
+};
+
 /*
  * Read object info from the object database and populate the `object_info`
  * structure. Returns 0 on success, a negative error code otherwise.
@@ -432,6 +469,18 @@ enum odb_for_each_object_flags {
 	ODB_FOR_EACH_OBJECT_SKIP_ON_DISK_KEPT_PACKS = (1<<4),
 };
 
+/*
+ * A callback function that can be used to iterate through objects. If given,
+ * the optional `oi` parameter will be populated the same as if you would call
+ * `odb_read_object_info()`.
+ *
+ * Returning a non-zero error code will cause iteration to abort. The error
+ * code will be propagated.
+ */
+typedef int (*odb_for_each_object_cb)(const struct object_id *oid,
+				      struct object_info *oi,
+				      void *cb_data);
+
 /*
  * Iterate through all objects contained in the object database. Note that
  * objects may be iterated over multiple times in case they are either stored
@@ -452,6 +501,27 @@ int odb_for_each_object(struct object_database *odb,
 			void *cb_data,
 			unsigned flags);
 
+enum odb_count_objects_flags {
+	/*
+	 * Instead of providing an accurate count, allow the number of objects
+	 * to be approximated. Details of how this approximation works are
+	 * subject to the specific source's implementation.
+	 */
+	ODB_COUNT_OBJECTS_APPROXIMATE = (1 << 0),
+};
+
+/*
+ * Count the number of objects in the given object database. This object count
+ * may double-count objects that are stored in multiple backends, or which are
+ * stored multiple times in a single backend.
+ *
+ * Returns 0 on success, a negative error code otherwise. The number of objects
+ * will be assigned to the `out` pointer on success.
+ */
+int odb_count_objects(struct object_database *odb,
+		      enum odb_count_objects_flags flags,
+		      unsigned long *out);
+
 enum {
 	/*
 	 * By default, `odb_write_object()` does not actually write anything
diff --git a/odb/source-files.c b/odb/source-files.c
index 14cb9adeca..c08d8993e3 100644
--- a/odb/source-files.c
+++ b/odb/source-files.c
@@ -93,6 +93,35 @@ static int odb_source_files_for_each_object(struct odb_source *source,
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int odb_source_files_count_objects(struct odb_source *source,
+					  enum odb_count_objects_flags flags,
+					  unsigned long *out)
+{
+	struct odb_source_files *files = odb_source_files_downcast(source);
+	unsigned long count;
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = packfile_store_count_objects(files->packed, flags, &count);
+	if (ret < 0)
+		goto out;
+
+	if (!(flags & ODB_COUNT_OBJECTS_APPROXIMATE)) {
+		unsigned long loose_count;
+
+		ret = odb_source_loose_count_objects(source, flags, &loose_count);
+		if (ret < 0)
+			goto out;
+
+		count += loose_count;
+	}
+
+	*out = count;
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static int odb_source_files_freshen_object(struct odb_source *source,
 					   const struct object_id *oid)
 {
@@ -220,6 +249,7 @@ struct odb_source_files *odb_source_files_new(struct object_database *odb,
 	files->base.read_object_info = odb_source_files_read_object_info;
 	files->base.read_object_stream = odb_source_files_read_object_stream;
 	files->base.for_each_object = odb_source_files_for_each_object;
+	files->base.count_objects = odb_source_files_count_objects;
 	files->base.freshen_object = odb_source_files_freshen_object;
 	files->base.write_object = odb_source_files_write_object;
 	files->base.write_object_stream = odb_source_files_write_object_stream;
diff --git a/odb/source.h b/odb/source.h
index caac558149..96c906e7a1 100644
--- a/odb/source.h
+++ b/odb/source.h
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #define ODB_SOURCE_H
 
 #include "object.h"
+#include "odb.h"
 
 enum odb_source_type {
 	/*
@@ -14,61 +15,10 @@ enum odb_source_type {
 	ODB_SOURCE_FILES,
 };
 
-/* Flags that can be passed to `odb_read_object_info_extended()`. */
-enum object_info_flags {
-	/* Invoke lookup_replace_object() on the given hash. */
-	OBJECT_INFO_LOOKUP_REPLACE = (1 << 0),
-
-	/* Do not reprepare object sources when the first lookup has failed. */
-	OBJECT_INFO_QUICK = (1 << 1),
-
-	/*
-	 * Do not attempt to fetch the object if missing (even if fetch_is_missing is
-	 * nonzero).
-	 */
-	OBJECT_INFO_SKIP_FETCH_OBJECT = (1 << 2),
-
-	/* Die if object corruption (not just an object being missing) was detected. */
-	OBJECT_INFO_DIE_IF_CORRUPT = (1 << 3),
-
-	/*
-	 * We have already tried reading the object, but it couldn't be found
-	 * via any of the attached sources, and are now doing a second read.
-	 * This second read asks the individual sources to also evaluate
-	 * whether any on-disk state may have changed that may have caused the
-	 * object to appear.
-	 *
-	 * This flag is for internal use, only. The second read only occurs
-	 * when `OBJECT_INFO_QUICK` was not passed.
-	 */
-	OBJECT_INFO_SECOND_READ = (1 << 4),
-
-	/*
-	 * This is meant for bulk prefetching of missing blobs in a partial
-	 * clone. Implies OBJECT_INFO_SKIP_FETCH_OBJECT and OBJECT_INFO_QUICK.
-	 */
-	OBJECT_INFO_FOR_PREFETCH = (OBJECT_INFO_SKIP_FETCH_OBJECT | OBJECT_INFO_QUICK),
-};
-
 struct object_id;
-struct object_info;
 struct odb_read_stream;
-struct odb_transaction;
-struct odb_write_stream;
 struct strvec;
 
-/*
- * A callback function that can be used to iterate through objects. If given,
- * the optional `oi` parameter will be populated the same as if you would call
- * `odb_read_object_info()`.
- *
- * Returning a non-zero error code will cause iteration to abort. The error
- * code will be propagated.
- */
-typedef int (*odb_for_each_object_cb)(const struct object_id *oid,
-				      struct object_info *oi,
-				      void *cb_data);
-
 /*
  * The source is the part of the object database that stores the actual
  * objects. It thus encapsulates the logic to read and write the specific
@@ -192,6 +142,21 @@ struct odb_source {
 			       void *cb_data,
 			       unsigned flags);
 
+	/*
+	 * This callback is expected to count objects in the given object
+	 * database source. The callback function does not have to guarantee
+	 * that only unique objects are counted. The result shall be assigned
+	 * to the `out` pointer.
+	 *
+	 * Accepts `enum odb_count_objects_flag` flags to alter the behaviour.
+	 *
+	 * The callback is expected to return 0 on success, or a negative error
+	 * code otherwise.
+	 */
+	int (*count_objects)(struct odb_source *source,
+			     enum odb_count_objects_flags flags,
+			     unsigned long *out);
+
 	/*
 	 * This callback is expected to freshen the given object so that its
 	 * last access time is set to the current time. This is used to ensure
@@ -383,6 +348,18 @@ static inline int odb_source_for_each_object(struct odb_source *source,
 	return source->for_each_object(source, request, cb, cb_data, flags);
 }
 
+/*
+ * Count the number of objects in the given object database source.
+ *
+ * Returns 0 on success, a negative error code otherwise.
+ */
+static inline int odb_source_count_objects(struct odb_source *source,
+					   enum odb_count_objects_flags flags,
+					   unsigned long *out)
+{
+	return source->count_objects(source, flags, out);
+}
+
 /*
  * Freshen an object in the object database by updating its timestamp.
  * Returns 1 in case the object has been freshened, 0 in case the object does
diff --git a/odb/streaming.c b/odb/streaming.c
index a4355cd245..5927a12954 100644
--- a/odb/streaming.c
+++ b/odb/streaming.c
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 #include "environment.h"
 #include "repository.h"
 #include "odb.h"
+#include "odb/source.h"
 #include "odb/streaming.h"
 #include "replace-object.h"
 
diff --git a/packfile.c b/packfile.c
index 215a23e42b..d4de9f3ffe 100644
--- a/packfile.c
+++ b/packfile.c
@@ -1101,37 +1101,35 @@ struct packfile_list_entry *packfile_store_get_packs(struct packfile_store *stor
 	return store->packs.head;
 }
 
-/*
- * Give a fast, rough count of the number of objects in the repository. This
- * ignores loose objects completely. If you have a lot of them, then either
- * you should repack because your performance will be awful, or they are
- * all unreachable objects about to be pruned, in which case they're not really
- * interesting as a measure of repo size in the first place.
- */
-unsigned long repo_approximate_object_count(struct repository *r)
+int packfile_store_count_objects(struct packfile_store *store,
+				 enum odb_count_objects_flags flags UNUSED,
+				 unsigned long *out)
 {
-	if (!r->objects->approximate_object_count_valid) {
-		struct odb_source *source;
-		unsigned long count = 0;
-		struct packed_git *p;
+	struct packfile_list_entry *e;
+	struct multi_pack_index *m;
+	unsigned long count = 0;
+	int ret;
 
-		odb_prepare_alternates(r->objects);
+	m = get_multi_pack_index(store->source);
+	if (m)
+		count += m->num_objects + m->num_objects_in_base;
 
-		for (source = r->objects->sources; source; source = source->next) {
-			struct multi_pack_index *m = get_multi_pack_index(source);
-			if (m)
-				count += m->num_objects + m->num_objects_in_base;
+	for (e = packfile_store_get_packs(store); e; e = e->next) {
+		if (e->pack->multi_pack_index)
+			continue;
+		if (open_pack_index(e->pack)) {
+			ret = -1;
+			goto out;
 		}
 
-		repo_for_each_pack(r, p) {
-			if (p->multi_pack_index || open_pack_index(p))
-				continue;
-			count += p->num_objects;
-		}
-		r->objects->approximate_object_count = count;
-		r->objects->approximate_object_count_valid = 1;
+		count += e->pack->num_objects;
 	}
-	return r->objects->approximate_object_count;
+
+	*out = count;
+	ret = 0;
+
+out:
+	return ret;
 }
 
 unsigned long unpack_object_header_buffer(const unsigned char *buf,
diff --git a/packfile.h b/packfile.h
index 8b04a258a7..a16ec3950d 100644
--- a/packfile.h
+++ b/packfile.h
@@ -268,6 +268,16 @@ enum kept_pack_type {
 	KEPT_PACK_IN_CORE = (1 << 1),
 };
 
+/*
+ * Count the number objects contained in the given packfile store. If
+ * successful, the number of objects will be written to the `out` pointer.
+ *
+ * Return 0 on success, a negative error code otherwise.
+ */
+int packfile_store_count_objects(struct packfile_store *store,
+				 enum odb_count_objects_flags flags,
+				 unsigned long *out);
+
 /*
  * Retrieve the cache of kept packs from the given packfile store. Accepts a
  * combination of `kept_pack_type` flags. The cache is computed on demand and
@@ -365,12 +375,6 @@ int packfile_store_for_each_object(struct packfile_store *store,
 #define PACKDIR_FILE_GARBAGE 4
 extern void (*report_garbage)(unsigned seen_bits, const char *path);
 
-/*
- * Give a rough count of objects in the repository. This sacrifices accuracy
- * for speed.
- */
-unsigned long repo_approximate_object_count(struct repository *r);
-
 void pack_report(struct repository *repo);
 
 /*
diff --git a/repository.c b/repository.c
index 0b8f7ec200..9e5537f539 100644
--- a/repository.c
+++ b/repository.c
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #include "repository.h"
 #include "hook.h"
 #include "odb.h"
+#include "odb/source.h"
 #include "config.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
 #include "object.h"
diff --git a/submodule-config.c b/submodule-config.c
index 1f19fe2077..72a46b7a54 100644
--- a/submodule-config.c
+++ b/submodule-config.c
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "object-name.h"
 #include "odb.h"
+#include "odb/source.h"
 #include "parse-options.h"
 #include "thread-utils.h"
 #include "tree-walk.h"
diff --git a/tmp-objdir.c b/tmp-objdir.c
index e436eed07e..d199d39e7c 100644
--- a/tmp-objdir.c
+++ b/tmp-objdir.c
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 #include "strvec.h"
 #include "quote.h"
 #include "odb.h"
+#include "odb/source.h"
 #include "repository.h"
 
 struct tmp_objdir {