diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/DescribeTest.java b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/DescribeTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4ab849b0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/DescribeTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2013, Matthias Sohn <matthias.sohn@sap.com>
+ * and other copyright owners as documented in the project's IP log.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available
+ * under the terms of the Eclipse Distribution License v1.0 which
+ * accompanies this distribution, is reproduced below, and is
+ * available at http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php
+ *
+ * All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or
+ * without modification, are permitted provided that the following
+ * conditions are met:
+ *
+ * - Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
+ *   notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+ *
+ * - Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
+ *   copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following
+ *   disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided
+ *   with the distribution.
+ *
+ * - Neither the name of the Eclipse Foundation, Inc. nor the
+ *   names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote
+ *   products derived from this software without specific prior
+ *   written permission.
+ *
+ * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND
+ * CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
+ * INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
+ * OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
+ * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR
+ * CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
+ * SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
+ * NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
+ * LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
+ * CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,
+ * STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
+ * ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF
+ * ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
+ */
+package org.eclipse.jgit.pgm;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertArrayEquals;
+
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.Git;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.CLIRepositoryTestCase;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+public class DescribeTest extends CLIRepositoryTestCase {
+
+	private Git git;
+
+	@Override
+	@Before
+	public void setUp() throws Exception {
+		super.setUp();
+		git = new Git(db);
+	}
+
+	private void initialCommitAndTag() throws Exception {
+		git.commit().setMessage("initial commit").call();
+		git.tag().setName("v1.0").call();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testNoHead() throws Exception {
+		assertArrayEquals(
+				new String[] { "fatal: No names found, cannot describe anything." },
+				execute("git describe"));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testHeadNoTag() throws Exception {
+		git.commit().setMessage("initial commit").call();
+		assertArrayEquals(
+				new String[] { "fatal: No names found, cannot describe anything." },
+				execute("git describe"));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testDescribeTag() throws Exception {
+		initialCommitAndTag();
+		assertArrayEquals(new String[] { "v1.0", "" },
+				execute("git describe HEAD"));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testDescribeCommit() throws Exception {
+		initialCommitAndTag();
+		writeTrashFile("greeting", "Hello, world!");
+		git.add().addFilepattern("greeting").call();
+		git.commit().setMessage("2nd commit").call();
+		assertArrayEquals(new String[] { "v1.0-1-g56f6ceb", "" },
+				execute("git describe"));
+	}
+}
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/META-INF/services/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.TextBuiltin b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/META-INF/services/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.TextBuiltin
index 841f4bb0e..2ca6009cd 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/META-INF/services/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.TextBuiltin
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/META-INF/services/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.TextBuiltin
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.Clone
 org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.Commit
 org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.Config
 org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.Daemon
+org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.Describe
 org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.Diff
 org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.DiffTree
 org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.Fetch
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/resources/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/internal/CLIText.properties b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/resources/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/internal/CLIText.properties
index f69611cc0..4c36833fa 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/resources/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/internal/CLIText.properties
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/resources/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/internal/CLIText.properties
@@ -117,6 +117,7 @@ metaVar_version=VERSION
 mostCommonlyUsedCommandsAre=The most commonly used commands are:
 needApprovalToDestroyCurrentRepository=Need approval to destroy current repository
 noGitRepositoryConfigured=No Git repository configured.
+noNamesFound=No names found, cannot describe anything.
 noSuchFile=no such file: {0}
 noSuchRemoteRef=no such remote ref: ''{0}''
 noTREESectionInIndex=no 'TREE' section in index
@@ -186,6 +187,7 @@ usage_CommitPaths=see --only
 usage_CreateABareRepository=Create a bare repository
 usage_CreateATag=Create a tag
 usage_CreateAnEmptyGitRepository=Create an empty git repository
+usage_Describe=Show the most recent tag that is reachable from a commit
 usage_DiffAlgorithms=Test performance of jgit's diff algorithms
 usage_DisplayTheVersionOfJgit=Display the version of jgit
 usage_Gc=Cleanup unnecessary files and optimize the local repository
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/src/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/Describe.java b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/src/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/Describe.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..52e8809be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/src/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/Describe.java
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2013, Matthias Sohn <matthias.sohn@sap.com>
+ * and other copyright owners as documented in the project's IP log.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available
+ * under the terms of the Eclipse Distribution License v1.0 which
+ * accompanies this distribution, is reproduced below, and is
+ * available at http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php
+ *
+ * All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or
+ * without modification, are permitted provided that the following
+ * conditions are met:
+ *
+ * - Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
+ *   notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+ *
+ * - Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
+ *   copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following
+ *   disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided
+ *   with the distribution.
+ *
+ * - Neither the name of the Eclipse Foundation, Inc. nor the
+ *   names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote
+ *   products derived from this software without specific prior
+ *   written permission.
+ *
+ * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND
+ * CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
+ * INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
+ * OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
+ * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR
+ * CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
+ * SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
+ * NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
+ * LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
+ * CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,
+ * STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
+ * ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF
+ * ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
+ */
+package org.eclipse.jgit.pgm;
+
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.DescribeCommand;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.Git;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.RefNotFoundException;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.ObjectId;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.pgm.internal.CLIText;
+import org.kohsuke.args4j.Argument;
+
+@Command(common = true, usage = "usage_Describe")
+class Describe extends TextBuiltin {
+
+	@Argument(index = 0, metaVar = "metaVar_treeish")
+	private ObjectId tree;
+
+	@Override
+	protected void run() throws Exception {
+		DescribeCommand cmd = new Git(db).describe();
+		if (tree != null)
+			cmd.setTarget(tree);
+		String result = null;
+		try {
+			result = cmd.call();
+		} catch (RefNotFoundException e) {
+			throw die(CLIText.get().noNamesFound, e);
+		}
+		if (result == null)
+			throw die(CLIText.get().noNamesFound);
+
+		outw.println(result);
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/src/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/internal/CLIText.java b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/src/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/internal/CLIText.java
index a8bf3d8cc..de8675e0f 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/src/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/internal/CLIText.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit.pgm/src/org/eclipse/jgit/pgm/internal/CLIText.java
@@ -180,6 +180,7 @@ public class CLIText extends TranslationBundle {
 	/***/ public String mostCommonlyUsedCommandsAre;
 	/***/ public String needApprovalToDestroyCurrentRepository;
 	/***/ public String noGitRepositoryConfigured;
+	/***/ public String noNamesFound;
 	/***/ public String noSuchFile;
 	/***/ public String noSuchRemoteRef;
 	/***/ public String noTREESectionInIndex;