1 files changed, 1 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/notes.c b/notes.c
index c763a21eef..2be4d7f3fd 100644
--- a/notes.c
+++ b/notes.c
@@ -1006,7 +1006,7 @@ void init_notes(struct notes_tree *t, const char *notes_ref,
 	t->root = (struct int_node *) xcalloc(1, sizeof(struct int_node));
 	t->first_non_note = NULL;
 	t->prev_non_note = NULL;
-	t->ref = notes_ref ? xstrdup(notes_ref) : NULL;
+	t->ref = xstrdup_or_null(notes_ref);
 	t->combine_notes = combine_notes;
 	t->initialized = 1;
 	t->dirty = 0;