diff --git a/spec/resource-pool-spec.js b/spec/resource-pool-spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..27893360a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/resource-pool-spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+/** @babel */
+
+import ResourcePool from '../src/resource-pool'
+
+import {it} from './async-spec-helpers'
+
+describe('ResourcePool', () => {
+  let queue
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    queue = new ResourcePool([{}])
+  })
+
+  describe('.enqueue', () => {
+    it('calls the enqueued function', async () => {
+      let called = false
+      await queue.enqueue(() => {
+        called = true
+        return Promise.resolve()
+      })
+      expect(called).toBe(true)
+    })
+
+    it('forwards values from the inner promise', async () => {
+      const result = await queue.enqueue(() => Promise.resolve(42))
+      expect(result).toBe(42)
+    })
+
+    it('forwards errors from the inner promise', async () => {
+      let threw = false
+      try {
+        await queue.enqueue(() => Promise.reject(new Error('down with the sickness')))
+      } catch (e) {
+        threw = true
+      }
+      expect(threw).toBe(true)
+    })
+
+    it('continues to dequeue work after a promise has been rejected', async () => {
+      try {
+        await queue.enqueue(() => Promise.reject(new Error('down with the sickness')))
+      } catch (e) {}
+
+      const result = await queue.enqueue(() => Promise.resolve(42))
+      expect(result).toBe(42)
+    })
+
+    it('queues up work', async () => {
+      let resolve = null
+      queue.enqueue(() => {
+        return new Promise((resolve_, reject) => {
+          resolve = resolve_
+        })
+      })
+
+      expect(queue.getQueueDepth()).toBe(0)
+
+      queue.enqueue(() => new Promise((resolve, reject) => {}))
+
+      expect(queue.getQueueDepth()).toBe(1)
+      resolve()
+
+      waitsFor(() => queue.getQueueDepth() === 0)
+    })
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/git-repository-async.js b/src/git-repository-async.js
index 17d293c14..e45c1e47e 100644
--- a/src/git-repository-async.js
+++ b/src/git-repository-async.js
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import fs from 'fs-plus'
 import path from 'path'
 import Git from 'nodegit'
+import ResourcePool from './resource-pool'
 import {Emitter, CompositeDisposable, Disposable} from 'event-kit'
 
 const modifiedStatusFlags = Git.Status.STATUS.WT_MODIFIED | Git.Status.STATUS.INDEX_MODIFIED | Git.Status.STATUS.WT_DELETED | Git.Status.STATUS.INDEX_DELETED | Git.Status.STATUS.WT_TYPECHANGE | Git.Status.STATUS.INDEX_TYPECHANGE
@@ -38,7 +39,8 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   }
 
   constructor (_path, options = {}) {
-    Git.enableThreadSafety()
+    // We'll serialize our access manually.
+    Git.disableThreadSafety()
 
     this.emitter = new Emitter()
     this.subscriptions = new CompositeDisposable()
@@ -50,6 +52,11 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
     this._openExactPath = options.openExactPath || false
 
     this.repoPromise = this.openRepository()
+    // NB: We don't currently _use_ the pooled object. But by giving it one
+    // thing, we're really just serializing all the work. Down the road, we
+    // could open multiple connections to the repository.
+    this.repoPool = new ResourcePool([this.repoPromise])
+
     this.isCaseInsensitive = fs.isCaseInsensitive()
     this.upstream = {}
     this.submodules = {}
@@ -81,6 +88,7 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
       this.emitter.dispose()
       this.emitter = null
     }
+
     if (this.subscriptions) {
       this.subscriptions.dispose()
       this.subscriptions = null
@@ -260,10 +268,12 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   // Public: Returns a {Promise} which resolves to whether the given branch
   // exists.
   hasBranch (branch) {
-    return this.getRepo()
-      .then(repo => repo.getBranch(branch))
-      .then(branch => branch != null)
-      .catch(_ => false)
+    return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+      return this.getRepo()
+        .then(repo => repo.getBranch(branch))
+        .then(branch => branch != null)
+        .catch(_ => false)
+    })
   }
 
   // Public: Retrieves a shortened version of the HEAD reference value.
@@ -277,9 +287,11 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   //
   // Returns a {Promise} which resolves to a {String}.
   getShortHead (_path) {
-    return this.getRepo(_path)
-      .then(repo => repo.getCurrentBranch())
-      .then(branch => branch.shorthand())
+    return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+      return this.getRepo(_path)
+        .then(repo => repo.getCurrentBranch())
+        .then(branch => branch.shorthand())
+    })
   }
 
   // Public: Is the given path a submodule in the repository?
@@ -289,14 +301,18 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   // Returns a {Promise} that resolves true if the given path is a submodule in
   // the repository.
   isSubmodule (_path) {
-    return this.getRepo()
-      .then(repo => repo.openIndex())
-      .then(index => Promise.all([index, this.relativizeToWorkingDirectory(_path)]))
-      .then(([index, relativePath]) => {
-        const entry = index.getByPath(relativePath)
-        if (!entry) return false
+    return this.relativizeToWorkingDirectory(_path)
+      .then(relativePath => {
+        return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+          return this.getRepo()
+            .then(repo => repo.openIndex())
+            .then(index => {
+              const entry = index.getByPath(relativePath)
+              if (!entry) return false
 
-        return entry.mode === submoduleMode
+              return entry.mode === submoduleMode
+            })
+        })
       })
   }
 
@@ -311,16 +327,18 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   //   * `ahead`  The {Number} of commits ahead.
   //   * `behind` The {Number} of commits behind.
   getAheadBehindCount (reference, _path) {
-    return this.getRepo(_path)
-      .then(repo => Promise.all([repo, repo.getBranch(reference)]))
-      .then(([repo, local]) => {
-        const upstream = Git.Branch.upstream(local)
-        return Promise.all([repo, local, upstream])
-      })
-      .then(([repo, local, upstream]) => {
-        return Git.Graph.aheadBehind(repo, local.target(), upstream.target())
-      })
-      .catch(_ => ({ahead: 0, behind: 0}))
+    return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+      return this.getRepo(_path)
+        .then(repo => Promise.all([repo, repo.getBranch(reference)]))
+        .then(([repo, local]) => {
+          const upstream = Git.Branch.upstream(local)
+          return Promise.all([repo, local, upstream])
+        })
+        .then(([repo, local, upstream]) => {
+          return Git.Graph.aheadBehind(repo, local.target(), upstream.target())
+        })
+        .catch(_ => ({ahead: 0, behind: 0}))
+    })
   }
 
   // Public: Get the cached ahead/behind commit counts for the current branch's
@@ -352,10 +370,12 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   // Returns a {Promise} which resolves to the {String} git configuration value
   // specified by the key.
   getConfigValue (key, _path) {
-    return this.getRepo(_path)
-      .then(repo => repo.configSnapshot())
-      .then(config => config.getStringBuf(key))
-      .catch(_ => null)
+    return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+      return this.getRepo(_path)
+        .then(repo => repo.configSnapshot())
+        .then(config => config.getStringBuf(key))
+        .catch(_ => null)
+    })
   }
 
   // Public: Get the URL for the 'origin' remote.
@@ -378,9 +398,11 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   // Returns a {Promise} which resolves to a {String} branch name such as
   // `refs/remotes/origin/master`.
   getUpstreamBranch (_path) {
-    return this.getRepo(_path)
-      .then(repo => repo.getCurrentBranch())
-      .then(branch => Git.Branch.upstream(branch))
+    return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+      return this.getRepo(_path)
+        .then(repo => repo.getCurrentBranch())
+        .then(branch => Git.Branch.upstream(branch))
+    })
   }
 
   // Public: Gets all the local and remote references.
@@ -393,23 +415,25 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   //  * `remotes` An {Array} of remote reference names.
   //  * `tags`    An {Array} of tag reference names.
   getReferences (_path) {
-    return this.getRepo(_path)
-      .then(repo => repo.getReferences(Git.Reference.TYPE.LISTALL))
-      .then(refs => {
-        const heads = []
-        const remotes = []
-        const tags = []
-        for (const ref of refs) {
-          if (ref.isTag()) {
-            tags.push(ref.name())
-          } else if (ref.isRemote()) {
-            remotes.push(ref.name())
-          } else if (ref.isBranch()) {
-            heads.push(ref.name())
+    return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+      return this.getRepo(_path)
+        .then(repo => repo.getReferences(Git.Reference.TYPE.LISTALL))
+        .then(refs => {
+          const heads = []
+          const remotes = []
+          const tags = []
+          for (const ref of refs) {
+            if (ref.isTag()) {
+              tags.push(ref.name())
+            } else if (ref.isRemote()) {
+              remotes.push(ref.name())
+            } else if (ref.isBranch()) {
+              heads.push(ref.name())
+            }
           }
-        }
-        return {heads, remotes, tags}
-      })
+          return {heads, remotes, tags}
+        })
+    })
   }
 
   // Public: Get the SHA for the given reference.
@@ -421,9 +445,11 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   // Returns a {Promise} which resolves to the current {String} SHA for the
   // given reference.
   getReferenceTarget (reference, _path) {
-    return this.getRepo(_path)
-      .then(repo => Git.Reference.nameToId(repo, reference))
-      .then(oid => oid.tostrS())
+    return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+      return this.getRepo(_path)
+        .then(repo => Git.Reference.nameToId(repo, reference))
+        .then(oid => oid.tostrS())
+    })
   }
 
   // Reading Status
@@ -460,12 +486,17 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   // Returns a {Promise} which resolves to a {Boolean} that's true if the `path`
   // is ignored.
   isPathIgnored (_path) {
-    return Promise.all([this.getRepo(), this.getWorkingDirectory()])
-      .then(([repo, wd]) => {
-        const relativePath = this.relativize(_path, wd)
-        return Git.Ignore.pathIsIgnored(repo, relativePath)
+    return this.getWorkingDirectory()
+      .then(wd => {
+        return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+          return this.getRepo()
+            .then(repo => {
+              const relativePath = this.relativize(_path, wd)
+              return Git.Ignore.pathIsIgnored(repo, relativePath)
+            })
+            .then(ignored => Boolean(ignored))
+        })
       })
-      .then(ignored => Boolean(ignored))
   }
 
   // Get the status of a directory in the repository's working directory.
@@ -501,8 +532,8 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   // status bit for the path.
   refreshStatusForPath (_path) {
     let relativePath
-    return Promise.all([this.getRepo(), this.getWorkingDirectory()])
-      .then(([repo, wd]) => {
+    return this.getWorkingDirectory()
+      .then(wd => {
         relativePath = this.relativize(_path, wd)
         return this._getStatus([relativePath])
       })
@@ -609,34 +640,39 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   //   * `added` The {Number} of added lines.
   //   * `deleted` The {Number} of deleted lines.
   getDiffStats (_path) {
-    return this.getRepo(_path)
-      .then(repo => Promise.all([repo, repo.getHeadCommit()]))
-      .then(([repo, headCommit]) => Promise.all([repo, headCommit.getTree(), this.getWorkingDirectory(_path)]))
-      .then(([repo, tree, wd]) => {
-        const options = new Git.DiffOptions()
-        options.contextLines = 0
-        options.flags = Git.Diff.OPTION.DISABLE_PATHSPEC_MATCH
-        options.pathspec = this.relativize(_path, wd)
-        if (process.platform === 'win32') {
-          // Ignore eol of line differences on windows so that files checked in
-          // as LF don't report every line modified when the text contains CRLF
-          // endings.
-          options.flags |= Git.Diff.OPTION.IGNORE_WHITESPACE_EOL
-        }
-        return Git.Diff.treeToWorkdir(repo, tree, options)
-      })
-      .then(diff => this._getDiffLines(diff))
-      .then(lines => {
-        const stats = {added: 0, deleted: 0}
-        for (const line of lines) {
-          const origin = line.origin()
-          if (origin === Git.Diff.LINE.ADDITION) {
-            stats.added++
-          } else if (origin === Git.Diff.LINE.DELETION) {
-            stats.deleted++
-          }
-        }
-        return stats
+    return this.getWorkingDirectory(_path)
+      .then(wd => {
+        return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+          return this.getRepo(_path)
+            .then(repo => Promise.all([repo, repo.getHeadCommit()]))
+            .then(([repo, headCommit]) => Promise.all([repo, headCommit.getTree()]))
+            .then(([repo, tree]) => {
+              const options = new Git.DiffOptions()
+              options.contextLines = 0
+              options.flags = Git.Diff.OPTION.DISABLE_PATHSPEC_MATCH
+              options.pathspec = this.relativize(_path, wd)
+              if (process.platform === 'win32') {
+                // Ignore eol of line differences on windows so that files checked in
+                // as LF don't report every line modified when the text contains CRLF
+                // endings.
+                options.flags |= Git.Diff.OPTION.IGNORE_WHITESPACE_EOL
+              }
+              return Git.Diff.treeToWorkdir(repo, tree, options)
+            })
+            .then(diff => this._getDiffLines(diff))
+            .then(lines => {
+              const stats = {added: 0, deleted: 0}
+              for (const line of lines) {
+                const origin = line.origin()
+                if (origin === Git.Diff.LINE.ADDITION) {
+                  stats.added++
+                } else if (origin === Git.Diff.LINE.DELETION) {
+                  stats.deleted++
+                }
+              }
+              return stats
+            })
+        })
       })
   }
 
@@ -652,24 +688,29 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   //   * `oldLines` The {Number} of lines in the old hunk.
   //   * `newLines` The {Number} of lines in the new hunk
   getLineDiffs (_path, text) {
-    let relativePath = null
-    return Promise.all([this.getRepo(_path), this.getWorkingDirectory(_path)])
-      .then(([repo, wd]) => {
-        relativePath = this.relativize(_path, wd)
-        return repo.getHeadCommit()
-      })
-      .then(commit => commit.getEntry(relativePath))
-      .then(entry => entry.getBlob())
-      .then(blob => {
-        const options = new Git.DiffOptions()
-        options.contextLines = 0
-        if (process.platform === 'win32') {
-          // Ignore eol of line differences on windows so that files checked in
-          // as LF don't report every line modified when the text contains CRLF
-          // endings.
-          options.flags = Git.Diff.OPTION.IGNORE_WHITESPACE_EOL
-        }
-        return this._diffBlobToBuffer(blob, text, options)
+    return this.getWorkingDirectory(_path)
+      .then(wd => {
+        let relativePath = null
+        return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+          return this.getRepo(_path)
+            .then(repo => {
+              relativePath = this.relativize(_path, wd)
+              return repo.getHeadCommit()
+            })
+            .then(commit => commit.getEntry(relativePath))
+            .then(entry => entry.getBlob())
+            .then(blob => {
+              const options = new Git.DiffOptions()
+              options.contextLines = 0
+              if (process.platform === 'win32') {
+                // Ignore eol of line differences on windows so that files checked in
+                // as LF don't report every line modified when the text contains CRLF
+                // endings.
+                options.flags = Git.Diff.OPTION.IGNORE_WHITESPACE_EOL
+              }
+              return this._diffBlobToBuffer(blob, text, options)
+            })
+        })
       })
   }
 
@@ -691,12 +732,17 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   // Returns a {Promise} that resolves or rejects depending on whether the
   // method was successful.
   checkoutHead (_path) {
-    return Promise.all([this.getRepo(_path), this.getWorkingDirectory(_path)])
-      .then(([repo, wd]) => {
-        const checkoutOptions = new Git.CheckoutOptions()
-        checkoutOptions.paths = [this.relativize(_path, wd)]
-        checkoutOptions.checkoutStrategy = Git.Checkout.STRATEGY.FORCE | Git.Checkout.STRATEGY.DISABLE_PATHSPEC_MATCH
-        return Git.Checkout.head(repo, checkoutOptions)
+    return this.getWorkingDirectory(_path)
+      .then(wd => {
+        return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+          return this.getRepo(_path)
+            .then(repo => {
+              const checkoutOptions = new Git.CheckoutOptions()
+              checkoutOptions.paths = [this.relativize(_path, wd)]
+              checkoutOptions.checkoutStrategy = Git.Checkout.STRATEGY.FORCE | Git.Checkout.STRATEGY.DISABLE_PATHSPEC_MATCH
+              return Git.Checkout.head(repo, checkoutOptions)
+            })
+        })
       })
       .then(() => this.refreshStatusForPath(_path))
   }
@@ -709,17 +755,19 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   //
   // Returns a {Promise} that resolves if the method was successful.
   checkoutReference (reference, create) {
-    return this.getRepo()
-      .then(repo => repo.checkoutBranch(reference))
-      .catch(error => {
-        if (create) {
-          return this._createBranch(reference)
-            .then(_ => this.checkoutReference(reference, false))
-        } else {
-          throw error
-        }
-      })
-      .then(_ => null)
+    return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+      return this.getRepo()
+        .then(repo => repo.checkoutBranch(reference))
+    })
+    .catch(error => {
+      if (create) {
+        return this._createBranch(reference)
+          .then(_ => this.checkoutReference(reference, false))
+      } else {
+        throw error
+      }
+    })
+    .then(_ => null)
   }
 
   // Private
@@ -745,9 +793,11 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   // Returns a {Promise} which resolves to a {NodeGit.Ref} reference to the
   // created branch.
   _createBranch (name) {
-    return this.getRepo()
-      .then(repo => Promise.all([repo, repo.getHeadCommit()]))
-      .then(([repo, commit]) => repo.createBranch(name, commit))
+    return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+      return this.getRepo()
+        .then(repo => Promise.all([repo, repo.getHeadCommit()]))
+        .then(([repo, commit]) => repo.createBranch(name, commit))
+    })
   }
 
   // Get all the hunks in the diff.
@@ -804,14 +854,16 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   // Returns a {Promise} which resolves to a {boolean} indicating whether the
   // branch name changed.
   _refreshBranch () {
-    return this.getRepo()
-      .then(repo => repo.getCurrentBranch())
-      .then(ref => ref.name())
-      .then(branchName => {
-        const changed = branchName !== this.branch
-        this.branch = branchName
-        return changed
-      })
+    return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+      return this.getRepo()
+        .then(repo => repo.getCurrentBranch())
+        .then(ref => ref.name())
+        .then(branchName => {
+          const changed = branchName !== this.branch
+          this.branch = branchName
+          return changed
+        })
+    })
   }
 
   // Refresh the cached ahead/behind count with the given branch.
@@ -1077,18 +1129,20 @@ export default class GitRepositoryAsync {
   //
   // Returns a {Promise} which resolves to an {Array} of {NodeGit.StatusFile}
   // statuses for the paths.
-  _getStatus (paths, repo) {
-    return this.getRepo()
-      .then(repo => {
-        const opts = {
-          flags: Git.Status.OPT.INCLUDE_UNTRACKED | Git.Status.OPT.RECURSE_UNTRACKED_DIRS
-        }
+  _getStatus (paths) {
+    return this.repoPool.enqueue(() => {
+      return this.getRepo()
+        .then(repo => {
+          const opts = {
+            flags: Git.Status.OPT.INCLUDE_UNTRACKED | Git.Status.OPT.RECURSE_UNTRACKED_DIRS
+          }
 
-        if (paths) {
-          opts.pathspec = paths
-        }
+          if (paths) {
+            opts.pathspec = paths
+          }
 
-        return repo.getStatusExt(opts)
-      })
+          return repo.getStatusExt(opts)
+        })
+    })
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/resource-pool.js b/src/resource-pool.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ae7cb71d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/resource-pool.js
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+/** @babel */
+
+// Manages a pool of some resource.
+export default class ResourcePool {
+  constructor (pool) {
+    this.pool = pool
+
+    this.queue = []
+  }
+
+  // Enqueue the given function. The function will be given an object from the
+  // pool. The function must return a {Promise}.
+  enqueue (fn) {
+    let resolve = null
+    let reject = null
+    const wrapperPromise = new Promise((resolve_, reject_) => {
+      resolve = resolve_
+      reject = reject_
+    })
+
+    this.queue.push(this.wrapFunction(fn, resolve, reject))
+
+    this.dequeueIfAble()
+
+    return wrapperPromise
+  }
+
+  wrapFunction (fn, resolve, reject) {
+    return (resource) => {
+      const promise = fn(resource)
+      promise
+        .then(result => {
+          resolve(result)
+          this.taskDidComplete(resource)
+        }, error => {
+          reject(error)
+          this.taskDidComplete(resource)
+        })
+    }
+  }
+
+  taskDidComplete (resource) {
+    this.pool.push(resource)
+
+    this.dequeueIfAble()
+  }
+
+  dequeueIfAble () {
+    if (!this.pool.length || !this.queue.length) return
+
+    const fn = this.queue.shift()
+    const resource = this.pool.shift()
+    fn(resource)
+  }
+
+  getQueueDepth () { return this.queue.length }
+}