diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 5a5581ce4d..53e491a968 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ git-annex (10.20230408) UNRELEASED; urgency=medium
     control characters, besides the escape sequences it already rejected.
   * init: Avoid autoenabling special remotes that have control characters
     in their names.
+  * whereused: Fix display of branch:file when run in a subdirectory.
 
  -- Joey Hess <id@joeyh.name>  Sat, 08 Apr 2023 13:57:18 -0400
 
diff --git a/Command/WhereUsed.hs b/Command/WhereUsed.hs
index 2ab4b568f7..5f01c9c2a6 100644
--- a/Command/WhereUsed.hs
+++ b/Command/WhereUsed.hs
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ findHistorical key = do
 	process fs a = or <$> forM fs a
 
 	displayreffile r f = do
-		let tf = asTopFilePath f
+		tf <- inRepo $ toTopFilePath f
 		display key (descBranchFilePath (BranchFilePath r tf))
 		return True