diff --git a/Command/InitRemote.hs b/Command/InitRemote.hs
index 39ec366539..4c2fc3a078 100644
--- a/Command/InitRemote.hs
+++ b/Command/InitRemote.hs
@@ -44,14 +44,14 @@ start params = notBareRepo $ do
 	where
 		ws = words params
 		name = head ws
-		config = Remote.keyValToMap $ tail ws
+		config = Remote.keyValToConfig $ tail ws
 
-perform :: RemoteClass.RemoteType Annex -> UUID -> M.Map String String -> CommandPerform
+perform :: RemoteClass.RemoteType Annex -> UUID -> RemoteClass.RemoteConfig -> CommandPerform
 perform t u c = do
 	c' <- RemoteClass.setup t u c
 	return $ Just $ cleanup u c'
 
-cleanup :: UUID -> M.Map String String -> CommandCleanup
+cleanup :: UUID -> RemoteClass.RemoteConfig -> CommandCleanup
 cleanup u c = do
 	Remote.configSet u c
 	g <- Annex.gitRepo
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ cleanup u c = do
         return True
 
 {- Look up existing remote's UUID and config by name, or generate a new one -}
-findByName :: String -> Annex (UUID, M.Map String String)
+findByName :: String -> Annex (UUID, RemoteClass.RemoteConfig)
 findByName name = do
 	m <- Remote.readRemoteLog
 	case findByName' name m of
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ findByName name = do
 			uuid <- liftIO $ genUUID
 			return $ (uuid, M.insert nameKey name M.empty)
 
-findByName' :: String ->  M.Map UUID (M.Map String String) -> Maybe (UUID, M.Map String String)
+findByName' :: String ->  M.Map UUID RemoteClass.RemoteConfig -> Maybe (UUID, RemoteClass.RemoteConfig)
 findByName' n m = if null matches then Nothing else Just $ head matches
 	where
 		matches = filter (matching . snd) $ M.toList m
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ findByName' n m = if null matches then Nothing else Just $ head matches
 				| otherwise -> False
 
 {- find the specified remote type -}
-findType :: M.Map String String -> Annex (RemoteClass.RemoteType Annex)
+findType :: RemoteClass.RemoteConfig -> Annex (RemoteClass.RemoteType Annex)
 findType config = 
 	case M.lookup typeKey config of
 		Nothing -> error "Specify the type of remote with type="
diff --git a/Remote.hs b/Remote.hs
index bb661c5a90..8d2ab0399a 100644
--- a/Remote.hs
+++ b/Remote.hs
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ module Remote (
 	remoteLog,
 	readRemoteLog,
 	configSet,
-	keyValToMap
+	keyValToConfig
 ) where
 
 import Control.Monad.State (liftIO)
@@ -137,17 +137,17 @@ remoteLog = do
 	return $ gitStateDir g ++ "remote.log"
 
 {- Adds or updates a remote's config in the log. -}
-configSet :: UUID -> M.Map String String -> Annex ()
+configSet :: UUID -> RemoteConfig -> Annex ()
 configSet u c = do
 	m <- readRemoteLog
 	l <- remoteLog
 	liftIO $ safeWriteFile l $ unlines $ sort $
 		map toline $ M.toList $ M.insert u c m
 	where
-		toline (u', c') = u' ++ " " ++ (unwords $ mapToKeyVal c')
+		toline (u', c') = u' ++ " " ++ (unwords $ configToKeyVal c')
 
 {- Map of remotes by uuid containing key/value config maps. -}
-readRemoteLog :: Annex (M.Map UUID (M.Map String String))
+readRemoteLog :: Annex (M.Map UUID RemoteConfig)
 readRemoteLog = do
 	l <- remoteLog
 	s <- liftIO $ catch (readFile l) ignoreerror
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ readRemoteLog = do
 	where
 		ignoreerror _ = return ""
 
-remoteLogParse :: String -> M.Map UUID (M.Map String String)
+remoteLogParse :: String -> M.Map UUID RemoteConfig
 remoteLogParse s =
 	M.fromList $ catMaybes $ map parseline $ filter (not . null) $ lines s
 	where
@@ -165,18 +165,18 @@ remoteLogParse s =
 			where
 				w = words l
 				u = w !! 0
-				c = keyValToMap $ tail w
+				c = keyValToConfig $ tail w
 
-{- Given Strings like "key=value", generates a Map. -}
-keyValToMap :: [String] -> M.Map String String
-keyValToMap ws = M.fromList $ map (/=/) ws
+{- Given Strings like "key=value", generates a RemoteConfig. -}
+keyValToConfig :: [String] -> RemoteConfig
+keyValToConfig ws = M.fromList $ map (/=/) ws
 	where
 		(/=/) s = (k, v)
 			where
 				k = takeWhile (/= '=') s
 				v = drop (1 + length k) s
 
-mapToKeyVal :: M.Map String String -> [String]
-mapToKeyVal m = map toword $ sort $ M.toList m
+configToKeyVal :: M.Map String String -> [String]
+configToKeyVal m = map toword $ sort $ M.toList m
 	where
 		toword (k, v) = k ++ "=" ++ v
diff --git a/Remote/Bup.hs b/Remote/Bup.hs
index 916afeb406..66c78970c9 100644
--- a/Remote/Bup.hs
+++ b/Remote/Bup.hs
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ remote = RemoteType {
 	setup = bupSetup
 }
 
-gen :: Git.Repo -> UUID -> Maybe (M.Map String String) -> Annex (Remote Annex)
+gen :: Git.Repo -> UUID -> Maybe RemoteConfig -> Annex (Remote Annex)
 gen r u c = do
 	buprepo <- getConfig r "buprepo" (error "missing buprepo")
 	cst <- remoteCost r (if bupLocal buprepo then semiCheapRemoteCost else expensiveRemoteCost)
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ gen r u c = do
 			config = c
 		}
 
-bupSetup :: UUID -> M.Map String String -> Annex (M.Map String String)
+bupSetup :: UUID -> RemoteConfig -> Annex RemoteConfig
 bupSetup u c = do
 	-- verify configuration is sane
 	let buprepo = case M.lookup "buprepo" c of
diff --git a/Remote/Directory.hs b/Remote/Directory.hs
index 0d3478b79d..2313f79a05 100644
--- a/Remote/Directory.hs
+++ b/Remote/Directory.hs
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ remote = RemoteType {
 	setup = directorySetup
 }
 
-gen :: Git.Repo -> UUID -> Maybe (M.Map String String) -> Annex (Remote Annex)
+gen :: Git.Repo -> UUID -> Maybe RemoteConfig -> Annex (Remote Annex)
 gen r u _ = do
 	dir <- getConfig r "directory" (error "missing directory")
 	cst <- remoteCost r cheapRemoteCost
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ gen r u _ = do
 		config = Nothing
 	}
 
-directorySetup :: UUID -> M.Map String String -> Annex (M.Map String String)
+directorySetup :: UUID -> RemoteConfig -> Annex RemoteConfig
 directorySetup u c = do
 	-- verify configuration is sane
 	let dir = case M.lookup "directory" c of
diff --git a/Remote/Git.hs b/Remote/Git.hs
index 7724df79af..bab452a331 100644
--- a/Remote/Git.hs
+++ b/Remote/Git.hs
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ list = do
 	g <- Annex.gitRepo
 	return $ Git.remotes g
 
-gen :: Git.Repo -> UUID -> Maybe (M.Map String String) -> Annex (Remote Annex)
+gen :: Git.Repo -> UUID -> Maybe RemoteConfig -> Annex (Remote Annex)
 gen r u _ = do
  	{- It's assumed to be cheap to read the config of non-URL remotes,
 	 - so this is done each time git-annex is run. Conversely,
diff --git a/Remote/S3real.hs b/Remote/S3real.hs
index bb82d54e0e..af4e48048a 100644
--- a/Remote/S3real.hs
+++ b/Remote/S3real.hs
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ remote = RemoteType {
 	setup = s3Setup
 }
 
-gen :: Git.Repo -> UUID -> Maybe (M.Map String String) -> Annex (Remote Annex)
+gen :: Git.Repo -> UUID -> Maybe RemoteConfig -> Annex (Remote Annex)
 gen r u c = do
 	cst <- remoteCost r expensiveRemoteCost
 	return $ this cst
@@ -54,14 +54,14 @@ gen r u c = do
 			config = c
 		}
 
-s3ConnectionRequired :: M.Map String String -> Annex AWSConnection
+s3ConnectionRequired :: RemoteConfig -> Annex AWSConnection
 s3ConnectionRequired c = do
 	conn <- s3Connection c
 	case conn of
 		Nothing -> error "Cannot connect to S3"
 		Just conn' -> return conn'
 
-s3Connection :: M.Map String String -> Annex (Maybe AWSConnection)
+s3Connection :: RemoteConfig -> Annex (Maybe AWSConnection)
 s3Connection c = do
 	ak <- getEnvKey "AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID"
 	sk <- getEnvKey "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY"
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ s3Connection c = do
 			_ -> error $ "bad S3 port value: " ++ s
 		getEnvKey s = liftIO $ catch (getEnv s) (const $ return "")
 
-s3Setup :: UUID -> M.Map String String -> Annex (M.Map String String)
+s3Setup :: UUID -> RemoteConfig -> Annex RemoteConfig
 s3Setup u c = do
 	-- verify configuration is sane
 	case M.lookup "encryption" c of
diff --git a/Remote/Special.hs b/Remote/Special.hs
index b5d5a137fe..53ac2c6eed 100644
--- a/Remote/Special.hs
+++ b/Remote/Special.hs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import Data.String.Utils
 import Control.Monad.State (liftIO)
 
 import Types
+import RemoteClass
 import qualified GitRepo as Git
 import qualified Annex
 import UUID
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ findSpecialRemotes s = do
 		match k _ = startswith "remote." k && endswith (".annex-"++s) k
 
 {- Sets up configuration for a special remote in .git/config. -}
-gitConfigSpecialRemote :: UUID -> M.Map String String -> String -> String -> Annex ()
+gitConfigSpecialRemote :: UUID -> RemoteConfig -> String -> String -> Annex ()
 gitConfigSpecialRemote u c k v = do
 	g <- Annex.gitRepo
 	liftIO $ do
diff --git a/RemoteClass.hs b/RemoteClass.hs
index 8055c16b06..f954e4ff8f 100644
--- a/RemoteClass.hs
+++ b/RemoteClass.hs
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ import Data.Map as M
 import qualified GitRepo as Git
 import Key
 
+type RemoteConfig = M.Map String String
+
 {- There are different types of remotes. -}
 data RemoteType a = RemoteType {
 	-- human visible type name
@@ -22,9 +24,9 @@ data RemoteType a = RemoteType {
 	-- enumerates remotes of this type
 	enumerate :: a [Git.Repo],
 	-- generates a remote of this type
-	generate :: Git.Repo -> String -> Maybe (M.Map String String) -> a (Remote a),
+	generate :: Git.Repo -> String -> Maybe RemoteConfig -> a (Remote a),
 	-- initializes or changes a remote
-	setup :: String -> M.Map String String -> a (M.Map String String)
+	setup :: String -> RemoteConfig -> a RemoteConfig
 }
 
 {- An individual remote. -}
@@ -48,7 +50,7 @@ data Remote a = Remote {
 	-- operation.
 	hasKeyCheap :: Bool,
 	-- a Remote can have a persistent configuration store
-	config :: Maybe (M.Map String String)
+	config :: Maybe RemoteConfig
 }
 
 instance Show (Remote a) where