diff --git a/src/builtin_functions.cpp b/src/builtin_functions.cpp
index 4f273840c..8d1bc992e 100644
--- a/src/builtin_functions.cpp
+++ b/src/builtin_functions.cpp
@@ -124,8 +124,8 @@ static wcstring functions_def(const wcstring &name) {
     CHECK(!name.empty(), L"");  //!OCLINT(multiple unary operator)
     wcstring out;
     wcstring desc, def;
-    function_get_desc(name, &desc);
-    function_get_definition(name, &def);
+    function_get_desc(name, desc);
+    function_get_definition(name, def);
     event_t search(EVENT_ANY);
     search.function_name = name;
     std::vector<std::shared_ptr<event_t>> ev;
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ static int report_function_metadata(const wchar_t *funcname, bool verbose, io_st
             path = L"stdin";
         }
         shadows_scope = props->shadow_scope ? L"scope-shadowing" : L"no-scope-shadowing";
-        function_get_desc(funcname, &description);
+        function_get_desc(funcname, description);
         description = escape_string(description, ESCAPE_NO_QUOTED);
     }
 
diff --git a/src/complete.cpp b/src/complete.cpp
index 25f67a2b0..e1d5cfe76 100644
--- a/src/complete.cpp
+++ b/src/complete.cpp
@@ -644,9 +644,9 @@ void completer_t::complete_cmd_desc(const wcstring &str) {
 /// Returns a description for the specified function, or an empty string if none.
 static wcstring complete_function_desc(const wcstring &fn) {
     wcstring result;
-    bool has_description = function_get_desc(fn, &result);
+    bool has_description = function_get_desc(fn, result);
     if (!has_description) {
-        function_get_definition(fn, &result);
+        function_get_definition(fn, result);
     }
     return result;
 }
diff --git a/src/function.cpp b/src/function.cpp
index bf32c2fe3..30593812a 100644
--- a/src/function.cpp
+++ b/src/function.cpp
@@ -228,6 +228,7 @@ void function_remove(const wcstring &name) {
     if (function_remove_ignore_autoload(name)) function_autoloader.unload(name);
 }
 
+/// Returns a function by name if it has been loaded, returns false otherwise. Does not autoload.
 static const function_info_t *function_get(const wcstring &name) {
     // The caller must lock the functions_lock before calling this; however our mutex is currently
     // recursive, so trylock will never fail. We need a way to correctly check if a lock is locked
@@ -240,11 +241,11 @@ static const function_info_t *function_get(const wcstring &name) {
     return &iter->second;
 }
 
-bool function_get_definition(const wcstring &name, wcstring *out_definition) {
+bool function_get_definition(const wcstring &name, wcstring &out_definition) {
     scoped_rlock locker(functions_lock);
     const function_info_t *func = function_get(name);
-    if (func && out_definition) {
-        out_definition->assign(func->props->body_node.get_source(func->props->parsed_source->src));
+    if (func) {
+        out_definition = func->props->body_node.get_source(func->props->parsed_source->src);
     }
     return func != NULL;
 }
@@ -255,12 +256,12 @@ std::map<wcstring, env_var_t> function_get_inherit_vars(const wcstring &name) {
     return func ? func->inherit_vars : std::map<wcstring, env_var_t>();
 }
 
-bool function_get_desc(const wcstring &name, wcstring *out_desc) {
+bool function_get_desc(const wcstring &name, wcstring &out_desc) {
     // Empty length string goes to NULL.
     scoped_rlock locker(functions_lock);
     const function_info_t *func = function_get(name);
-    if (out_desc && func && !func->description.empty()) {
-        out_desc->assign(_(func->description.c_str()));
+    if (func && !func->description.empty()) {
+        out_desc = _(func->description.c_str());
         return true;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/function.h b/src/function.h
index 5adfabb18..7520e19c7 100644
--- a/src/function.h
+++ b/src/function.h
@@ -59,12 +59,12 @@ std::shared_ptr<const function_properties_t> function_get_properties(const wcstr
 /// Returns by reference the definition of the function with the name \c name. Returns true if
 /// successful, false if no function with the given name exists.
 /// This does not trigger autoloading.
-bool function_get_definition(const wcstring &name, wcstring *out_definition);
+bool function_get_definition(const wcstring &name, wcstring &out_definition);
 
 /// Returns by reference the description of the function with the name \c name. Returns true if the
 /// function exists and has a nonempty description, false if it does not.
 /// This does not trigger autoloading.
-bool function_get_desc(const wcstring &name, wcstring *out_desc);
+bool function_get_desc(const wcstring &name, wcstring &out_desc);
 
 /// Sets the description of the function with the name \c name.
 void function_set_desc(const wcstring &name, const wcstring &desc);