diff --git a/src/main/cpp/BUILD b/src/main/cpp/BUILD
index c559673..921baef 100644
--- a/src/main/cpp/BUILD
+++ b/src/main/cpp/BUILD
@@ -80,7 +80,8 @@
     srcs = [
         "blaze.cc",
         "blaze.h",
-        "blaze_globals.h",
+        "global_variables.cc",
+        "global_variables.h",
         "main.cc",
         "option_processor.cc",
         "option_processor.h",
diff --git a/src/main/cpp/blaze.cc b/src/main/cpp/blaze.cc
index e83f7dd..57824ac 100644
--- a/src/main/cpp/blaze.cc
+++ b/src/main/cpp/blaze.cc
@@ -67,9 +67,9 @@
 
 
 #include "src/main/cpp/blaze_abrupt_exit.h"
-#include "src/main/cpp/blaze_globals.h"
 #include "src/main/cpp/blaze_util.h"
 #include "src/main/cpp/blaze_util_platform.h"
+#include "src/main/cpp/global_variables.h"
 #include "src/main/cpp/option_processor.h"
 #include "src/main/cpp/startup_options.h"
 #include "src/main/cpp/util/errors.h"
@@ -226,19 +226,6 @@
 static GlobalVariables *globals;
 static BlazeServer *blaze_server;
 
-static void InitGlobals(OptionProcessor *option_processor) {
-  globals = new GlobalVariables;
-  globals->server_pid = -1;
-  globals->sigint_count = 0;
-  globals->received_signal = 0;
-  globals->startup_time = 0;
-  globals->extract_data_time = 0;
-  globals->command_wait_time = 0;
-  globals->restart_reason = NO_RESTART;
-  globals->option_processor = option_processor;
-  globals->options = NULL;  // Initialized after parsing with option_processor.
-}
-
 uint64_t BlazeServer::AcquireLock() {
   return blaze::AcquireLock(
       globals->options->output_base, globals->options->batch,
@@ -1826,7 +1813,7 @@
 // unexpectedly (in a way that isn't already handled), we can observe the file,
 // if it exists. (If it doesn't, then we know something went horribly wrong.)
 int Main(int argc, const char *argv[], OptionProcessor *option_processor) {
-  InitGlobals(option_processor);
+  globals = new GlobalVariables(option_processor);
   SetupStreams();
 
   // Must be done before command line parsing.
diff --git a/src/main/cpp/global_variables.cc b/src/main/cpp/global_variables.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2387304
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/cpp/global_variables.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+// Copyright 2016 The Bazel Authors. All rights reserved.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+#include "src/main/cpp/global_variables.h"
+
+namespace blaze {
+
+GlobalVariables::GlobalVariables(OptionProcessor* option_processor)
+    : option_processor(option_processor),
+      server_pid(-1),
+      sigint_count(0),
+      received_signal(0),
+      options(NULL), /* Initialized after parsing with option_processor. */
+      startup_time(0),
+      extract_data_time(0),
+      command_wait_time(0),
+      restart_reason(NO_RESTART) {}
+
+}  // namespace blaze
diff --git a/src/main/cpp/blaze_globals.h b/src/main/cpp/global_variables.h
similarity index 78%
rename from src/main/cpp/blaze_globals.h
rename to src/main/cpp/global_variables.h
index eba73b0..8ea47be 100644
--- a/src/main/cpp/blaze_globals.h
+++ b/src/main/cpp/global_variables.h
@@ -12,51 +12,46 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 //
-// blaze_globals.h: The global state in the blaze.cc Blaze client.
+// global_variables.h: The global state in the blaze.cc Blaze client.
 //
 
-#ifndef BAZEL_SRC_MAIN_CPP_BLAZE_GLOBALS_H_
-#define BAZEL_SRC_MAIN_CPP_BLAZE_GLOBALS_H_
+#ifndef BAZEL_SRC_MAIN_CPP_GLOBAL_VARIABLES_H_
+#define BAZEL_SRC_MAIN_CPP_GLOBAL_VARIABLES_H_
 
 #include <signal.h>
 #include <sys/types.h>
 #include <string>
 #include <vector>
 
-#include "src/main/cpp/option_processor.h"
-#include "src/main/cpp/startup_options.h"
-
-using std::vector;
-
 namespace blaze {
 
+class OptionProcessor;
+class StartupOptions;
+
 // The reason for a blaze server restart.
 // Keep in sync with logging.proto.
-enum RestartReason {
-  NO_RESTART = 0,
-  NO_DAEMON,
-  NEW_VERSION,
-  NEW_OPTIONS
-};
+enum RestartReason { NO_RESTART = 0, NO_DAEMON, NEW_VERSION, NEW_OPTIONS };
 
 struct GlobalVariables {
+  GlobalVariables(OptionProcessor *option_processor);
+
   // Used to make concurrent invocations of this program safe.
-  string lockfile;  // = <output_base>/lock
+  std::string lockfile;  // = <output_base>/lock
 
-  string jvm_log_file;  // = <output_base>/server/jvm.out
+  std::string jvm_log_file;  // = <output_base>/server/jvm.out
 
-  string cwd;
+  std::string cwd;
 
   // The nearest enclosing workspace directory, starting from cwd.
   // If not under a workspace directory, this is equal to cwd.
-  string workspace;
+  std::string workspace;
 
   // Option processor responsible for parsing RC files and converting them into
   // the argument list passed on to the server.
   OptionProcessor *option_processor;
 
   // The path of the JVM executable that should be used to launch Blaze.
-  string jvm_path;
+  std::string jvm_path;
 
   pid_t server_pid;
 
@@ -69,7 +64,7 @@
 
   // Contains the relative paths of all the files in the attached zip, and is
   // populated during GetInstallBase().
-  vector<string> extracted_binaries;
+  std::vector<std::string> extracted_binaries;
 
   // Parsed startup options.
   StartupOptions *options;  // TODO(jmmv): This should really be const.
@@ -90,13 +85,13 @@
   RestartReason restart_reason;
 
   // The absolute path of the blaze binary.
-  string binary_path;
+  std::string binary_path;
 
   // MD5 hash of the Blaze binary (includes deploy.jar, extracted binaries, and
   // anything else that ends up under the install_base).
-  string install_md5;
+  std::string install_md5;
 };
 
 }  // namespace blaze
 
-#endif  // BAZEL_SRC_MAIN_CPP_BLAZE_GLOBALS_H_
+#endif  // BAZEL_SRC_MAIN_CPP_GLOBAL_VARIABLES_H_