diff --git a/lib/kamal/configuration.rb b/lib/kamal/configuration.rb
index 5f1743bdd..8d989464b 100644
--- a/lib/kamal/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/kamal/configuration.rb
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ def initialize(raw_config, destination: nil, version: nil, validate: true)
     @destination = destination
     @declared_version = version
 
-    validate! raw_config, example: validation_yml.symbolize_keys, context: ""
+    validate! raw_config, example: validation_yml.symbolize_keys, context: "", with: Kamal::Configuration::Validator::Configuration
 
     # Eager load config to validate it, these are first as they have dependencies later on
     @servers = Servers.new(config: self)
diff --git a/lib/kamal/configuration/docs/configuration.yml b/lib/kamal/configuration/docs/configuration.yml
index 895d2f847..fc9245c5a 100644
--- a/lib/kamal/configuration/docs/configuration.yml
+++ b/lib/kamal/configuration/docs/configuration.yml
@@ -2,13 +2,24 @@
 #
 # Configuration is read from the `config/deploy.yml`
 #
+
+# Destinations
+#
 # When running commands, you can specify a destination with the `-d` flag,
 # e.g. `kamal deploy -d staging`
 #
 # In this case the configuration will also be read from `config/deploy.staging.yml`
 # and merged with the base configuration.
+
+# Extensions
+#
+# Kamal will not accept unrecognized keys in the configuration file.
+#
+# However, you might want to declare a configuration block using YAML anchors
+# and aliases to avoid repetition.
 #
-# The available configuration options are explained below.
+# You can use prefix a configuration section with `x-` to indicate that it is an
+# extension. Kamal will ignore the extension and not raise an error.
 
 # The service name
 # This is a required value. It is used as the container name prefix.
diff --git a/lib/kamal/configuration/validator.rb b/lib/kamal/configuration/validator.rb
index bc443229c..c7ba0f727 100644
--- a/lib/kamal/configuration/validator.rb
+++ b/lib/kamal/configuration/validator.rb
@@ -15,11 +15,10 @@ def validate!
     def validate_against_example!(validation_config, example)
       validate_type! validation_config, Hash
 
-      if (unknown_keys = validation_config.keys - example.keys).any?
-        unknown_keys_error unknown_keys
-      end
+      check_unknown_keys! validation_config, example
 
       validation_config.each do |key, value|
+        next if extension?(key)
         with_context(key) do
           example_value = example[key]
 
@@ -137,4 +136,18 @@ def with_context(context)
     ensure
       @context = old_context
     end
+
+    def allow_extensions?
+      false
+    end
+
+    def extension?(key)
+      key.to_s.start_with?("x-")
+    end
+
+    def check_unknown_keys!(config, example)
+      unknown_keys = config.keys - example.keys
+      unknown_keys.reject! { |key| extension?(key) } if allow_extensions?
+      unknown_keys_error unknown_keys if unknown_keys.present?
+    end
 end
diff --git a/lib/kamal/configuration/validator/configuration.rb b/lib/kamal/configuration/validator/configuration.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..102f2e5bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/kamal/configuration/validator/configuration.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+class Kamal::Configuration::Validator::Configuration < Kamal::Configuration::Validator
+  private
+    def allow_extensions?
+      true
+    end
+end
diff --git a/test/configuration_test.rb b/test/configuration_test.rb
index 6e83054b4..043a4c8cb 100644
--- a/test/configuration_test.rb
+++ b/test/configuration_test.rb
@@ -344,4 +344,12 @@ class ConfigurationTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
     assert_raises(Kamal::ConfigurationError) { Kamal::Configuration.new(@deploy_with_roles.merge(retain_containers: 0)) }
   end
+
+  test "extensions" do
+    dest_config_file = Pathname.new(File.expand_path("fixtures/deploy_with_extensions.yml", __dir__))
+
+    config = Kamal::Configuration.create_from config_file: dest_config_file
+    assert_equal config.role(:web_tokyo).running_traefik?, true
+    assert_equal config.role(:web_chicago).running_traefik?, true
+  end
 end
diff --git a/test/fixtures/deploy_with_extensions.yml b/test/fixtures/deploy_with_extensions.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7d6a9db27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/deploy_with_extensions.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+
+x-web: &web
+  traefik: true
+
+service: app
+image: dhh/app
+servers:
+  web_chicago:
+    <<: *web
+    hosts:
+      - 1.1.1.1
+      - 1.1.1.2
+  web_tokyo:
+    <<: *web
+    hosts:
+      - 1.1.1.3
+      - 1.1.1.4
+env:
+  REDIS_URL: redis://x/y
+registry:
+  server: registry.digitalocean.com
+  username: user
+  password: pw
+primary_role: web_tokyo