diff --git a/ftw.c b/ftw.c
index 97bad71..722ebb3 100644
--- a/ftw.c
+++ b/ftw.c
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 #include <dirent.h>
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#include <fnmatch.h>
 
 #include "export.h"
 #include "mktorrent.h" /* DIRSEP_CHAR */
@@ -135,6 +137,7 @@ EXPORT int file_tree_walk(const char *dirname, unsigned int nfds,
 	struct dir_state *ds = dir_state_new(NULL, NULL);
 	struct dir_state *first_open;
 	unsigned int nopen;
+	struct metafile *m = data;
 
 	if (ds == NULL)
 		return -1;
@@ -195,6 +198,21 @@ EXPORT int file_tree_walk(const char *dirname, unsigned int nfds,
 				continue;
 			}
 
+			bool should_skip = false;
+			LL_FOR(exclude_node, m->exclude_list) {
+				const char *exclude_pattern = LL_DATA(exclude_node);
+				if (fnmatch(exclude_pattern, de->d_name, 0) != FNM_NOMATCH) {
+					should_skip = true;
+					break;
+				}
+			}
+
+			if (should_skip) {
+				if (m->verbose)
+					printf("skipping %s\n", de->d_name);
+				continue;
+			}
+
 			end = path + ds->length + 1;
 			p = de->d_name;
 			while ((*end = *p)) {
diff --git a/init.c b/init.c
index f8e1ece..4ba566e 100644
--- a/init.c
+++ b/init.c
@@ -257,6 +257,8 @@ static void print_help()
 	  "                                additional -a adds backup trackers\n"
 	  "-c, --comment=<comment>       : add a comment to the metainfo\n"
 	  "-d, --no-date                 : don't write the creation date\n"
+	  "-e, --exclude=<pat>[,<pat>]*  : exclude files whose name matches the pattern <pat>\n"
+	  "                                see the man page glob(7)\n"
 	  "-f, --force                   : overwrite output file if it exists\n"
 	  "-h, --help                    : show this help screen\n"
 	  "-l, --piece-length=<n>        : set the piece length to 2^n bytes,\n"
@@ -280,6 +282,8 @@ static void print_help()
 	  "                    additional -a adds backup trackers\n"
 	  "-c <comment>      : add a comment to the metainfo\n"
 	  "-d                : don't write the creation date\n"
+	  "-e <pat>[,<pat>]* : exclude files whose name matches the pattern <pat>\n"
+	  "                    see the man page glob(7)\n"
 	  "-f                : overwrite output file if it exists\n"
 	  "-h                : show this help screen\n"
 	  "-l <n>            : set the piece length to 2^n bytes,\n"
@@ -429,6 +433,7 @@ EXPORT void init(struct metafile *m, int argc, char *argv[])
 		{"announce", 1, NULL, 'a'},
 		{"comment", 1, NULL, 'c'},
 		{"no-date", 0, NULL, 'd'},
+		{"exclude", 1, NULL, 'e'},
 		{"force", 0, NULL, 'f'},
 		{"help", 0, NULL, 'h'},
 		{"piece-length", 1, NULL, 'l'},
@@ -455,11 +460,14 @@ EXPORT void init(struct metafile *m, int argc, char *argv[])
 	m->file_list = ll_new();
 	FATAL_IF0(m->file_list == NULL, "out of memory\n");
 
+	m->exclude_list = ll_new();
+	FATAL_IF0(m->exclude_list == NULL, "out of memory\n");
+
 	/* now parse the command line options given */
 #ifdef USE_PTHREADS
-#define OPT_STRING "a:c:dfhl:n:o:ps:t:vw:x"
+#define OPT_STRING "a:c:e:dfhl:n:o:ps:t:vw:x"
 #else
-#define OPT_STRING "a:c:dfhl:n:o:ps:vw:x"
+#define OPT_STRING "a:c:e:dfhl:n:o:ps:vw:x"
 #endif
 #ifdef USE_LONG_OPTIONS
 	while ((c = getopt_long(argc, argv, OPT_STRING,
@@ -480,6 +488,9 @@ EXPORT void init(struct metafile *m, int argc, char *argv[])
 		case 'd':
 			m->no_creation_date = 1;
 			break;
+		case 'e':
+			ll_extend(m->exclude_list, get_slist(optarg));
+			break;
 		case 'f':
 			m->force_overwrite = 1;
 			break;
@@ -604,5 +615,7 @@ EXPORT void cleanup_metafile(struct metafile *m)
 
 	ll_free(m->web_seed_list, NULL);
 
+	ll_free(m->exclude_list, NULL);
+
 	free(m->metainfo_file_path);
 }
diff --git a/main.c b/main.c
index 48a6943..79dd5d9 100644
--- a/main.c
+++ b/main.c
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		0,    /* cross_seed */
 		0,    /* verbose */
 		0,    /* force_overwrite */
+		NULL, /* exclude_list */
 #ifdef USE_PTHREADS
 		0,    /* threads, initialised by init() */
 #endif
diff --git a/mktorrent.h b/mktorrent.h
index b5ae7cf..2ce3393 100644
--- a/mktorrent.h
+++ b/mktorrent.h
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ struct metafile {
 	int cross_seed;            /* ensure info hash is unique for easier cross-seeding */
 	int verbose;               /* be verbose */
 	int force_overwrite;       /* overwrite existing output file */
+	struct ll *exclude_list;   /* exclude list */
 #ifdef USE_PTHREADS
 	long threads;              /* number of threads used for hashing */
 #endif