diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 99517b6..309e9b1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -20,6 +20,12 @@ Run the first backup manually in the shell, e.g.:
 
 **NOTE: unfortunately there's something wrong with the script and it does not output anything to the log unless the `--verbose` flag is passed so I just always pass the flag.**
 
+To leave parts of the source folder out of the snapshot, pass `--exclude` one or more times (same pattern syntax as restic's own `--exclude`), e.g. to skip a live database directory that is dumped separately:
+
+```
+./backup.sh --exclude /home/user/app/data/postgres --exclude /home/user/app/data/tmp ... /home/user/app sftp:storage-server:/backups/app --verbose
+```
+
 For the integrity check (note it may take a long time to run for large repos), e.g.:
 
 ```
diff --git a/backup.sh b/backup.sh
index 66c8a47..be349a7 100755
--- a/backup.sh
+++ b/backup.sh
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ OPTIONS:
     --keep-yearly N             Keep N yearly snapshots (default: 2)
     
     BACKUP OPTIONS:
+    -e, --exclude PATTERN       Exclude files/dirs matching PATTERN (can be used multiple times,
+                                same syntax as restic --exclude)
     --no-exclude-caches         Don't exclude cache directories
     --no-one-file-system        Allow crossing filesystem boundaries
     --compression LEVEL         Compression level: auto|max|off|fastest|better (default: auto)
@@ -67,6 +69,10 @@ EXAMPLES:
        --log-file /var/log/backup.log \\
        /var/lib/mysql sftp:user@host:/backups/mysql
 
+    # Exclude subdirectories from the backup
+    $0 --exclude /srv/app/data/postgres --exclude "/srv/app/data/app/tmp" \\
+       /srv/app sftp:user@host:/backups/app
+
 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES:
     RESTIC_PASSWORD_FILE    Alternative to --password-file
     RESTIC_PASSWORD         Direct password (not recommended)
@@ -115,6 +121,7 @@ send_healthcheck() {
 
 # Parse command line arguments
 CUSTOM_TAGS=()
+EXCLUDE_PATTERNS=()
 POSITIONAL_ARGS=()
 
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
@@ -155,6 +162,10 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
             KEEP_YEARLY="$2"
             shift 2
             ;;
+        -e|--exclude)
+            EXCLUDE_PATTERNS+=("$2")
+            shift 2
+            ;;
         --no-exclude-caches)
             EXCLUDE_CACHES=false
             shift
@@ -273,6 +284,9 @@ fi
 if [ "$ONE_FILE_SYSTEM" = true ]; then
     BACKUP_ARGS+=("--one-file-system")
 fi
+for pattern in "${EXCLUDE_PATTERNS[@]}"; do
+    BACKUP_ARGS+=("--exclude" "$(printf '%q' "$pattern")")
+done
 
 log_message "Starting backup of $SOURCE_PATH to $REPOSITORY"
 send_healthcheck "START" "Starting backup of $BACKUP_NAME"