diff --git a/src/configuration.ts b/src/configuration.ts
index 66a02bb1..8dc9803e 100644
--- a/src/configuration.ts
+++ b/src/configuration.ts
@@ -194,6 +194,13 @@ function parseKibibytesToBytes(
   return bytes;
 }
 
+function parseRegExp(
+  environmentVariable: string,
+  defaultValue?: RegExp,
+): RegExp | undefined {
+  return environmentVariable ? RegExp(environmentVariable) : defaultValue;
+}
+
 function safeHash(value: string | undefined): string | null {
   if (!value) {
     return null;
@@ -325,6 +332,12 @@ const configuration = {
       resolveEnv("GAMES_SEARCH_RECURSIVE"),
       true,
     ),
+    SEARCH_EXCLUDE_FILE_REGEX: parseRegExp(
+      resolveEnv("GAMES_SEARCH_EXCLUDE_FILE_REGEX"),
+    ),
+    SEARCH_EXCLUDE_DIR_REGEX: parseRegExp(
+      resolveEnv("GAMES_SEARCH_EXCLUDE_DIR_REGEX"),
+    ),
     INDEX_CONCURRENCY: parseNumber(resolveEnv("GAMES_INDEX_CONCURRENCY"), 1),
     DEFAULT_ARCHIVE_PASSWORD:
       resolveEnv("GAMES_DEFAULT_ARCHIVE_PASSWORD") || "Anything",
diff --git a/src/modules/games/files.service.ts b/src/modules/games/files.service.ts
index 102a1eec..b13c5ef7 100644
--- a/src/modules/games/files.service.ts
+++ b/src/modules/games/files.service.ts
@@ -724,6 +724,34 @@ export class FilesService implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
     return checkedGames;
   }
 
+  /** Checks whether a given filename should be included by the indexer. */
+  private shouldIncludeFile(filename: string): boolean {
+    const shouldExclude =
+      configuration.GAMES.SEARCH_EXCLUDE_FILE_REGEX?.test(filename);
+    if (shouldExclude) {
+      this.logger.debug({
+        message: `Indexer ignoring filename due to exclusion settings.`,
+        reason: "Excluded by configuration.",
+        filename,
+      });
+    }
+    return !shouldExclude && this.isValidFilePath(filename);
+  }
+
+  /** Checks whether a given dirname should be included by the indexer. */
+  private shouldIncludeDirectory(dirname: string): boolean {
+    const shouldExclude =
+      configuration.GAMES.SEARCH_EXCLUDE_DIR_REGEX?.test(dirname);
+    if (shouldExclude) {
+      this.logger.debug({
+        message: `Indexer ignoring dirname due to exclusion settings.`,
+        reason: "Excluded by configuration.",
+        dirname,
+      });
+    }
+    return !shouldExclude;
+  }
+
   /**
    * This method retrieves an array of objects representing game files in the
    * file system.
@@ -737,7 +765,8 @@ export class FilesService implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
       const stream = readdirp(configuration.VOLUMES.FILES, {
         type: "files",
         depth: configuration.GAMES.SEARCH_RECURSIVE ? undefined : 0,
-        fileFilter: (entry) => this.isValidFilePath(entry.basename),
+        fileFilter: (entry) => this.shouldIncludeFile(entry.basename),
+        directoryFilter: (entry) => this.shouldIncludeDirectory(entry.basename),
         alwaysStat: true, // ensure size is available for integrity checks
       });