diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 38db411..f9628a1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -73,8 +73,15 @@ be added through one of the rules in the `include` block.
 
     stub "src/stub.php";
 
-In the future, it will also be possible to exclude files matching specific
-patterns.
+You can follow the same approach when excluding files with the `exclude` block:
+
+    exclude {
+      dir ".git";
+      file "DONT-INCLUDE-ME-IN-PHAR";
+    }
+
+The `dir` rules match against `*/<dirname>/*` while the `file` rule will match
+against `*/<filename>`.
 
 
 ## Props
@@ -153,3 +160,5 @@ into a temporary directory before running. But right now **it does nothing**.
   them to the archive. This shouldn't be an issue, but if your code depends on
   a specific character index in a specific php file, you might want to specify
   the `verbatim` option.
+* You can specify multiple `props` blocks, f.ex. one containing static values
+  and another one generate f.ex. build date or git revision.
diff --git a/src/MakePhar/Manifest.php b/src/MakePhar/Manifest.php
index 7efdedf..a2d6395 100644
--- a/src/MakePhar/Manifest.php
+++ b/src/MakePhar/Manifest.php
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ class Manifest
     protected $verbatim = false;
     /** @var array Properties to be defined in the main stub */
     protected $props = [];
+    /** @var array Patterns to exclude */
+    protected $excludes = [];
 
     /**
      * Read manifests from a makephar.sdl file and return all the build targets
@@ -74,6 +76,18 @@ class Manifest
                         break;
                 }
                 break;
+            case 'exclude':
+                foreach ($child->getChildren() as $inc) switch ($inc->getTagName()) {
+                    case 'dir':
+                        $val = (string)$inc->getValue();
+                        $mf->excludes[] = "*/{$val}/*";
+                        break;
+                    case 'file':
+                        $val = (string)$inc->getValue();
+                        $mf->excludes[] = "*/{$val}";
+                        break;
+                }
+                break;
             case 'props':
                 $props = [];
                 if ($src = (string)$child->getValue()) {
@@ -199,10 +213,18 @@ class Manifest
                 log_warn("Unsupported source type: %s", $source->type);
             }
         }
-        $items = array_filter($items, function ($item) {
-            if (fnmatch("*/.git/*", $item->src)) return false;
+        $rules = $this->excludes;
+        $before = count($items);
+        $items = array_filter($items, function ($item) use ($rules) {
+            foreach ($rules as $rule) {
+                if (fnmatch($rule, $item->src)) return false;
+            }
             return true;
         });
+        $after = count($items);
+        if ($after < $before) {
+            log_debug("Skipped %d files matching exclusion patterns", $before-$after);
+        }
         return $items;
     }