diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 9483c93..254c88e 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"regexp"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/bmatcuk/doublestar/v4"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -94,7 +95,11 @@ func run(c *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		searchPath = append(searchPath, ".")
 	}
 
-	for _, x := range excludeList {
+	for i, x := range excludeList {
+		if !strings.HasPrefix(x, "**/") && !strings.HasPrefix(x, "./") {
+			x = "**/" + x
+			excludeList[i] = x
+		}
 		if !doublestar.ValidatePattern(x) {
 			return fmt.Errorf("invalid exclude pattern %q", x)
 		}