diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index c5c8791..0b8122f 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ module src.lwithers.me.uk/go/gg
 go 1.20
 
 require (
+	github.com/bmatcuk/doublestar/v4 v4.6.0
 	github.com/logrusorgru/aurora/v4 v4.0.0
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.7.0
 	golang.org/x/sys v0.8.0
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 6bd418b..5843900 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+github.com/bmatcuk/doublestar/v4 v4.6.0 h1:HTuxyug8GyFbRkrffIpzNCSK4luc0TY3wzXvzIZhEXc=
+github.com/bmatcuk/doublestar/v4 v4.6.0/go.mod h1:xBQ8jztBU6kakFMg+8WGxn0c6z1fTSPVIjEY1Wr7jzc=
 github.com/cpuguy83/go-md2man/v2 v2.0.2/go.mod h1:tgQtvFlXSQOSOSIRvRPT7W67SCa46tRHOmNcaadrF8o=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c=
 github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0 h1:wN+x4NVGpMsO7ErUn/mUI3vEoE6Jt13X2s0bqwp9tc8=
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 5a93986..8cd4f8b 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -5,17 +5,18 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"regexp"
 
+	"github.com/bmatcuk/doublestar/v4"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
 )
 
 // TODO:
 //  - bold of escaped output doesn't work
-//  - ignore files by extension (or glob?)
 
 func main() {
 	if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
@@ -42,7 +43,11 @@ as paths to scan.
 Search defaults to case-sensitive but the -i flag may be passed to make regular
 expression searches case-insensitive. Alternatively, the "(?i)" construct may be
 added to a regular expression to make that specific expression case insensitive.
-Fixed pattern matches are always case-sensitive.`,
+Fixed pattern matches are always case-sensitive.
+
+Files and directories can be excluded with the -x option. This supports bash-style
+globs with '*', '?', '[a-z]', '{this,that}', or '/**/' to match zero or more
+directories. By default, .git and vim swap files are ignored.`,
 
 	RunE: run,
 }
@@ -53,10 +58,9 @@ var (
 	searchFixed  []string
 	searchBytes  [][]byte
 	searchPath   []string
-	ignoreList   []string
+	excludeList  []string
 	binaryFile   notPlainTextFlag
 	minifiedFile notPlainTextFlag
-	ignoreMap    map[string]struct{}
 	ignoreCase   bool
 	noColour     bool
 	display      *Display
@@ -66,7 +70,7 @@ var (
 func init() {
 	rootCmd.Flags().StringSliceVarP(&searchRegexp, "grep", "e", nil, "pattern to match (regular expression)")
 	rootCmd.Flags().StringSliceVarP(&searchFixed, "fixed", "Q", nil, "pattern to match (fixed string)")
-	rootCmd.Flags().StringSliceVarP(&ignoreList, "exclude", "x", []string{".git"}, "files/directories to exclude")
+	rootCmd.Flags().StringSliceVarP(&excludeList, "exclude", "x", []string{".git", ".*.swp"}, "files/directories to exclude")
 	rootCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&ignoreCase, "ignore-case", "i", false, "make all searches case insensitive")
 	rootCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&noColour, "no-colour", "C", false, "disable colour output")
 	rootCmd.Flags().Var(&binaryFile, "binary", "what to do with binary files")
@@ -89,9 +93,10 @@ func run(c *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		searchPath = append(searchPath, ".")
 	}
 
-	ignoreMap = make(map[string]struct{}, len(ignoreList))
-	for _, i := range ignoreList {
-		ignoreMap[i] = struct{}{}
+	for _, x := range excludeList {
+		if !doublestar.ValidatePattern(x) {
+			return fmt.Errorf("invalid exclude pattern %q", x)
+		}
 	}
 
 	for _, r := range searchRegexp {
@@ -126,12 +131,15 @@ func recurse(path string) error {
 	}
 
 	var errs []error
+NextFile:
 	for _, de := range d {
 		name := de.Name()
 		fullPath := filepath.Join(path, name)
 
-		if _, ignored := ignoreMap[name]; ignored {
-			continue
+		for _, x := range excludeList {
+			if exclude, _ := doublestar.Match(x, fullPath); exclude {
+				continue NextFile
+			}
 		}
 
 		if err := search(fullPath); err != nil {