diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index cfc3759..64741f8 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
     <groupId>com.github.danielflower.mavenplugins</groupId>
     <artifactId>multi-module-maven-release-plugin</artifactId>
-    <version>3.7-SNAPSHOT</version> <!-- When changing also update scaffolding.TestProject.PLUGIN_VERSION_FOR_TESTS and add to src/site/markdown/changelog.md -->
+    <version>3.8-SNAPSHOT</version> <!-- When changing also update scaffolding.TestProject.PLUGIN_VERSION_FOR_TESTS and add to src/site/markdown/changelog.md -->
   
     <name>The Multi Module Maven Release Plugin</name>
     <description>A maven release plugin built for multi-maven-module git repositories allowing continuous deployment
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
         <maven.project.version>2.2.1</maven.project.version>
         <maven.model.version>3.9.9</maven.model.version>
         <maven.settings.version>3.9.9</maven.settings.version>
+        <jgit.version>7.2.0.202503040940-r</jgit.version>
     </properties>
 
     <ciManagement>
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/BaseMojo.java b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/BaseMojo.java
index 050cdcb..ad5d5ef 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/BaseMojo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/BaseMojo.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import org.eclipse.jgit.transport.UsernamePasswordCredentialsProvider;
 
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
 
 import static java.lang.String.format;
 
@@ -173,6 +174,42 @@ public abstract class BaseMojo extends AbstractMojo {
     @Parameter(property = "arguments")
     public String arguments;
 
+    /**
+     * <p>List of file system paths to ignore when detecting changes in the project(s).</p>
+     * <p>The primary purpose is to skip creating new releases if only "infrastructure" files such as
+     * <code>.gitignore</code>, <code>.editorconfig</code> and the like changed. Very basic wild cards are supported as
+     * follows:
+     * <ul>
+     *     <li><code>/foo.txt</code> - matches <code>foo.txt</code> in the root of the top-level project</li>
+     *     <li><code>/bar/foo.txt</code> - matches <code>foo.txt</code> in the root of the <code>bar</code> directory that resides in the root of the top-level project</li>
+     *     <li><code>/bar/</code> - matches the <code>bar</code> directory and it's contents in the root of the top-level project</li>
+     *     <li><code>foo.txt</code> - matches <code>foo.txt</code> anywhere in the project</li>
+     *     <li><code>bar/foo.txt</code> - matches <code>foo.txt</code> in the <code>bar</code> directory anywhere in the project</li>
+     *     <li><code>bar</code> - matches the <code>bar</code> directory anywhere in the project and ignores everything below</li>
+     * <ul/></p>
+     */
+    @Parameter(property = "ignoredPaths")
+    Set<String> ignoredPaths;
+
+    /**
+     * <p>List of file system paths that are required to be changed when detecting changes in the project(s).</p>
+     * <p>If not set, any change triggers the release logic.</p>
+     * <p>The primary purpose is to trigger creating new releases only if certain changes occur in the repository.
+     * For example, a library repository with ProtoBuf messages would trigger release only if any of the *.proto files has been modified. Very basic wild cards are supported as
+     * follows:
+     * <ul>
+     *     <li><code>/foo.txt</code> - matches <code>foo.txt</code> in the root of the top-level project</li>
+     *     <li><code>/bar/foo.txt</code> - matches <code>foo.txt</code> in the root of the <code>bar</code> directory that resides in the root of the top-level project</li>
+     *     <li><code>/bar/</code> - matches the <code>bar</code> directory and it's contents in the root of the top-level project</li>
+     *     <li><code>foo.txt</code> - matches <code>foo.txt</code> anywhere in the project</li>
+     *     <li><code>bar/foo.txt</code> - matches <code>foo.txt</code> in the <code>bar</code> directory anywhere in the project</li>
+     *     <li><code>bar</code> - matches the <code>bar</code> directory anywhere in the project and ignores everything below</li>
+     * <ul/></p>
+     * <p><b>Excludes the <code>ignoredPaths</code> logic</b></p>
+     */
+    @Parameter(property = "requiredPaths")
+    Set<String> requiredPaths;
+
     final void setSettings(final Settings settings) {
 		this.settings = settings;
 	}
@@ -266,4 +303,35 @@ protected static String getRemoteUrlOrNullIfNoneSet(Scm originalScm, Scm actualS
         return GitHelper.scmUrlToRemote(remote);
     }
 
+    public MavenProject getProject() {
+        return project;
+    }
+
+    public List<MavenProject> getProjects() {
+        return projects;
+    }
+
+    public Long getBuildNumber() {
+        return buildNumber;
+    }
+
+    public String getTagNameFormat() {
+        return tagNameFormat;
+    }
+
+    public VersionNamer getVersionNamer() {
+        return versionNamer;
+    }
+
+    public List<String> getModulesToForceRelease() {
+        return modulesToForceRelease;
+    }
+
+    public Set<String> getIgnoredPaths() {
+        return ignoredPaths;
+    }
+
+    public Set<String> getRequiredPaths() {
+        return requiredPaths;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/NextMojo.java b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/NextMojo.java
index fca4574..0094147 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/NextMojo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/NextMojo.java
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException, MojoFailureException {
                 .credentialsProvider(getCredentialsProvider(log))
                 .buildFromCurrentDir();
             ResolverWrapper resolverWrapper = new ResolverWrapper(factory, artifactResolver, remoteRepositories, localRepository);
-            Reactor reactor = Reactor.fromProjects(log, repo, project, projects, buildNumber, modulesToForceRelease, noChangesAction, resolverWrapper, versionNamer, tagNameFormat);
+            Reactor reactor = Reactor.fromProjects(this, log, repo, noChangesAction, resolverWrapper);
             if (reactor == null) {
                 return;
             }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/Reactor.java b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/Reactor.java
index 322cbc3..3b67ad3 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/Reactor.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/Reactor.java
@@ -30,18 +30,18 @@ public List<ReleasableModule> getModulesInBuildOrder() {
         return modulesInBuildOrder;
     }
 
-    public static Reactor fromProjects(Log log, LocalGitRepo gitRepo, MavenProject rootProject, List<MavenProject> projects, Long buildNumber, List<String> modulesToForceRelease, NoChangesAction actionWhenNoChangesDetected, ResolverWrapper resolverWrapper, VersionNamer versionNamer, String tagNameFormat) throws ValidationException, GitAPIException, MojoExecutionException {
-        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(gitRepo.git.getRepository());
+    public static Reactor fromProjects(BaseMojo mojo, Log log, LocalGitRepo gitRepo, NoChangesAction actionWhenNoChangesDetected, ResolverWrapper resolverWrapper) throws ValidationException, GitAPIException, MojoExecutionException {
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(gitRepo.git.getRepository(), mojo.getIgnoredPaths(), mojo.getRequiredPaths());
         List<ReleasableModule> modules = new ArrayList<ReleasableModule>();
 
-        resolveVersionsDefinedThroughProperties(projects);
+        resolveVersionsDefinedThroughProperties(mojo.getProjects());
 
-        AnnotatedTagFinder annotatedTagFinder = new AnnotatedTagFinder(versionNamer);
-        for (MavenProject project : projects) {
-            String relativePathToModule = calculateModulePath(rootProject, project);
+        AnnotatedTagFinder annotatedTagFinder = new AnnotatedTagFinder(mojo.getVersionNamer());
+        for (MavenProject project : mojo.getProjects()) {
+            String relativePathToModule = calculateModulePath(mojo.getProject(), project);
             String artifactId = project.getArtifactId();
             String versionWithoutBuildNumber = project.getVersion().replace("-SNAPSHOT", "");
-            List<AnnotatedTag> previousTagsForThisModule = annotatedTagFinder.tagsForVersion(gitRepo.git, project.getGroupId(), artifactId, versionWithoutBuildNumber, tagNameFormat, log);
+            List<AnnotatedTag> previousTagsForThisModule = annotatedTagFinder.tagsForVersion(gitRepo.git, project.getGroupId(), artifactId, versionWithoutBuildNumber, mojo.getTagNameFormat(), log);
 
 
             Collection<Long> previousBuildNumbers = new ArrayList<Long>();
@@ -51,10 +51,10 @@ public static Reactor fromProjects(Log log, LocalGitRepo gitRepo, MavenProject r
                 }
             }
 
-            Collection<Long> remoteBuildNumbers = getRemoteBuildNumbers(gitRepo, project.getGroupId(), artifactId, versionWithoutBuildNumber, versionNamer, tagNameFormat, log);
+            Collection<Long> remoteBuildNumbers = getRemoteBuildNumbers(gitRepo, project.getGroupId(), artifactId, versionWithoutBuildNumber, mojo.getVersionNamer(), mojo.getTagNameFormat(), log);
             previousBuildNumbers.addAll(remoteBuildNumbers);
 
-            VersionName newVersion = versionNamer.name(project.getVersion(), buildNumber, previousBuildNumbers);
+            VersionName newVersion = mojo.getVersionNamer().name(project.getVersion(), mojo.getBuildNumber(), previousBuildNumbers);
 
             boolean oneOfTheDependenciesHasChanged = false;
             String changedDependency = null;
@@ -91,14 +91,14 @@ public static Reactor fromProjects(Log log, LocalGitRepo gitRepo, MavenProject r
 
             String equivalentVersion = null;
 
-            if (modulesToForceRelease != null && modulesToForceRelease.contains(artifactId)) {
+            if (mojo.getModulesToForceRelease() != null && mojo.getModulesToForceRelease().contains(artifactId)) {
                 log.info("Releasing " + artifactId + " " + newVersion.releaseVersion() + " as we were asked to force release.");
             } else if (oneOfTheDependenciesHasChanged) {
                 log.info("Releasing " + artifactId + " " + newVersion.releaseVersion() + " as " + changedDependency + " has changed.");
             } else {
                 AnnotatedTag previousTagThatIsTheSameAsHEADForThisModule = hasChangedSinceLastRelease(previousTagsForThisModule, detector, project, relativePathToModule);
                 if (previousTagThatIsTheSameAsHEADForThisModule != null) {
-                    equivalentVersion = previousTagThatIsTheSameAsHEADForThisModule.version() + versionNamer.getDelimiter() + previousTagThatIsTheSameAsHEADForThisModule.buildNumber();
+                    equivalentVersion = previousTagThatIsTheSameAsHEADForThisModule.version() + mojo.getVersionNamer().getDelimiter() + previousTagThatIsTheSameAsHEADForThisModule.buildNumber();
                     // attempt to resolve
                     if (resolverWrapper.isResolvable(project.getGroupId(), project.getArtifactId(), equivalentVersion, project.getPackaging(), log)) {
                         log.info("Will use version " + equivalentVersion + " for " + artifactId + " as it has not been changed since that release.");
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ public static Reactor fromProjects(Log log, LocalGitRepo gitRepo, MavenProject r
                     log.info("Will use version " + newVersion.releaseVersion() + " for " + artifactId + " as it has changed since the last release.");
                 }
             }
-            ReleasableModule module = new ReleasableModule(project, newVersion, equivalentVersion, relativePathToModule, tagNameFormat, log);
+            ReleasableModule module = new ReleasableModule(project, newVersion, equivalentVersion, relativePathToModule, mojo.getTagNameFormat(), log);
             modules.add(module);
         }
 
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ private static Collection<Long> getRemoteBuildNumbers(LocalGitRepo gitRepo, Stri
         Collection<Ref> remoteTagRefs = gitRepo.allTags();
         Collection<Long> remoteBuildNumbers = new ArrayList<Long>();
         String tagWithoutBuildNumber = artifactId + "-" + versionWithoutBuildNumber;
-        if(StringUtils.isNotEmpty(tagNameFormat)) {
+        if (StringUtils.isNotEmpty(tagNameFormat)) {
             tagWithoutBuildNumber = AnnotatedTag.formatTagName(tagWithoutBuildNumber, groupId, artifactId, versionWithoutBuildNumber, tagNameFormat, log);
         }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/ReleaseMojo.java b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/ReleaseMojo.java
index 0e5d168..b41d989 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/ReleaseMojo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/ReleaseMojo.java
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException, MojoFailureException {
             repo.errorIfNotClean(ignoredUntrackedPaths);
 
             ResolverWrapper resolverWrapper = new ResolverWrapper(factory, artifactResolver, remoteRepositories, localRepository);
-            Reactor reactor = Reactor.fromProjects(log, repo, project, projects, buildNumber, modulesToForceRelease, noChangesAction, resolverWrapper, versionNamer, tagNameFormat);
+            Reactor reactor = Reactor.fromProjects(this, log, repo, noChangesAction, resolverWrapper);
             if (reactor == null) {
                 return;
             }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/TreeWalkingDiffDetector.java b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/TreeWalkingDiffDetector.java
index 81fd260..51ed4b2 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/TreeWalkingDiffDetector.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/TreeWalkingDiffDetector.java
@@ -5,20 +5,29 @@
 import org.eclipse.jgit.revwalk.RevCommit;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.revwalk.RevWalk;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.treewalk.filter.AndTreeFilter;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.treewalk.filter.OrTreeFilter;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.treewalk.filter.PathFilter;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.treewalk.filter.PathSuffixFilter;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.treewalk.filter.TreeFilter;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 
 public class TreeWalkingDiffDetector implements DiffDetector {
 
     private final Repository repo;
+    private final Set<String> ignoredPaths;
+    private final Set<String> requiredPaths;
 
-    public TreeWalkingDiffDetector(Repository repo) {
+    public TreeWalkingDiffDetector(Repository repo, Set<String> ignoredPaths, Set<String> requiredPaths) {
         this.repo = repo;
+        this.ignoredPaths = ignoredPaths != null ? ignoredPaths : new HashSet<>();
+        this.requiredPaths = requiredPaths;
     }
 
     public boolean hasChangedSince(String modulePath, java.util.List<String> childModules, Collection<AnnotatedTag> tags) throws IOException {
@@ -26,7 +35,14 @@ public boolean hasChangedSince(String modulePath, java.util.List<String> childMo
         try {
             walk.setRetainBody(false);
             walk.markStart(walk.parseCommit(repo.getRefDatabase().findRef("HEAD").getObjectId()));
-            filterOutOtherModulesChanges(modulePath, childModules, walk);
+            List<TreeFilter> treeFilters = new ArrayList<>();
+            filterOutOtherModulesChanges(modulePath, childModules, treeFilters);
+            if (requiredPaths == null || requiredPaths.isEmpty()) {
+                filterOutIgnoredPathsChanges(treeFilters);
+            } else {
+                filterRequiredPathsChanges(treeFilters);
+            }
+            walk.setTreeFilter(treeFilters.size() == 1 ? treeFilters.get(0) : AndTreeFilter.create(treeFilters));
             stopWalkingWhenTheTagsAreHit(tags, walk);
             return walk.iterator().hasNext();
         } finally {
@@ -42,10 +58,9 @@ private static void stopWalkingWhenTheTagsAreHit(Collection<AnnotatedTag> tags,
         }
     }
 
-    private void filterOutOtherModulesChanges(String modulePath, List<String> childModules, RevWalk walk) {
+    private void filterOutOtherModulesChanges(String modulePath, List<String> childModules, List<TreeFilter> treeFilters) {
         boolean isRootModule = ".".equals(modulePath);
         boolean isMultiModuleProject = !isRootModule || !childModules.isEmpty();
-        List<TreeFilter> treeFilters = new ArrayList<>();
         treeFilters.add(TreeFilter.ANY_DIFF);
         if (isMultiModuleProject) {
             if (!isRootModule) {
@@ -60,7 +75,34 @@ private void filterOutOtherModulesChanges(String modulePath, List<String> childM
             }
 
         }
-        TreeFilter treeFilter = treeFilters.size() == 1 ? treeFilters.get(0) : AndTreeFilter.create(treeFilters);
-        walk.setTreeFilter(treeFilter);
+    }
+
+    private void filterOutIgnoredPathsChanges(List<TreeFilter> treeFilters) {
+        for (String ignoredPath : ignoredPaths) {
+            TreeFilter filter;
+            if (ignoredPath.startsWith("/")) {
+                filter = PathFilter.create(ignoredPath.substring(1));
+            } else {
+                filter = PathSuffixFilter.create(ignoredPath);
+            }
+            treeFilters.add(filter.negate());
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void filterRequiredPathsChanges(List<TreeFilter> treeFilters) {
+        List<TreeFilter> filters = requiredPaths.stream()
+            .filter(requiredPath -> !requiredPath.isEmpty())
+            .map(requiredPath -> {
+                if (requiredPath.startsWith("/")) {
+                    return PathFilter.create(requiredPath.substring(1));
+                } else {
+                    return PathSuffixFilter.create(requiredPath);
+                }
+            })
+            .collect(Collectors.toList());
+        if (filters.isEmpty()) {
+            return;
+        }
+        treeFilters.add(filters.size() == 1 ? filters.get(0) : OrTreeFilter.create(filters));
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/site/markdown/changelog.md b/src/site/markdown/changelog.md
index d2e4de0..e5cc4c6 100644
--- a/src/site/markdown/changelog.md
+++ b/src/site/markdown/changelog.md
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 Changelog
 ---------
 
+### 3.8.0
+
+* Added `ignorePaths` and `requiredPaths` settings
+
 ### 3.7.8
 
 * Fixed null pointer exception when getting location of certain dependencies. 
diff --git a/src/site/markdown/usage.md.vm b/src/site/markdown/usage.md.vm
index 3c9006d..137cf3f 100644
--- a/src/site/markdown/usage.md.vm
+++ b/src/site/markdown/usage.md.vm
@@ -93,4 +93,47 @@ The supported report formats are FLAT(line separated) and JSON.
         <releasedModulesOnly>false</releasedModulesOnly>
     </versionReport>
 </versionReports>
-```
\ No newline at end of file
+```
+
+Excluding certain files changes from triggering the release
+-----------------------------------------------------------
+
+Certain file changes could be excluded from the release triggering process.
+
+	mvn releaser:release -D"ignorePaths=file1.txt,/file2.txt"
+
+Or through the plugin configuration section:
+
+```xml
+<configuration>
+    <ignorePaths>
+        <ignoredPath>file1.txt</ignoredPath>
+        <ignoredPath>/file2.txt</ignoredPath>
+    </ignorePaths>
+</configuration>
+```
+
+Include only certain files changes for release triggering
+-----------------------------------------------------------
+
+The primary purpose is to trigger creating new releases only if certain changes occur in the repository.
+If not set, any change triggers the release logic.
+For example, a library repository with ProtoBuf messages would trigger release only if any of the *.proto files has been modified.
+This setting disables `ignorePaths`.
+
+Path matching supports only absolute paths (which start with a `/`) and suffix path matching.
+For example, `/file.txt` will match only file.txt that resides in the repository's root. `file.txt` will match all files whose path ends with file.txt - `/file.txt`, `/module/file.txt`, etc.
+No wildcards or regexp allowed.
+
+	mvn releaser:release -D"requiredPaths=file1.txt,/file2.txt"
+
+Or through the plugin configuration section:
+
+```xml
+<configuration>
+    <reauiredPaths>
+        <requiredPath>file1.txt</requiredPath>
+        <requiredPath>/file2.txt</requiredPath>
+    </reauiredPaths>
+</configuration>
+```
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/DiffDetectorTest.java b/src/test/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/DiffDetectorTest.java
index b346cfd..fe08425 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/DiffDetectorTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/DiffDetectorTest.java
@@ -6,13 +6,14 @@
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Set;
 
 import static com.github.danielflower.mavenplugins.release.AnnotatedTagFinderTest.saveFileInModuleAndTag;
 import static com.github.danielflower.mavenplugins.release.AnnotatedTagFinderTest.tagCurrentCommit;
 import static java.util.Arrays.asList;
 import static org.hamcrest.MatcherAssert.assertThat;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.is;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.nullValue;
 
 public class DiffDetectorTest {
 
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ public void canDetectIfFilesHaveBeenChangedForAModuleSinceSomeSpecificTag() thro
         AnnotatedTag tag2 = saveFileInModuleAndTag(project, "core-utils", "2", 0);
         AnnotatedTag tag3 = saveFileInModuleAndTag(project, "console-app", "1.2", 4);
 
-        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository());
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), null, null);
 
         assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince("core-utils", noChildModules(), asList(tag2)), is(false));
         assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince("console-app", noChildModules(), asList(tag2)), is(true));
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ public void canDetectThingsInTheRoot() throws IOException, GitAPIException {
         TestProject simple = TestProject.singleModuleProject();
         AnnotatedTag tag1 = saveFileInModuleAndTag(simple, ".", "1.0", 1);
         simple.commitRandomFile(".");
-        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(simple.local.getRepository());
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(simple.local.getRepository(), null, null);
         assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(), asList(tag1)), is(true));
 
         AnnotatedTag tag2 = saveFileInModuleAndTag(simple, ".", "1.0", 2);
@@ -53,7 +54,7 @@ public void canDetectChangesAfterTheLastTag() throws IOException, GitAPIExceptio
         AnnotatedTag tag3 = saveFileInModuleAndTag(project, "console-app", "1.2", 4);
         project.commitRandomFile("console-app");
 
-        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository());
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), null, null);
         assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince("console-app", noChildModules(), asList(tag3)), is(true));
     }
 
@@ -64,7 +65,7 @@ public void canIgnoreChangesInModuleFolders() throws IOException, GitAPIExceptio
         AnnotatedTag tag1 = saveFileInModuleAndTag(project, "server-modules", "1.0.2.4", 0);
         project.commitRandomFile("server-modules/server-module-a");
 
-        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository());
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), null, null);
         assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince("server-modules", asList("server-module-a", "server-module-b"),
             asList(tag1)), is(false));
     }
@@ -76,7 +77,7 @@ public void canDetectLocalChangesWithModuleFolders() throws IOException, GitAPIE
         AnnotatedTag tag1 = saveFileInModuleAndTag(project, "server-modules", "1.0.2.4", 0);
         project.commitRandomFile("server-modules");
 
-        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository());
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), null, null);
         assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince("server-modules", asList("server-module-a", "server-module-b"),
             asList(tag1)), is(true));
     }
@@ -90,7 +91,7 @@ public void canDetectLatestTagOnBranch() throws Exception {
         AnnotatedTag tag2 = saveFileInModuleAndTag(project, ".", "1.0", 1);
         project.checkoutBranch("feature");
 
-        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository());
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), null, null);
         assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(),
             asList(tag1, tag2)), is(false));
     }
@@ -99,9 +100,9 @@ public void canDetectLatestTagOnBranch() throws Exception {
     public void canDetectLatestBuild() throws Exception {
         TestProject project = TestProject.singleModuleProject();
         AnnotatedTag tag1 = saveFileInModuleAndTag(project, ".", "1.0", 0);
-        AnnotatedTag tag2 =  tagCurrentCommit(project, ".", "1.0", 1);
+        AnnotatedTag tag2 = tagCurrentCommit(project, ".", "1.0", 1);
 
-        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository());
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), null, null);
         assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(),
             asList(tag1, tag2)), is(false));
         assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(),
@@ -114,13 +115,94 @@ public void canDetectLatestBuildNoMatterIfCreatedWrongWayRound() throws Exceptio
         AnnotatedTag tag2 = saveFileInModuleAndTag(project, ".", "1.0", 1);
         AnnotatedTag tag1 = tagCurrentCommit(project, ".", "1.0", 0);
 
-        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository());
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), null, null);
         assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(),
             asList(tag2, tag1)), is(false));
         assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(),
             asList(tag1, tag2)), is(false));
     }
 
+    @Test
+    public void canFilterOutChangesInExcludedPath() throws Exception {
+        TestProject project = TestProject.singleModuleProject();
+        String ignoredFile = "file.txt";
+        AnnotatedTag tag1 = tagCurrentCommit(project, ".", "1.0", 0);
+        project.commitFile(".", ignoredFile);
+
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), Collections.singletonMap(ignoredFile, null).keySet(), null);
+        assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(), Collections.singletonList(tag1)), is(false));
+        detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), Collections.singletonMap("/" + ignoredFile, null).keySet(), null);
+        assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(), Collections.singletonList(tag1)), is(false));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void canDetectChangesWithFilteredOutExcludedPaths() throws Exception {
+        TestProject project = TestProject.singleModuleProject();
+        String ignoredFile = "file.txt";
+        AnnotatedTag tag1 = tagCurrentCommit(project, ".", "1.0", 0);
+        project.commitFile(".", ignoredFile);
+        project.commitRandomFile(".");
+
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), Collections.singletonMap(ignoredFile, null).keySet(), null);
+        assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(), Collections.singletonList(tag1)), is(true));
+        detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), Collections.singletonMap("/" + ignoredFile, null).keySet(), null);
+        assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(), Collections.singletonList(tag1)), is(true));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void canFilterOutChangesInExcludedPathWildcard() throws Exception {
+        TestProject project = TestProject.singleModuleProject();
+        String ignoredFile = "file.txt";
+        AnnotatedTag tag1 = tagCurrentCommit(project, ".", "1.0", 0);
+        for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
+            project.commitFile(".", i + ignoredFile);
+        }
+
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), Collections.singletonMap(ignoredFile, null).keySet(), null);
+        assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(), Collections.singletonList(tag1)), is(false));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void canFilterOutExcludedChangesInSubmodule() throws Exception {
+        TestProject project = TestProject.nestedProject();
+        String ignoredFile = "file.txt";
+
+        AnnotatedTag tag1 = tagCurrentCommit(project, ".", "1.0", 4);
+        AnnotatedTag tag2 = tagCurrentCommit(project, "server-modules", "1.0", 4);
+        project.commitFile("server-modules", ignoredFile);
+
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), Collections.singletonMap(ignoredFile, null).keySet(), null);
+        assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", Collections.singletonList("server-modules"), asList(tag1, tag2)), is(false));
+        assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince("server-modules", asList("server-module-a", "server-module-b"), asList(tag1, tag2)), is(false));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void canIgnoreNotRequiredChanges() throws Exception {
+        TestProject project = TestProject.singleModuleProject();
+        String requiredFile = "file.txt";
+        AnnotatedTag tag1 = tagCurrentCommit(project, ".", "1.0", 0);
+        project.commitRandomFile(".");
+        project.commitRandomFile(".");
+        project.commitRandomFile(".");
+
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), null, Collections.singletonMap(requiredFile, null).keySet());
+        assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(), Collections.singletonList(tag1)), is(false));
+        detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), null, Collections.singletonMap("/" + requiredFile, null).keySet());
+        assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(), Collections.singletonList(tag1)), is(false));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void canSkipIgnoredPathSettingsIfRequiredPathsIsSpecified() throws Exception {
+        TestProject project = TestProject.singleModuleProject();
+        String requiredFile = "file.txt";
+        Set<String> requiredPaths = Collections.singletonMap(requiredFile, null).keySet();
+        AnnotatedTag tag1 = tagCurrentCommit(project, ".", "1.0", 0);
+        project.commitFile(".", requiredFile);
+
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), requiredPaths, requiredPaths);
+        assertThat(detector.hasChangedSince(".", noChildModules(), Collections.singletonList(tag1)), is(true));
+    }
+
     private static java.util.List<String> noChildModules() {
         return new ArrayList<String>();
     }
diff --git a/src/test/java/scaffolding/TestProject.java b/src/test/java/scaffolding/TestProject.java
index ec4a1cb..9bd614c 100644
--- a/src/test/java/scaffolding/TestProject.java
+++ b/src/test/java/scaffolding/TestProject.java
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 public class TestProject {
 
     private static final MvnRunner defaultRunner = new MvnRunner(null);
-    private static final String PLUGIN_VERSION_FOR_TESTS = "3.7-SNAPSHOT";
+    private static final String PLUGIN_VERSION_FOR_TESTS = "3.8-SNAPSHOT";
 
     public final File originDir;
     public final Git origin;
@@ -62,19 +62,23 @@ public List<String> mvnReleaserNext(String buildNumber, String...arguments) thro
         return mvnRun("releaser:next", buildNumber, arguments);
     }
 
-    public TestProject commitRandomFile(String module) throws IOException, GitAPIException {
+    public TestProject commitFile(String module, String fileName) throws IOException, GitAPIException {
         File moduleDir = new File(localDir, module);
         if (!moduleDir.isDirectory()) {
             throw new RuntimeException("Could not find " + moduleDir.getCanonicalPath());
         }
-        File random = new File(moduleDir, UUID.randomUUID() + ".txt");
-        random.createNewFile();
+        File file = new File(moduleDir, fileName);
+        file.createNewFile();
         String modulePath = module.equals(".") ? "" : module + "/";
-        local.add().addFilepattern(modulePath + random.getName()).call();
-        local.commit().setMessage("Commit " + commitCounter.getAndIncrement() + ": adding " + random.getName()).call();
+        local.add().addFilepattern(modulePath + file.getName()).call();
+        local.commit().setMessage("Commit " + commitCounter.getAndIncrement() + ": adding " + file.getName()).call();
         return this;
     }
 
+    public TestProject commitRandomFile(String module) throws IOException, GitAPIException {
+        return commitFile(module, UUID.randomUUID() + ".txt");
+    }
+
     public TestProject checkoutBranch(String branch) throws GitAPIException {
         local.checkout().setName(branch).call();
         return this;