diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 7a01cc3a..e0c27dd1 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
 
     <groupId>com.github.danielflower.mavenplugins</groupId>
     <artifactId>multi-module-maven-release-plugin</artifactId>
-    <version>3.6-SNAPSHOT</version> <!-- When changing also update scaffolding.TestProject.PLUGIN_VERSION_FOR_TESTS and add to src/site/markdown/changelog.md -->
-  
+    <version>3.7-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
     </description>
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 ca53fcf8..253e43d8 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/BaseMojo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/BaseMojo.java
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 package com.github.danielflower.mavenplugins.release;
 
+import static java.lang.String.format;
+
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
+
 import org.apache.maven.artifact.factory.ArtifactFactory;
 import org.apache.maven.artifact.repository.ArtifactRepository;
 import org.apache.maven.artifact.resolver.ArtifactResolver;
@@ -16,41 +21,38 @@
 import org.eclipse.jgit.transport.JschConfigSessionFactory;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.transport.UsernamePasswordCredentialsProvider;
 
-import java.util.List;
-
-import static java.lang.String.format;
-
 /**
  * @author Roland Hauser sourcepond@gmail.com
  *
  */
 public abstract class BaseMojo extends AbstractMojo {
-	/**
-	 * The Maven Project.
-	 */
-	@Parameter(property = "project", required = true, readonly = true, defaultValue = "${project}")
-	protected MavenProject project;
-
-	@Parameter(property = "projects", required = true, readonly = true, defaultValue = "${reactorProjects}")
-	protected List<MavenProject> projects;
-
-	/**
-	 * <p>
-	 * The build number to use in the release version. Given a snapshot version
-	 * of "1.0-SNAPSHOT" and a buildNumber value of "2", the actual released
-	 * version will be "1.0.2".
-	 * </p>
-	 * <p>
-	 * By default, the plugin will automatically find a suitable build number.
-	 * It will start at version 0 and increment this with each release.
-	 * </p>
-	 * <p>
-	 * This can be specified using a command line parameter ("-DbuildNumber=2")
-	 * or in this plugin's configuration.
-	 * </p>
-	 */
-	@Parameter(property = "buildNumber")
-	protected Long buildNumber;
+
+    /**
+     * The Maven Project.
+     */
+    @Parameter(property = "project", required = true, readonly = true, defaultValue = "${project}")
+    protected MavenProject project;
+
+    @Parameter(property = "projects", required = true, readonly = true, defaultValue = "${reactorProjects}")
+    protected List<MavenProject> projects;
+
+    /**
+     * <p>
+     * The build number to use in the release version. Given a snapshot version
+     * of "1.0-SNAPSHOT" and a buildNumber value of "2", the actual released
+     * version will be "1.0.2".
+     * </p>
+     * <p>
+     * By default, the plugin will automatically find a suitable build number.
+     * It will start at version 0 and increment this with each release.
+     * </p>
+     * <p>
+     * This can be specified using a command line parameter ("-DbuildNumber=2")
+     * or in this plugin's configuration.
+     * </p>
+     */
+    @Parameter(property = "buildNumber")
+    protected Long buildNumber;
 
 
     /**
@@ -61,20 +63,20 @@ public abstract class BaseMojo extends AbstractMojo {
     @Parameter(property = "versionNamer")
     protected VersionNamer versionNamer = new VersionNamer(".");
 
-	/**
-	 * The modules to release, or no value to to release the project from the
-	 * root pom, which is the default. The selected module plus any other
-	 * modules it needs will be built and released also. When run from the
-	 * command line, this can be a comma-separated list of module names.
-	 */
-	@Parameter(alias = "modulesToRelease", property = "modulesToRelease")
-	protected List<String> modulesToRelease;
-
-	/**
-	 * A module to force release on, even if no changes has been detected.
-	 */
-	@Parameter(alias = "forceRelease", property = "forceRelease")
-	protected List<String> modulesToForceRelease;
+    /**
+     * The modules to release, or no value to to release the project from the
+     * root pom, which is the default. The selected module plus any other
+     * modules it needs will be built and released also. When run from the
+     * command line, this can be a comma-separated list of module names.
+     */
+    @Parameter(alias = "modulesToRelease", property = "modulesToRelease")
+    protected List<String> modulesToRelease;
+
+    /**
+     * A module to force release on, even if no changes has been detected.
+     */
+    @Parameter(alias = "forceRelease", property = "forceRelease")
+    protected List<String> modulesToForceRelease;
 
     /**
      * Determines the action to take when no module changes are detected. Possible values:
@@ -108,40 +110,40 @@ public abstract class BaseMojo extends AbstractMojo {
     @Parameter(property = "localRepository", required = true, readonly = true, defaultValue = "${localRepository}")
     protected ArtifactRepository localRepository;
 
-	@Parameter(property = "disableSshAgent")
-	private boolean disableSshAgent;
+    @Parameter(property = "disableSshAgent")
+    private boolean disableSshAgent;
 
-	@Parameter(defaultValue = "${settings}", readonly = true, required = true)
-	private Settings settings;
+    @Parameter(defaultValue = "${settings}", readonly = true, required = true)
+    private Settings settings;
 
-	/**
-	 * <p>If set, the identityFile and passphrase will be read from the Maven settings file.</p>
+    /**
+     * <p>If set, the identityFile and passphrase will be read from the Maven settings file.</p>
      * <p>See <a href="https://maven.apache.org/guides/mini/guide-deployment-security-settings.html">https://maven.apache.org/guides/mini/guide-deployment-security-settings.html</a>
      * for more information on configuring servers in Maven.</p>
-	 */
-	@Parameter(property = "serverId")
-	private String serverId;
-
-	/**
-	 * If set, this file will be used to specify the known_hosts. This will
-	 * override any default value.
-	 */
-	@Parameter(property = "knownHosts")
-	private String knownHosts;
-
-	/**
-	 * Specifies the private key to be used for SSH URLs. By default it will use <code>~/.ssh/id_rsa</code>
-	 */
-	@Parameter(property = "privateKey")
-	private String privateKey;
-
-	/**
-	 * <p>Specifies the passphrase to be used with the identityFile specified for SSH where the private key requires a pass phrase.</p>
+     */
+    @Parameter(property = "serverId")
+    private String serverId;
+
+    /**
+     * If set, this file will be used to specify the known_hosts. This will
+     * override any default value.
+     */
+    @Parameter(property = "knownHosts")
+    private String knownHosts;
+
+    /**
+     * Specifies the private key to be used for SSH URLs. By default it will use <code>~/.ssh/id_rsa</code>
+     */
+    @Parameter(property = "privateKey")
+    private String privateKey;
+
+    /**
+     * <p>Specifies the passphrase to be used with the identityFile specified for SSH where the private key requires a pass phrase.</p>
      * <p>To avoid specifying a passphrase in your pom, you could instead specify a <code>server</code> in your
      * maven settings file and then set the <code>serverId</code> property.</p>
-	 */
-	@Parameter(property = "passphrase")
-	private String passphrase;
+     */
+    @Parameter(property = "passphrase")
+    private String passphrase;
 
     /**
      * Fetch tags from remote repository to determine the next build number. If
@@ -161,35 +163,52 @@ public abstract class BaseMojo extends AbstractMojo {
     @Parameter(property = "arguments")
     public String arguments;
 
+    /**
+     * <p>List of relative 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</li>
+     *     <li><code>bar</code> - matches the <code>foo</code> directory and ignores everything below</li>
+     *     <li><code>**.txt</code> - matches all paths ending in <code>.txt</code> (suffix match)</li>
+     *     <li><code>**.editorconfig</code> - matches all <code>.editorconfig</code> files in all (sub)directories; a special case of suffix matching</li>
+     * <ul/>
+     * <p/>
+     */
+    @Parameter(property = "ignoredPaths")
+    Set<String> ignoredPaths;
+
     final void setSettings(final Settings settings) {
-		this.settings = settings;
-	}
+        this.settings = settings;
+    }
 
     final Settings getSettings() {
         return settings;
     }
 
-	final void setServerId(final String serverId) {
-		this.serverId = serverId;
-	}
+    final void setServerId(final String serverId) {
+        this.serverId = serverId;
+    }
 
-	final void setKnownHosts(final String knownHosts) {
-		this.knownHosts = knownHosts;
-	}
+    final void setKnownHosts(final String knownHosts) {
+        this.knownHosts = knownHosts;
+    }
 
-	final void setPrivateKey(final String privateKey) {
-		this.privateKey = privateKey;
-	}
+    final void setPrivateKey(final String privateKey) {
+        this.privateKey = privateKey;
+    }
 
-	final void setPassphrase(final String passphrase) {
-		this.passphrase = passphrase;
-	}
+    final void setPassphrase(final String passphrase) {
+        this.passphrase = passphrase;
+    }
 
-	final void disableSshAgent() {
-		disableSshAgent = true;
-	}
+    final void disableSshAgent() {
+        disableSshAgent = true;
+    }
 
-	protected CredentialsProvider getCredentialsProvider(final Log log) throws ValidationException {
+    protected CredentialsProvider getCredentialsProvider(final Log log) throws ValidationException {
         if (serverId != null) {
             Server server = settings.getServer(serverId);
             if (server == null) {
@@ -204,21 +223,21 @@ protected CredentialsProvider getCredentialsProvider(final Log log) throws Valid
         return null;
     }
 
-	protected final void configureJsch(final Log log) {
-		if (!disableSshAgent) {
-			if (serverId != null) {
-				final Server server = settings.getServer(serverId);
-				if (server != null) {
-					privateKey = privateKey == null ? server.getPrivateKey() : privateKey;
-					passphrase = passphrase == null ? server.getPassphrase() : passphrase;
-				} else {
-					log.warn(format("No server configuration in Maven settings found with id %s", serverId));
-				}
-			}
-
-			JschConfigSessionFactory.setInstance(new SshAgentSessionFactory(log, knownHosts, privateKey, passphrase));
-		}
-	}
+    protected final void configureJsch(final Log log) {
+        if (!disableSshAgent) {
+            if (serverId != null) {
+                final Server server = settings.getServer(serverId);
+                if (server != null) {
+                    privateKey = privateKey == null ? server.getPrivateKey() : privateKey;
+                    passphrase = passphrase == null ? server.getPassphrase() : passphrase;
+                } else {
+                    log.warn(format("No server configuration in Maven settings found with id %s", serverId));
+                }
+            }
+
+            JschConfigSessionFactory.setInstance(new SshAgentSessionFactory(log, knownHosts, privateKey, passphrase));
+        }
+    }
 
     static void printBigErrorMessageAndThrow(Log log, String terseMessage, List<String> linesToLog) throws MojoExecutionException {
         log.error("");
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 de41f73f..a1cc705d 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);
+            Reactor reactor = Reactor.fromProjects(log, repo, project, projects, buildNumber, modulesToForceRelease, noChangesAction, resolverWrapper, versionNamer, ignoredPaths);
             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 3ef17308..0049e0d6 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/Reactor.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/Reactor.java
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
 
 import static com.github.danielflower.mavenplugins.release.MavenVersionResolver.resolveVersionsDefinedThroughProperties;
 
@@ -28,8 +29,8 @@ 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) throws ValidationException, GitAPIException, MojoExecutionException {
-        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(gitRepo.git.getRepository());
+    public static Reactor fromProjects(Log log, LocalGitRepo gitRepo, MavenProject rootProject, List<MavenProject> projects, Long buildNumber, List<String> modulesToForceRelease, NoChangesAction actionWhenNoChangesDetected, ResolverWrapper resolverWrapper, VersionNamer versionNamer, Set<String> ignoredPaths) throws ValidationException, GitAPIException, MojoExecutionException {
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(gitRepo.git.getRepository(), ignoredPaths);
         List<ReleasableModule> modules = new ArrayList<ReleasableModule>();
 
         resolveVersionsDefinedThroughProperties(projects);
@@ -121,7 +122,7 @@ public static Reactor fromProjects(Log log, LocalGitRepo gitRepo, MavenProject r
                     throw new MojoExecutionException("No module changes have been detected");
                 default:
                     log.warn("No changes have been detected in any modules so will re-release them all");
-                    List<ReleasableModule> newList = new ArrayList<ReleasableModule>();
+                    List<ReleasableModule> newList = new ArrayList<>();
                     for (ReleasableModule module : modules) {
                         newList.add(module.createReleasableVersion());
                     }
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 2cc6da85..f7829b1a 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/ReleaseMojo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/ReleaseMojo.java
@@ -69,27 +69,27 @@ public class ReleaseMojo extends BaseMojo {
      */
     @Parameter(alias = "skipTests", defaultValue = "false", property = "skipTests")
     private boolean skipTests;
-    
-	/**
-	 * Specifies a custom, user specific Maven settings file to be used during the release build.
+
+    /**
+     * Specifies a custom, user specific Maven settings file to be used during the release build.
      *
      * @deprecated In versions prior to 2.1, if the plugin was run with custom user settings the settings were ignored
      * during the release phase. Now that custom settings are inherited, setting this value is no longer needed.
      * Please use the '-s' command line parameter to set custom user settings.
-	 */
-	@Parameter(alias = "userSettings")
-	private File userSettings;
+     */
+    @Parameter(alias = "userSettings")
+    private File userSettings;
 
-	/**
-	 * Specifies a custom, global Maven settings file to be used during the release build.
+    /**
+     * Specifies a custom, global Maven settings file to be used during the release build.
      *
      * @deprecated In versions prior to 2.1, if the plugin was run with custom global settings the settings were ignored
      * during the release phase. Now that custom settings are inherited, setting this value is no longer needed.
      * Please use the '-gs' command line parameter to set custom global settings.
      */
-	@Parameter(alias = "globalSettings")
-	private File globalSettings;
-        
+    @Parameter(alias = "globalSettings")
+    private File globalSettings;
+
     /**
      * Push tags to remote repository as they are created.
      */
@@ -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);
+            Reactor reactor = Reactor.fromProjects(log, repo, project, projects, buildNumber, modulesToForceRelease, noChangesAction, resolverWrapper, versionNamer, ignoredPaths);
             if (reactor == null) {
                 return;
             }
@@ -180,8 +180,8 @@ public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException, MojoFailureException {
             tagAndPushRepo(log, repo, proposedTags);
 
             try {
-            	final ReleaseInvoker invoker = new ReleaseInvoker(getLog(), project);
-            	invoker.setGlobalSettings(globalSettings);
+                final ReleaseInvoker invoker = new ReleaseInvoker(getLog(), project);
+                invoker.setGlobalSettings(globalSettings);
                 if (userSettings != null) {
                     invoker.setUserSettings(userSettings);
                 } else if (getSettings() != null) {
@@ -190,11 +190,11 @@ public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException, MojoFailureException {
                     new DefaultSettingsWriter().write(settingsFile, null, getSettings());
                     invoker.setUserSettings(settingsFile);
                 }
-            	invoker.setGoals(goals);
-            	invoker.setModulesToRelease(modulesToRelease);
-            	invoker.setReleaseProfiles(releaseProfiles);
-            	invoker.setSkipTests(skipTests);
-            	invoker.setArguments(arguments);
+                invoker.setGoals(goals);
+                invoker.setModulesToRelease(modulesToRelease);
+                invoker.setReleaseProfiles(releaseProfiles);
+                invoker.setSkipTests(skipTests);
+                invoker.setArguments(arguments);
 
                 invoker.runMavenBuild(reactor);
                 revertChanges(log, repo, changedFiles, true); // throw if you can't revert as that is the root problem
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 81fd260c..ba1e6c67 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/TreeWalkingDiffDetector.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/TreeWalkingDiffDetector.java
@@ -6,34 +6,70 @@
 import org.eclipse.jgit.revwalk.RevWalk;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.treewalk.filter.AndTreeFilter;
 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.Collections;
+import java.util.Iterator;
 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;
 
-    public TreeWalkingDiffDetector(Repository repo) {
+    TreeWalkingDiffDetector(Repository repo, Set<String> ignoredPaths) {
         this.repo = repo;
+        this.ignoredPaths = ignoredPaths;
     }
 
-    public boolean hasChangedSince(String modulePath, java.util.List<String> childModules, Collection<AnnotatedTag> tags) throws IOException {
+    TreeWalkingDiffDetector(Repository repository) {
+        this(repository, Collections.emptySet());
+    }
+
+    public boolean hasChangedSince(String modulePath, List<String> childModules, Collection<AnnotatedTag> tags) throws IOException {
         RevWalk walk = new RevWalk(repo);
         try {
             walk.setRetainBody(false);
             walk.markStart(walk.parseCommit(repo.getRefDatabase().findRef("HEAD").getObjectId()));
-            filterOutOtherModulesChanges(modulePath, childModules, walk);
+
+            List<TreeFilter> treeFilters = createTreeFiltersForOtherModulesChanges(modulePath, childModules);
+            treeFilters.addAll(createTreeFiltersForIgnoredPaths());
+            walk.setTreeFilter(treeFilters.size() == 1 ? treeFilters.get(0) : AndTreeFilter.create(treeFilters));
             stopWalkingWhenTheTagsAreHit(tags, walk);
+
             return walk.iterator().hasNext();
         } finally {
             walk.dispose();
         }
     }
 
+    private Collection<TreeFilter> createTreeFiltersForIgnoredPaths() {
+        List<TreeFilter> treeFilters = new ArrayList<>();
+        if (ignoredPaths != null) {
+            treeFilters.addAll(
+                ignoredPaths.stream()
+                    // To differentiate path suffix filters from path filters in the configuration there is the special
+                    // "**" prefix.
+                    // foo.txt -> path filter that matches foo.txt in the root of the top-level project
+                    // bar/foo.txt -> path filter that matches foo.txt in the root of the bar directory
+                    // bar -> path filter that matches everything in/under the bar directory
+                    // **.txt -> path suffix filter that matches all paths ending in .txt (suffix match)
+                    // **.editorconfig -> path suffix filter that matches all .editorconfig files in all (sub)directories; a special case of suffix matching
+                    .map(p -> p.startsWith("**") ? PathSuffixFilter.create(p.substring(2)): PathFilter.create(p))
+                    // tree filters define what to include, yet the users define what to IGNORE -> negate the filter
+                    .map(TreeFilter::negate)
+                    .collect(Collectors.toList())
+            );
+        }
+        return treeFilters;
+    }
+
     private static void stopWalkingWhenTheTagsAreHit(Collection<AnnotatedTag> tags, RevWalk walk) throws IOException {
         for (AnnotatedTag tag : tags) {
             ObjectId commitId = tag.ref().getTarget().getObjectId();
@@ -42,7 +78,7 @@ private static void stopWalkingWhenTheTagsAreHit(Collection<AnnotatedTag> tags,
         }
     }
 
-    private void filterOutOtherModulesChanges(String modulePath, List<String> childModules, RevWalk walk) {
+    private List<TreeFilter> createTreeFiltersForOtherModulesChanges(String modulePath, List<String> childModules) {
         boolean isRootModule = ".".equals(modulePath);
         boolean isMultiModuleProject = !isRootModule || !childModules.isEmpty();
         List<TreeFilter> treeFilters = new ArrayList<>();
@@ -60,7 +96,6 @@ private void filterOutOtherModulesChanges(String modulePath, List<String> childM
             }
 
         }
-        TreeFilter treeFilter = treeFilters.size() == 1 ? treeFilters.get(0) : AndTreeFilter.create(treeFilters);
-        walk.setTreeFilter(treeFilter);
+        return treeFilters;
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/site/markdown/changelog.md b/src/site/markdown/changelog.md
index 2cb828ec..4c11c852 100644
--- a/src/site/markdown/changelog.md
+++ b/src/site/markdown/changelog.md
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 Changelog
 ---------
 
+### 3.7.0
+
+* Allow to define paths which should be ignored when detecting changes (`.gitignore` et.al.), #77
+
 ### 3.6.0
 
 * Latest tagged version from current branch is used for unchanged modules [issue #118 for details](https://github.com/danielflower/multi-module-maven-release-plugin/issues/118)
@@ -9,7 +13,7 @@ Changelog
 
 * Added support for processing version properties e.g. `<version>${foo.version}</version>`
 * Added support for processing dependencies in `<dependencyManagement>` sections e.g. for BOMs
-* Fix bugs with custom delimiters (joins build number to version)  
+* Fix bugs with custom delimiters (joins build number to version)
 
 ### 3.1.2
 
@@ -91,7 +95,7 @@ Warning: inadvertently requires java 8 (rather than java 7). Use 2.0.11 for java
 #### 1.3.4
 
 * Fixed bug where a partial build failure where a single commit has multiple tags could result in subsequent releases
-failing due to the plugin picking the older tag to use when it is detected that the module hadn't changed. 
+failing due to the plugin picking the older tag to use when it is detected that the module hadn't changed.
 
 ### 1.3.0
 
@@ -112,9 +116,9 @@ should force all children to be updated.
 
 ### 1.1.0
 
-* Bug fix: tags are now pushed before building so that in the event of failure, the next build will use an incremented build number. 
-This is needed for cases where part of the build succeeded and some module(s) were uploaded to Nexus - re-uploading would cause an 
-error if the build number is not incremented. 
+* Bug fix: tags are now pushed before building so that in the event of failure, the next build will use an incremented build number.
+This is needed for cases where part of the build succeeded and some module(s) were uploaded to Nexus - re-uploading would cause an
+error if the build number is not incremented.
 
 #### 1.0.2
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/IgnorePathsTest.java b/src/test/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/IgnorePathsTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5793c556
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/github/danielflower/mavenplugins/release/IgnorePathsTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+package com.github.danielflower.mavenplugins.release;
+
+import static com.github.danielflower.mavenplugins.release.AnnotatedTagFinderTest.saveFileInModuleAndTag;
+import static org.hamcrest.MatcherAssert.assertThat;
+import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.is;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Objects;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.GitAPIException;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
+import org.junit.runners.Parameterized;
+import org.junit.runners.Parameterized.Parameter;
+import org.junit.runners.Parameterized.Parameters;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.Sets;
+
+import scaffolding.TestProject;
+
+@RunWith(Parameterized.class)
+public class IgnorePathsTest {
+    private static TestProject project;
+    private static AnnotatedTag tag;
+
+    @Parameter
+    public String ignoredPathsPattern;
+
+    @Parameter(1)
+    public boolean changeExpected;
+
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setup() throws IOException, GitAPIException {
+        project = TestProject.nestedProject();
+        // create & commit a random file, then create a tag at that revision
+        tag = saveFileInModuleAndTag(project, "server-modules", "1.0", 0);
+        // create & commit three more files but do NOT create a tag at that revision
+        // -> changes in the project (-> signal for the plugin to release those)
+        project.commitFile("server-modules", "paul.txt");
+        project.commitFile("core-utils", "muller.txt");
+        project.commitFile("core-utils", "dave.txt");
+        project.commitFile("core-utils", "john.txt");
+        project.commitFile("parent-module", "muller.txt");
+        project.commitFile("parent-module", "dave.txt");
+        project.commitFile("parent-module", "john.txt");
+        project.commitFile(".", "4711.txt");
+    }
+
+    @Parameters(name = "{0} -> has changes: {1}")
+    public static Collection<Object[]> data() {
+        return Arrays.asList(
+            new Object[]{"**.txt", false}, // all .txt are ignored -> no (other) changes
+            new Object[]{"core-utils", true}, // only 1 directory ignored -> there are (other) changes
+            new Object[]{"core-utils/muller.txt", true}, // only 1 file in 1 directory ignored -> there are (other) changes
+            new Object[]{"4711.txt", true}, // only 1 file ignored -> there are (other) changes
+            new Object[]{null, true}, // no file ignored -> there are (other) changes
+            new Object[]{"server-modules/paul.txt,core-utils/,parent-module/,4711.txt", false}, // all file ignored -> no (other) changes
+            new Object[]{"server-modules/paul.txt,core-utils/muller.txt,core-utils/dave.txt,core-utils/john.txt,parent-module/muller.txt,parent-module/dave.txt,parent-module/john.txt,4711.txt", false} // all file ignored -> no (other) changes
+        );
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void shouldConsiderIgnoredPathsWhenDetectingChanges() throws IOException {
+        // given the test project in setup() @BeforeClass
+        Set<String> ignoredPaths = Objects.isNull(ignoredPathsPattern) ? null : Sets.newHashSet(ignoredPathsPattern.split(",|;"));
+        DiffDetector detector = new TreeWalkingDiffDetector(project.local.getRepository(), ignoredPaths);
+
+        // when
+        boolean hasChangedSince = detector.hasChangedSince(".", Collections.emptyList(), singletonListOf(tag));
+
+        // then
+        assertThat(hasChangedSince, is(changeExpected));
+    }
+
+    private static Collection<AnnotatedTag> singletonListOf(AnnotatedTag tag) {
+        return Collections.singletonList(tag);
+    }
+
+
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/scaffolding/TestProject.java b/src/test/java/scaffolding/TestProject.java
index e89f6fe7..804b270b 100644
--- a/src/test/java/scaffolding/TestProject.java
+++ b/src/test/java/scaffolding/TestProject.java
@@ -4,7 +4,15 @@
 import org.apache.commons.io.filefilter.FileFilterUtils;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.api.Git;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.api.InitCommand;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.AbortedByHookException;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.ConcurrentRefUpdateException;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.GitAPIException;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.NoFilepatternException;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.NoHeadException;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.NoMessageException;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.ServiceUnavailableException;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.UnmergedPathsException;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.WrongRepositoryStateException;
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.FileFilter;
@@ -19,7 +27,7 @@
 public class TestProject {
 
     private static final MvnRunner defaultRunner = new MvnRunner(null);
-    private static final String PLUGIN_VERSION_FOR_TESTS = "3.6-SNAPSHOT";
+    private static final String PLUGIN_VERSION_FOR_TESTS = "3.7-SNAPSHOT";
 
     public final File originDir;
     public final Git origin;
@@ -63,11 +71,18 @@ public List<String> mvnReleaserNext(String buildNumber, String...arguments) thro
     }
 
     public TestProject commitRandomFile(String module) throws IOException, GitAPIException {
+        String filenameAndPostfix = UUID.randomUUID() + ".txt";
+        return commitFile(module, filenameAndPostfix);
+    }
+
+    public TestProject commitFile(String module, String filenameAndPostfix) throws IOException, GitAPIException,
+            NoFilepatternException, AbortedByHookException, ConcurrentRefUpdateException, NoHeadException,
+            NoMessageException, ServiceUnavailableException, UnmergedPathsException, WrongRepositoryStateException {
         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");
+        File random = new File(moduleDir, filenameAndPostfix);
         random.createNewFile();
         String modulePath = module.equals(".") ? "" : module + "/";
         local.add().addFilepattern(modulePath + random.getName()).call();
@@ -186,7 +201,7 @@ public static TestProject dependencyManagementProject() {
     }
 
     public static TestProject dependencyManagementUsingParentModuleVersionPropertyProject() {
-	    return project("dependencymanagement-using-parent-module-version-property");
+        return project("dependencymanagement-using-parent-module-version-property");
     }
 
     public static TestProject moduleWithTestFailure() {