diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0555baa4..e516dd05 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -154,7 +154,16 @@ You can also configure the aspect to skip targets based on a custom list of tags
 your_aspect = dwyu_aspect_factory(skipped_tags = ["tag1_marking_skipping", "tag2_marking_skipping"])
 ```
 
-This is demonstrated in the [skipping_targets example](/examples/skipping_targets).
+Another possibility is skipping all targets from external workspaces.
+Often external dependencies are not our under control and thus analyzing them is of little value.
+This option is mostly useful in combination with the recursive analysis.
+You configure it like this:
+
+```starlark
+your_aspect = dwyu_aspect_factory(skip_external_targets = True)
+```
+
+Both options are demonstrated in the [skipping_targets example](/examples/skipping_targets).
 
 ## Recursion
 
diff --git a/examples/MODULE.bazel b/examples/MODULE.bazel
index accb44a8..2500e7dd 100644
--- a/examples/MODULE.bazel
+++ b/examples/MODULE.bazel
@@ -20,3 +20,13 @@ python = use_extension(
     dev_dependency = True,
 )
 python.toolchain(python_version = "3.8")
+
+#
+# Support to make the examples work
+#
+
+bazel_dep(name = "external_targets", dev_dependency = True)
+local_path_override(
+    module_name = "external_targets",
+    path = "support/external_targets",
+)
diff --git a/examples/WORKSPACE b/examples/WORKSPACE
index 1766bb37..0bab054a 100644
--- a/examples/WORKSPACE
+++ b/examples/WORKSPACE
@@ -36,3 +36,11 @@ python_register_toolchains(
     name = "python",
     python_version = "3.8",
 )
+
+#
+# Support to make the examples work
+#
+
+load("//:support/external_targets.bzl", "load_external_targets")
+
+load_external_targets()
diff --git a/examples/aspect.bzl b/examples/aspect.bzl
index c8ee9c23..342cd4ab 100644
--- a/examples/aspect.bzl
+++ b/examples/aspect.bzl
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ load("@depend_on_what_you_use//:defs.bzl", "dwyu_aspect_factory")
 dwyu = dwyu_aspect_factory(use_implementation_deps = True)
 
 dwyu_recursive = dwyu_aspect_factory(recursive = True)
+dwyu_recursive_skip_external = dwyu_aspect_factory(recursive = True, skip_external_targets = True)
 dwyu_custom_skipping = dwyu_aspect_factory(skipped_tags = ["my_tag"])
 
 # We need to explicitly pass labels as passing strings does not work with a bzlmod setup.
diff --git a/examples/skipping_targets/BUILD b/examples/skipping_targets/BUILD
index 826c1bf2..709f2132 100644
--- a/examples/skipping_targets/BUILD
+++ b/examples/skipping_targets/BUILD
@@ -28,3 +28,9 @@ cc_library(
     name = "lib_b",
     hdrs = ["lib_b.h"],
 )
+
+cc_library(
+    name = "use_broken_external_dependency",
+    hdrs = ["use_broken_external_dependency.h"],
+    deps = ["@external_targets//:has_unused_dep"],
+)
diff --git a/examples/skipping_targets/README.md b/examples/skipping_targets/README.md
index f1f4149c..7fd55e00 100644
--- a/examples/skipping_targets/README.md
+++ b/examples/skipping_targets/README.md
@@ -13,3 +13,7 @@ succeeds due to the target being tagged with `no-dwyu`.
 Executing <br>
 `bazel build --aspects=//:aspect.bzl%dwyu_custom_skipping --output_groups=dwyu //skipping_targets:bad_target_custom_skip` <br>
 showcases the same skipping behavior, but for the tag `mmy_tag` which we configured in [aspect.bzl](../aspect.bzl).
+
+Executing <br>
+`bazel build --aspects=//:aspect.bzl%dwyu_recursive_skip_external --output_groups=dwyu //skipping_targets:use_broken_external_dependency` <br>
+showcases how we can ignore targets from external workspaces.
diff --git a/examples/skipping_targets/use_broken_external_dependency.h b/examples/skipping_targets/use_broken_external_dependency.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..26fc219f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/skipping_targets/use_broken_external_dependency.h
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+#include "has_unused_dep.h"
diff --git a/examples/support/external_targets.bzl b/examples/support/external_targets.bzl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9f11231d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/support/external_targets.bzl
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# buildifier: disable=unnamed-macro
+def load_external_targets():
+    native.local_repository(
+        name = "external_targets",
+        path = "support/external_targets",
+    )
diff --git a/examples/support/external_targets/BUILD b/examples/support/external_targets/BUILD
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..11e2427a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/support/external_targets/BUILD
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+cc_library(
+    name = "has_unused_dep",
+    hdrs = ["has_unused_dep.h"],
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+    deps = [":foo"],
+)
+
+cc_library(
+    name = "foo",
+    hdrs = ["foo.h"],
+)
diff --git a/examples/support/external_targets/MODULE.bazel b/examples/support/external_targets/MODULE.bazel
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a35fff9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/support/external_targets/MODULE.bazel
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+module(name = "external_targets")
diff --git a/examples/support/external_targets/WORKSPACE b/examples/support/external_targets/WORKSPACE
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/examples/support/external_targets/foo.h b/examples/support/external_targets/foo.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/examples/support/external_targets/has_unused_dep.h b/examples/support/external_targets/has_unused_dep.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/examples/test.py b/examples/test.py
index 2ac59922..b36a4c0d 100755
--- a/examples/test.py
+++ b/examples/test.py
@@ -57,6 +57,10 @@ class Example:
         build_cmd="--aspects=//:aspect.bzl%dwyu_custom_skipping --output_groups=dwyu //skipping_targets:bad_target_custom_skip",
         expected_success=True,
     ),
+    Example(
+        build_cmd="--aspects=//:aspect.bzl%dwyu_recursive_skip_external --output_groups=dwyu //skipping_targets:use_broken_external_dependency",
+        expected_success=True,
+    ),
     Example(
         build_cmd="--aspects=//:aspect.bzl%dwyu_map_specific_deps --output_groups=dwyu //target_mapping:use_lib_b",
         expected_success=True,
diff --git a/src/aspect/dwyu.bzl b/src/aspect/dwyu.bzl
index 0b9ca26b..65c20b5a 100644
--- a/src/aspect/dwyu.bzl
+++ b/src/aspect/dwyu.bzl
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ load("@bazel_tools//tools/cpp:toolchain_utils.bzl", "find_cpp_toolchain")
 load("@depend_on_what_you_use//src/cc_info_mapping:cc_info_mapping.bzl", "DwyuCcInfoRemappingsInfo")
 load("@rules_cc//cc:defs.bzl", "CcInfo", "cc_common")
 
+def _is_external(ctx):
+    return ctx.label.workspace_root.startswith("external")
+
 def _get_target_sources(rule):
     public_files = []
     private_files = []
@@ -195,6 +198,10 @@ def dwyu_aspect_impl(target, ctx):
     if not ctx.rule.kind in ["cc_binary", "cc_library", "cc_test"]:
         return []
 
+    # If configured, skip external targets
+    if ctx.attr._skip_external_targets and _is_external(ctx):
+        return []
+
     # Skip targets which explicitly opt-out
     if any([tag in ctx.attr._skipped_tags for tag in ctx.rule.attr.tags]):
         return []
diff --git a/src/aspect/factory.bzl b/src/aspect/factory.bzl
index bad66628..16973bc8 100644
--- a/src/aspect/factory.bzl
+++ b/src/aspect/factory.bzl
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ load(":dwyu.bzl", "dwyu_aspect_impl")
 def dwyu_aspect_factory(
         ignored_includes = None,
         recursive = False,
+        skip_external_targets = False,
         skipped_tags = None,
         target_mapping = None,
         use_implementation_deps = False,
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@ def dwyu_aspect_factory(
                           nothing is specified, the standard library headers are ignored by default.
         recursive: If true, execute the aspect on all transitive dependencies.
                    If false, analyze only the target the aspect is being executed on.
+        skip_external_targets: If a target is from an external workspace DWYU skips analyzing it.
         skipped_tags: Do not execute the aspect on targets with at least one of those tags. By default skips the
                       analysis for targets tagged with 'no-dwyu'.
         target_mapping: A target providing a map of target labels to alternative CcInfo provider objects for those
@@ -67,6 +69,9 @@ def dwyu_aspect_factory(
             "_recursive": attr.bool(
                 default = recursive,
             ),
+            "_skip_external_targets": attr.bool(
+                default = skip_external_targets,
+            ),
             "_skipped_tags": attr.string_list(
                 default = aspect_skipped_tags,
             ),
diff --git a/test/aspect/MODULE.bazel b/test/aspect/MODULE.bazel
index f3653794..9a51727c 100644
--- a/test/aspect/MODULE.bazel
+++ b/test/aspect/MODULE.bazel
@@ -55,6 +55,12 @@ local_path_override(
     path = "complex_includes/ext_repo",
 )
 
+bazel_dep(name = "skip_external_deps_test_repo", dev_dependency = True)
+local_path_override(
+    module_name = "skip_external_deps_test_repo",
+    path = "skip_external_targets/external_dep",
+)
+
 ##
 ## The Migration phase using WORKSPACE.bzlmod and MODULE.bazel together does not support properly loading the implicit
 ## Bazel dependencies. Thus, we need to load some basic things directly. This should become superfluous when we are
diff --git a/test/aspect/WORKSPACE b/test/aspect/WORKSPACE
index fbb862d1..767da38d 100644
--- a/test/aspect/WORKSPACE
+++ b/test/aspect/WORKSPACE
@@ -49,7 +49,10 @@ python_register_multi_toolchains(
 
 load("//complex_includes:ext_repo.bzl", "load_complex_includes_repo")
 load("//external_repo:repo.bzl", "load_external_repo")
+load("//skip_external_targets:external_dep.bzl", "load_external_dep")
 
 load_external_repo()
 
 load_complex_includes_repo()
+
+load_external_dep()
diff --git a/test/aspect/recursion/f.h b/test/aspect/recursion/f.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7e09faa6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/aspect/recursion/f.h
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+#ifndef F_H
+#define F_H
+
+#endif
diff --git a/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/BUILD b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/BUILD
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/aspect.bzl b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/aspect.bzl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..14701b7b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/aspect.bzl
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+load("@depend_on_what_you_use//:defs.bzl", "dwyu_aspect_factory")
+
+dwyu_skip_external = dwyu_aspect_factory(skip_external_targets = True)
diff --git a/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep.bzl b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep.bzl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..92c946c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep.bzl
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# buildifier: disable=unnamed-macro
+def load_external_dep():
+    native.local_repository(
+        name = "skip_external_deps_test_repo",
+        path = "skip_external_targets/external_dep",
+    )
diff --git a/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/BUILD b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/BUILD
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9f31205f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/BUILD
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+cc_library(
+    name = "broken_dep",
+    hdrs = ["broken_dep.h"],
+    deps = ["//lib:a"],  # Missing dependency to //lib:b
+)
diff --git a/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/MODULE.bazel b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/MODULE.bazel
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cf76cd70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/MODULE.bazel
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+module(name = "skip_external_deps_test_repo")
diff --git a/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/WORKSPACE b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/WORKSPACE
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/broken_dep.h b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/broken_dep.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..58495548
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/broken_dep.h
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#include "lib/lib_a.h"
+#include "lib/lib_b.h"
+
+int useLibWithoutDirectDep() {
+    return doLibA() + doLibB();
+}
diff --git a/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/lib/BUILD b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/lib/BUILD
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0cc7511d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/lib/BUILD
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+cc_library(
+    name = "a",
+    hdrs = ["lib_a.h"],
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+    deps = [":b"],
+)
+
+cc_library(
+    name = "b",
+    hdrs = ["lib_b.h"],
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+)
diff --git a/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/lib/lib_a.h b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/lib/lib_a.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2cfe0acb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/lib/lib_a.h
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+#include "lib/lib_b.h"
+
+int doLibA() {
+    return doLibB() + 42;
+}
diff --git a/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/lib/lib_b.h b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/lib/lib_b.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..43fe9469
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/external_dep/lib/lib_b.h
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+int doLibB() {
+    return 1337;
+}
diff --git a/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/test_skip_broken_target.py b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/test_skip_broken_target.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f5167685
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/aspect/skip_external_targets/test_skip_broken_target.py
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+from result import ExpectedResult, Result
+from test_case import TestCaseBase
+
+
+class TestCase(TestCaseBase):
+    def execute_test_logic(self) -> Result:
+        # If we would not skip al external targets the analysis would find an issue with the broken dependency
+        expected = ExpectedResult(success=True)
+        actual = self._run_dwyu(
+            target="@skip_external_deps_test_repo//:broken_dep",
+            aspect="//skip_external_targets:aspect.bzl%dwyu_skip_external",
+        )
+
+        return self._check_result(actual=actual, expected=expected)