diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index fbcb22d076..01a11b8b64 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -53,12 +53,12 @@ data:
 .PHONY: check-format
 check-format:
 	 @./scripts/run-clang-format.sh . clang-format 0 \
-		`find libtiledbsoma apis/python/src -name "*.cc" -or -name "*.cpp" -or -name "*.h"`
+		`find libtiledbsoma apis/python/src -name "*.cc" -or -name "*.cpp" -or -name "*.h" ! -name "nanoarrow.*"`
 
 .PHONY: format
 format:
 	 @./scripts/run-clang-format.sh . clang-format 1 \
-		`find libtiledbsoma apis/python/src -name "*.cc" -or -name "*.cpp" -or -name "*.h"`
+		`find libtiledbsoma apis/python/src -name "*.cc" -or -name "*.cpp" -or -name "*.h" ! -name "nanoarrow.*"`
 
 # clean
 # -------------------------------------------------------------------