diff --git a/src/analysis.c b/src/analysis.c
index 1b16312..8a01703 100644
--- a/src/analysis.c
+++ b/src/analysis.c
@@ -49,6 +49,15 @@ static lua_State *lua_state;
 int _mii_analysis_lua_run(lua_State* lua_state, const char* code, char*** paths_out, int* num_paths_out);
 #endif
 
+static char** ignore_paths = NULL;
+static int num_ignore_paths = 0;
+static char** ignore_mods = NULL;
+static int num_ignore_mods = 0;
+
+/* module filter function */
+int _mii_analysis_is_mod_ignored(const char* path, const char* mod);
+int _mii_analysis_filter_init(const char* filter, const char* sep, char*** out, int* num_out);
+
 /* word expansion functions */
 char* _mii_analysis_expand(const char* expr);
 
@@ -354,7 +363,20 @@ char* _mii_analysis_expand(const char* expr) {
 #if MII_ENABLE_SPIDER
 
 /* parse the json and fill module info */
-int mii_analysis_parse_module_json(const cJSON* mod_json, mii_modtable_entry* mod) {
+int mii_analysis_parse_module_json(const cJSON* mod_json, mii_modtable_entry** mod) {
+    /* get the code */
+    cJSON* code = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(mod_json, "fullName");
+    if (code == NULL) {
+        mii_error("Couldn't find the code in the JSON!");
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    /* should we filter out the module? */
+    if (_mii_analysis_is_mod_ignored(mod_json->string, code->valuestring)) {
+        mii_debug("Filtered out module %s", code->valuestring);
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     /* stat the type */
     struct stat st;
     if (stat(mod_json->string, &st) != 0) {
@@ -362,35 +384,30 @@ int mii_analysis_parse_module_json(const cJSON* mod_json, mii_modtable_entry* mo
         return -1;
     }
 
-    /* get the code */
-    cJSON* code = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(mod_json, "fullName");
-    if (code == NULL) {
-        mii_error("Couldn't find the code in the JSON!");
-        return -1;
-    }
+    *mod = malloc(sizeof **mod);
 
     /* get the parents */
     cJSON* parents_arrs = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(mod_json, "parentAA");
-    if(_mii_analysis_parents_from_json(parents_arrs, &mod->parents, &mod->num_parents)) {
+    if(_mii_analysis_parents_from_json(parents_arrs, &(*mod)->parents, &(*mod)->num_parents)) {
         mii_error("Couldn't get parents from JSON!");
         return -1;
     }
 
     /* fill up some of the info */
-    mod->bins = NULL;
-    mod->num_bins = 0;
-    mod->path = mii_strdup(mod_json->string);
-    mod->type = MII_MODTABLE_MODTYPE_LMOD;
-    mod->timestamp = st.st_mtime;
-    mod->code = mii_strdup(code->valuestring);
-    mod->analysis_complete = 1;
+    (*mod)->bins = NULL;
+    (*mod)->num_bins = 0;
+    (*mod)->path = mii_strdup(mod_json->string);
+    (*mod)->type = MII_MODTABLE_MODTYPE_LMOD;
+    (*mod)->timestamp = st.st_mtime;
+    (*mod)->code = mii_strdup(code->valuestring);
+    (*mod)->analysis_complete = 1;
 
     /* get the bins */
     cJSON* bin_paths = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(mod_json, "pathA");
     if (bin_paths != NULL) {
         for (cJSON* path = bin_paths->child; path != NULL; path = path->next) {
             /* analyze the bin paths */
-            _mii_analysis_scan_path(path->string, &mod->bins, &mod->num_bins);
+            _mii_analysis_scan_path(path->string, &(*mod)->bins, &(*mod)->num_bins);
         }
     }
 
@@ -442,5 +459,76 @@ int _mii_analysis_parents_from_json(const cJSON* json, char*** parents_out, int*
 
     return 0;
 }
-
 #endif
+
+int mii_analysis_filters_init(const char* paths, const char* modules) {
+    /* init path filter */
+    int res = _mii_analysis_filter_init(paths, MII_ANALYSIS_PATH_SEP, &ignore_paths, &num_ignore_paths);
+
+    if (res) return res;
+
+    /* init module filter */
+    return _mii_analysis_filter_init(modules, MII_ANALYSIS_MOD_SEP, &ignore_mods, &num_ignore_mods);
+}
+
+int _mii_analysis_filter_init(const char* filter, const char* sep, char*** out, int* num_out) {
+    /* initialize any filter type */
+
+    /* if NULL, nothing to do */
+    if (filter == NULL) {
+        *out = NULL;
+        *num_out = 0;
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    char* filter_copy = strdup(filter);
+
+    for (char* tok = strtok(filter_copy, sep); tok; tok = strtok(NULL, sep), ++(*num_out)) {
+        *out = (char**) realloc(*out, sizeof(char*) * (*num_out + 1));
+
+        if (*out == NULL) {
+            mii_error("Couldn't allocate memory for filter: %s", strerror(errno));
+            free(filter_copy);
+            return -1;
+        }
+
+        (*out)[*num_out] = strdup(tok);
+    }
+    free(filter_copy);
+
+    return 0;
+}
+
+int mii_analysis_filters_free() {
+    for (int i = 0; i < num_ignore_paths; ++i) {
+        free(ignore_paths[i]);
+    }
+    for (int i = 0; i < num_ignore_mods; ++i) {
+        free(ignore_mods[i]);
+    }
+
+    if (ignore_paths) free(ignore_paths);
+    if (ignore_mods) free(ignore_mods);
+
+    return 0;
+}
+
+int _mii_analysis_is_mod_ignored(const char* path, const char* mod) {
+    /* returns a truthy value if the module should be ignored based on the filters */
+
+    /* check if the path is ignored */
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < num_ignore_paths; ++i) {
+        if (strstr(path, ignore_paths[i]) == path) {
+            return 1;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* check if the module is ignored */
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < num_ignore_mods; ++i) {
+        if (strstr(mod, ignore_mods[i]) == mod) {
+            return 1;
+        }
+    }
+
+    return 0;
+}
diff --git a/src/analysis.h b/src/analysis.h
index fbb2ccd..637ac64 100644
--- a/src/analysis.h
+++ b/src/analysis.h
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 #endif
 
 #define MII_ANALYSIS_LINEBUF_SIZE 512
+#define MII_ANALYSIS_PATH_SEP ":"
+#define MII_ANALYSIS_MOD_SEP ","
 
 /*
  * analysis.h
@@ -19,8 +21,11 @@ void mii_analysis_free();
 
 int mii_analysis_run(const char* modfile, int modtype, char*** bins_out, int* num_bins_out);
 
+int mii_analysis_filters_init(const char* paths, const char* modules);
+int mii_analysis_filters_free();
+
 #if MII_ENABLE_SPIDER
-int mii_analysis_parse_module_json(const cJSON* mod_json, mii_modtable_entry* mod);
+int mii_analysis_parse_module_json(const cJSON* mod_json, mii_modtable_entry** mod);
 #endif
 
 #endif
diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index bdb8ac6..33b6853 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -21,8 +21,10 @@ static const char* USAGE_STRING =
     "    -h, --help       Show this message\n"
     "    -v, --version    Show Mii build version\n"
     "\nOPTIONS:\n"
-    "    -d, --datadir <datadir>    Use <datadir> to store index data\n"
-    "    -m, --modulepath <path>    Use <path> instead of $MODULEPATH\n"
+    "    -d, --datadir <datadir>        Use <datadir> to store index data\n"
+    "    -m, --modulepath <path>        Use <path> instead of $MODULEPATH\n"
+    "    -p, --ignore-paths <path>      Ignore <path> when searching for modules, works with spider mode only\n"
+    "    -n, --ignore-modules <names>   Ignore <names> (comma-separated) when searching for modules, works with spider mode only\n"
     "\nSUBCOMMANDS:\n"
     "    build               Regenerate the module index\n"
     "    sync                Update the module index\n"
@@ -38,12 +40,14 @@ static const char* USAGE_STRING =
     "    help                Show this message\n";
 
 static struct option long_options[] = {
-    { "datadir",    required_argument, NULL, 'd' },
-    { "modulepath", required_argument, NULL, 'm' },
-    { "help",       no_argument,       NULL, 'h' },
-    { "json",       no_argument,       NULL, 'j' },
-    { "version",    no_argument,       NULL, 'v' },
-    { NULL,         0,                 NULL,  0 },
+    { "datadir",        required_argument, NULL, 'd' },
+    { "modulepath",     required_argument, NULL, 'm' },
+    { "ignore-paths",   required_argument, NULL, 'p' },
+    { "ignore-modules", required_argument, NULL, 'n' },
+    { "help",           no_argument,       NULL, 'h' },
+    { "json",           no_argument,       NULL, 'j' },
+    { "version",        no_argument,       NULL, 'v' },
+    { NULL,             0,                 NULL,  0 },
 };
 
 static void usage(int header, char* a0);
@@ -54,7 +58,7 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
     int opt;
     int search_result_flags = 0;
 
-    while ((opt = getopt_long(argc, argv, "d:m:hjv", long_options, NULL)) != -1) {
+    while ((opt = getopt_long(argc, argv, "d:m:p:n:hjv", long_options, NULL)) != -1) {
         switch (opt) {
         case 'd': /* set datadir */
             mii_option_datadir(optarg);
@@ -62,6 +66,12 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
         case 'm': /* set modulepath */
             mii_option_modulepath(optarg);
             break;
+        case 'p': /* set paths to ignore */
+            mii_option_ignore_paths(optarg);
+            break;
+        case 'n': /* set modules to ignore */
+            mii_option_ignore_modules(optarg);
+            break;
         case 'j':
             search_result_flags |= MII_SEARCH_RESULT_JSON;
             break;
diff --git a/src/mii.c b/src/mii.c
index 2813f92..e0c5a24 100644
--- a/src/mii.c
+++ b/src/mii.c
@@ -14,8 +14,10 @@
 #include <unistd.h>
 
 /* options */
-static char* _mii_modulepath = NULL;
-static char* _mii_datadir    = NULL;
+static char* _mii_modulepath     = NULL;
+static char* _mii_datadir        = NULL;
+static char* _mii_ignore_paths   = NULL;
+static char* _mii_ignore_modules = NULL;
 
 /* state */
 static char* _mii_datafile = NULL;
@@ -28,6 +30,14 @@ void mii_option_datadir(const char* datadir) {
     if (datadir) _mii_datadir = mii_strdup(datadir);
 }
 
+void mii_option_ignore_paths(const char* paths) {
+    if (paths) _mii_ignore_paths = mii_strdup(paths);
+}
+
+void mii_option_ignore_modules(const char* modules) {
+    if (modules) _mii_ignore_modules = mii_strdup(modules);
+}
+
 int mii_init() {
     if (!_mii_modulepath) {
         char* env_modulepath = getenv("MODULEPATH");
@@ -91,9 +101,11 @@ int mii_init() {
 }
 
 void mii_free() {
-    if (_mii_modulepath) free(_mii_modulepath);
-    if (_mii_datadir) free(_mii_datadir);
-    if (_mii_datafile) free(_mii_datafile);
+    if (_mii_modulepath)   free(_mii_modulepath);
+    if (_mii_datadir)      free(_mii_datadir);
+    if (_mii_datafile)     free(_mii_datafile);
+    if (_mii_ignore_paths)   free(_mii_ignore_paths);
+    if (_mii_ignore_modules) free(_mii_ignore_modules);
 }
 
 int mii_build() {
@@ -107,7 +119,7 @@ int mii_build() {
     int count;
 
 #if MII_ENABLE_SPIDER
-    if (mii_modtable_spider_gen(&index, _mii_modulepath, &count)) {
+    if (mii_modtable_spider_gen(&index, _mii_modulepath, &count, _mii_ignore_paths, _mii_ignore_modules)) {
         mii_error("Unexpected failure generating the index with spider!");
         return -1;
     }
diff --git a/src/mii.h b/src/mii.h
index 3a713c5..c7474e8 100644
--- a/src/mii.h
+++ b/src/mii.h
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@
 
 void mii_option_modulepath(const char* modulepath);
 void mii_option_datadir(const char* datadir);
+void mii_option_ignore_paths(const char* paths);
+void mii_option_ignore_modules(const char* modules);
 
 int mii_init();
 void mii_free();
diff --git a/src/modtable.c b/src/modtable.c
index 81e12cd..54c929c 100644
--- a/src/modtable.c
+++ b/src/modtable.c
@@ -670,7 +670,7 @@ mii_modtable_entry* _mii_modtable_locate_entry(mii_modtable* p, const char* path
 #if MII_ENABLE_SPIDER
 
 /* generate the index using the spider command provided by Lmod */
-int mii_modtable_spider_gen(mii_modtable* p, const char* path, int* count) {
+int mii_modtable_spider_gen(mii_modtable* p, const char* path, int* count, const char* skip_paths, const char* skip_modules) {
     char* lmod_dir = getenv("LMOD_DIR");
     if (lmod_dir == NULL || strlen(lmod_dir) == 0) {
         mii_error("Couldn't find Lmod's directory. Please set LMOD_DIR.");
@@ -726,18 +726,24 @@ int mii_modtable_spider_gen(mii_modtable* p, const char* path, int* count) {
         return -1;
     }
 
+    mii_analysis_filters_init(skip_paths, skip_modules);
+
     /* iterate over every modulefile found by the spider */
     for (cJSON* module = json->child; module != NULL; module = module->next) {
         for (cJSON* modulefile = module->child; modulefile != NULL; modulefile = modulefile->next) {
             /* allocate memory and get info */
-            mii_modtable_entry* new_module = malloc(sizeof *new_module);
+            mii_modtable_entry* new_module = NULL;
 
-            if(mii_analysis_parse_module_json(modulefile, new_module)) {
+            if(mii_analysis_parse_module_json(modulefile, &new_module)) {
                 mii_error("Couldn't parse JSON for module %s", modulefile->string);
-                free(new_module);
                 return -1;
             }
 
+            /* module was filtered out */
+            if (!new_module) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
             mii_debug("analysis for %s : %d bins", new_module->path, new_module->num_bins);
 
             /* add to the modtable */
@@ -750,10 +756,13 @@ int mii_modtable_spider_gen(mii_modtable* p, const char* path, int* count) {
         }
     }
     cJSON_Delete(json);
+    mii_analysis_filters_free();
 
     *count = p->num_modules;
 
     return 0;
 }
 
+
+
 #endif
diff --git a/src/modtable.h b/src/modtable.h
index 6b3f7ce..201d866 100644
--- a/src/modtable.h
+++ b/src/modtable.h
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ int mii_modtable_gen(mii_modtable* p, char* modulepath); /* scan for modules and
 int mii_modtable_import(mii_modtable* p, const char* path); /* import an existing table from the disk */
 
 #if MII_ENABLE_SPIDER
-int mii_modtable_spider_gen(mii_modtable* p, const char* path, int* count);
+int mii_modtable_spider_gen(mii_modtable* p, const char* path, int* count, const char* skip_paths, const char* skip_modules);
 #endif
 
 int mii_modtable_preanalysis(mii_modtable* p, const char* path); /* preanalyze up-to-date modules */