diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/CHANGELOG.md b/jib-gradle-plugin/CHANGELOG.md
index 13587a5ad5..e17c77365b 100644
--- a/jib-gradle-plugin/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 ### Added
 - Additionally reads credentials from `~/.docker/.dockerconfigjson` and legacy Docker config (`~/.docker/.dockercfg`). Also searches for `$HOME/.docker/*` (in addition to current `System.get("user.home")/.docker/*`). This may help retrieve credentials, for example, on Kubernetes. ([#2260](https://github.com/GoogleContainerTools/jib/issues/2260))
+- New skaffold configuration options that modify how jib's build config is presented to skaffold ([#2292](https://github.com/GoogleContainerTools/jib/pull/2292)):
+    - `jib.skaffold.watch.buildIncludes`: a list of build files to watch
+    - `jib.skaffold.watch.includes`: a list of project files to watch
+    - `jib.skaffold.watch.excludes`: a list of files to exclude from watching
+    - `jib.skaffold.sync.excludes`: a list of files to exclude from sync'ing
 
 ### Changed
 
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/JibExtension.java b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/JibExtension.java
index 54f03b5d51..149e1deb4e 100644
--- a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/JibExtension.java
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/JibExtension.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 package com.google.cloud.tools.jib.gradle;
 
+import com.google.cloud.tools.jib.gradle.skaffold.SkaffoldParameters;
 import com.google.cloud.tools.jib.plugins.common.PropertyNames;
 import org.gradle.api.Action;
 import org.gradle.api.Project;
@@ -77,6 +78,7 @@ public class JibExtension {
   private final ExtraDirectoriesParameters extraDirectories;
   private final DockerClientParameters dockerClient;
   private final OutputPathsParameters outputPaths;
+  private final SkaffoldParameters skaffold;
   private final Property<Boolean> allowInsecureRegistries;
   private final Property<String> containerizingMode;
 
@@ -94,6 +96,7 @@ public JibExtension(Project project) {
     extraDirectories = objectFactory.newInstance(ExtraDirectoriesParameters.class, project);
     dockerClient = objectFactory.newInstance(DockerClientParameters.class);
     outputPaths = objectFactory.newInstance(OutputPathsParameters.class, project);
+    skaffold = objectFactory.newInstance(SkaffoldParameters.class, project);
 
     allowInsecureRegistries = objectFactory.property(Boolean.class);
     containerizingMode = objectFactory.property(String.class);
@@ -127,6 +130,10 @@ public void outputPaths(Action<? super OutputPathsParameters> action) {
     action.execute(outputPaths);
   }
 
+  public void skaffold(Action<? super SkaffoldParameters> action) {
+    action.execute(skaffold);
+  }
+
   public void setAllowInsecureRegistries(boolean allowInsecureRegistries) {
     this.allowInsecureRegistries.set(allowInsecureRegistries);
   }
@@ -171,6 +178,12 @@ public OutputPathsParameters getOutputPaths() {
     return outputPaths;
   }
 
+  @Nested
+  @Optional
+  public SkaffoldParameters getSkaffold() {
+    return skaffold;
+  }
+
   @Input
   boolean getAllowInsecureRegistries() {
     if (System.getProperty(PropertyNames.ALLOW_INSECURE_REGISTRIES) != null) {
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/FilesTaskV2.java b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/FilesTaskV2.java
index c4cb660a6f..69c5b99a28 100644
--- a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/FilesTaskV2.java
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/FilesTaskV2.java
@@ -109,6 +109,14 @@ public void listFiles() throws IOException {
       }
     }
 
+    // Configure other files from config
+    SkaffoldWatchParameters watch = jibExtension.getSkaffold().getWatch();
+    watch.getBuildIncludes().forEach(skaffoldFilesOutput::addBuild);
+    watch.getIncludes().forEach(skaffoldFilesOutput::addInput);
+    // we don't do any special pre-processing for ignore (input and ignore can overlap with exact
+    // matches)
+    watch.getExcludes().forEach(skaffoldFilesOutput::addIgnore);
+
     // Print files
     System.out.println();
     System.out.println("BEGIN JIB JSON");
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SkaffoldParameters.java b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SkaffoldParameters.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..58c6124a8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SkaffoldParameters.java
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Google LLC.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not
+ * use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of
+ * the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+ * License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
+ * the License.
+ */
+
+package com.google.cloud.tools.jib.gradle.skaffold;
+
+import com.google.common.base.Preconditions;
+import javax.inject.Inject;
+import org.gradle.api.Action;
+import org.gradle.api.Project;
+import org.gradle.api.model.ObjectFactory;
+import org.gradle.api.tasks.Nested;
+
+/** Skaffold specific JibExtension parameters. */
+public class SkaffoldParameters {
+
+  private final SkaffoldWatchParameters watch;
+  private final SkaffoldSyncParameters sync;
+
+  @Inject
+  public SkaffoldParameters(Project project) {
+    ObjectFactory objectFactory = project.getObjects();
+
+    watch = objectFactory.newInstance(SkaffoldWatchParameters.class, project);
+    sync = objectFactory.newInstance(SkaffoldSyncParameters.class, project);
+
+    Preconditions.checkNotNull(watch);
+  }
+
+  public void watch(Action<? super SkaffoldWatchParameters> action) {
+    action.execute(watch);
+  }
+
+  public void sync(Action<? super SkaffoldSyncParameters> action) {
+    action.execute(sync);
+  }
+
+  @Nested
+  public SkaffoldWatchParameters getWatch() {
+    return watch;
+  }
+
+  @Nested
+  public SkaffoldSyncParameters getSync() {
+    return sync;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SkaffoldSyncParameters.java b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SkaffoldSyncParameters.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d608f30317
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SkaffoldSyncParameters.java
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Google LLC.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not
+ * use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of
+ * the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+ * License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
+ * the License.
+ */
+
+package com.google.cloud.tools.jib.gradle.skaffold;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
+import javax.inject.Inject;
+import org.gradle.api.Project;
+import org.gradle.api.tasks.Internal;
+
+/** Skaffold specific JibExtension parameters for configuring files to sync. */
+public class SkaffoldSyncParameters {
+  private final Project project;
+
+  private Set<Path> excludes = Collections.emptySet();
+
+  @Inject
+  public SkaffoldSyncParameters(Project project) {
+    this.project = project;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Get the excludes directive for sync functionality in skaffold.
+   *
+   * @return a set of absolute paths
+   */
+  @Internal
+  public Set<Path> getExcludes() {
+    return excludes;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Sets excludes. {@code excludes} can be any suitable object describing file paths convertible by
+   * {@link Project#files} (such as {@link File}, {@code List<File>}, or {@code List<String>}).
+   *
+   * @param paths paths to set on excludes
+   */
+  public void setExcludes(Object paths) {
+    this.excludes =
+        project
+            .files(paths)
+            .getFiles()
+            .stream()
+            .map(File::toPath)
+            .map(Path::toAbsolutePath)
+            .collect(Collectors.toSet());
+  }
+}
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SkaffoldWatchParameters.java b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SkaffoldWatchParameters.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a6537cf840
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SkaffoldWatchParameters.java
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Google LLC.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not
+ * use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of
+ * the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+ * License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
+ * the License.
+ */
+
+package com.google.cloud.tools.jib.gradle.skaffold;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
+import javax.inject.Inject;
+import org.gradle.api.Project;
+import org.gradle.api.tasks.Internal;
+
+/** Skaffold specific JibExtension parameters for configuring files to watch. */
+public class SkaffoldWatchParameters {
+
+  private final Project project;
+
+  private Set<Path> buildIncludes = Collections.emptySet();
+  private Set<Path> includes = Collections.emptySet();
+  private Set<Path> excludes = Collections.emptySet();
+
+  @Inject
+  public SkaffoldWatchParameters(Project project) {
+    this.project = project;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * A set of absolute paths to include with skaffold watching.
+   *
+   * @return a set of absolute paths
+   */
+  @Internal
+  public Set<Path> getBuildIncludes() {
+    return buildIncludes;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Sets includes. {@code includes} can be any suitable object describing file paths convertible by
+   * {@link Project#files} (such as {@link File}, {@code List<File>}, or {@code List<String>}).
+   *
+   * @param paths paths to set on includes
+   */
+  public void setBuildIncludes(Object paths) {
+    this.buildIncludes =
+        project
+            .files(paths)
+            .getFiles()
+            .stream()
+            .map(File::toPath)
+            .map(Path::toAbsolutePath)
+            .collect(Collectors.toSet());
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * A set of absolute paths to include with skaffold watching.
+   *
+   * @return a set of absolute paths
+   */
+  @Internal
+  public Set<Path> getIncludes() {
+    return includes;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Sets includes. {@code includes} can be any suitable object describing file paths convertible by
+   * {@link Project#files} (such as {@link File}, {@code List<File>}, or {@code List<String>}).
+   *
+   * @param paths paths to set on includes
+   */
+  public void setIncludes(Object paths) {
+    this.includes =
+        project
+            .files(paths)
+            .getFiles()
+            .stream()
+            .map(File::toPath)
+            .map(Path::toAbsolutePath)
+            .collect(Collectors.toSet());
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * A set of absolute paths to exclude from skaffold watching.
+   *
+   * @return a set of absolute paths
+   */
+  @Internal
+  public Set<Path> getExcludes() {
+    // Gradle warns about @Input annotations on File objects, so we have to expose a getter for a
+    // String to make them go away.
+    return excludes;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Sets excludes. {@code excludes} can be any suitable object describing file paths convertible by
+   * {@link Project#files} (such as {@link File}, {@code List<File>}, or {@code List<String>}).
+   *
+   * @param paths paths to set on excludes
+   */
+  public void setExcludes(Object paths) {
+    this.excludes =
+        project
+            .files(paths)
+            .getFiles()
+            .stream()
+            .map(File::toPath)
+            .map(Path::toAbsolutePath)
+            .collect(Collectors.toSet());
+  }
+}
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SyncMapTask.java b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SyncMapTask.java
index a2f9790358..bc04cd6861 100644
--- a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SyncMapTask.java
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SyncMapTask.java
@@ -78,7 +78,10 @@ public void listFilesAndTargets() {
 
       try {
         String syncMapJson =
-            PluginConfigurationProcessor.getSkaffoldSyncMap(configuration, projectProperties);
+            PluginConfigurationProcessor.getSkaffoldSyncMap(
+                configuration,
+                projectProperties,
+                jibExtension.getSkaffold().getSync().getExcludes());
 
         System.out.println();
         System.out.println("BEGIN JIB JSON: SYNCMAP/1");
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/JibExtensionTest.java b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/JibExtensionTest.java
index 4720f24496..3e67035043 100644
--- a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/JibExtensionTest.java
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/JibExtensionTest.java
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
+import java.io.File;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
 import java.nio.file.Paths;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Collections;
@@ -240,6 +242,35 @@ public void testOutputFiles() {
         testJibExtension.getOutputPaths().getTarPath());
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void testSkaffold() {
+    testJibExtension.skaffold(
+        skaffold -> {
+          skaffold.sync(sync -> sync.setExcludes(fakeProject.files("sync1", "sync2")));
+          skaffold.watch(
+              watch -> {
+                watch.setBuildIncludes(ImmutableList.of("watch1", "watch2"));
+                watch.setIncludes("watch3");
+                watch.setExcludes(ImmutableList.of(new File("watch4")));
+              });
+        });
+    Path root = fakeProject.getRootDir().toPath();
+    Assert.assertEquals(
+        ImmutableSet.of(
+            root.resolve("sync1").toAbsolutePath(), root.resolve("sync2").toAbsolutePath()),
+        testJibExtension.getSkaffold().getSync().getExcludes());
+    Assert.assertEquals(
+        ImmutableSet.of(
+            root.resolve("watch1").toAbsolutePath(), root.resolve("watch2").toAbsolutePath()),
+        testJibExtension.getSkaffold().getWatch().getBuildIncludes());
+    Assert.assertEquals(
+        ImmutableSet.of(root.resolve("watch3").toAbsolutePath()),
+        testJibExtension.getSkaffold().getWatch().getIncludes());
+    Assert.assertEquals(
+        ImmutableSet.of(root.resolve("watch4").toAbsolutePath()),
+        testJibExtension.getSkaffold().getWatch().getExcludes());
+  }
+
   @Test
   public void testProperties() {
     System.setProperty("jib.from.image", "fromImage");
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/FilesTaskV2Test.java b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/FilesTaskV2Test.java
index 4595439742..9ecf0eb801 100644
--- a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/FilesTaskV2Test.java
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/FilesTaskV2Test.java
@@ -38,6 +38,9 @@ public class FilesTaskV2Test {
 
   @ClassRule public static final TestProject simpleTestProject = new TestProject("simple");
 
+  @ClassRule
+  public static final TestProject skaffoldTestProject = new TestProject("skaffold-config");
+
   @ClassRule public static final TestProject multiTestProject = new TestProject("multi-service");
 
   @ClassRule
@@ -163,4 +166,23 @@ public void testFilesTask_platformProject() throws IOException {
         ImmutableList.of(serviceRoot.resolve("src/main/java")), result.getInputs());
     Assert.assertEquals(result.getIgnore().size(), 0);
   }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testFilesTast_withConfigModifiers() throws IOException {
+    Path projectRoot = skaffoldTestProject.getProjectRoot();
+    SkaffoldFilesOutput result =
+        new SkaffoldFilesOutput(verifyTaskSuccess(skaffoldTestProject, null));
+    assertPathListsAreEqual(
+        ImmutableList.of(projectRoot.resolve("build.gradle"), projectRoot.resolve("script.gradle")),
+        result.getBuild());
+    assertPathListsAreEqual(
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            projectRoot.resolve("src/main/resources"),
+            projectRoot.resolve("src/main/java"),
+            projectRoot.resolve("src/main/jib"),
+            projectRoot.resolve("other/file.txt")),
+        result.getInputs());
+    assertPathListsAreEqual(
+        ImmutableList.of(projectRoot.resolve("src/main/jib/bar")), result.getIgnore());
+  }
 }
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SyncMapTaskTest.java b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SyncMapTaskTest.java
index e0c683c290..07eb935217 100644
--- a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SyncMapTaskTest.java
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/gradle/skaffold/SyncMapTaskTest.java
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
 public class SyncMapTaskTest {
 
   @ClassRule public static final TestProject simpleTestProject = new TestProject("simple");
+  @ClassRule public static final TestProject skaffoldProject = new TestProject("skaffold-config");
   @ClassRule public static final TestProject multiTestProject = new TestProject("multi-service");
   @ClassRule public static final TestProject warProject = new TestProject("war_servlet25");
 
@@ -150,7 +151,33 @@ public void testSyncMapTask_multiProjectOutput() throws IOException {
   }
 
   @Test
-  public void testSyncMapMojo_failIfWar() throws IOException {
+  public void testSyncMapTask_withSkaffoldConfig() throws IOException {
+    Path projectRoot = skaffoldProject.getProjectRoot();
+    SkaffoldSyncMapTemplate parsed = generateTemplate(skaffoldProject, null, null);
+
+    List<FileTemplate> generated = parsed.getGenerated();
+    Assert.assertEquals(2, generated.size());
+    assertFilePaths(
+        projectRoot.resolve("build/resources/main/world"),
+        AbsoluteUnixPath.get("/app/resources/world"),
+        generated.get(0));
+    assertFilePaths(
+        projectRoot.resolve("build/classes/java/main/com/test2/GoodbyeWorld.class"),
+        AbsoluteUnixPath.get("/app/classes/com/test2/GoodbyeWorld.class"),
+        generated.get(1));
+    // classes/java/main/com/test is ignored
+
+    List<FileTemplate> direct = parsed.getDirect();
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, direct.size());
+    assertFilePaths(
+        projectRoot.resolve("src/main/jib/bar/cat"),
+        AbsoluteUnixPath.get("/bar/cat"),
+        direct.get(0));
+    // src/main/custom-extra-dir/foo is ignored
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testSyncMapTask_failIfWar() throws IOException {
     Path projectRoot = warProject.getProjectRoot();
     try {
       generateTemplate(warProject, null, null);
@@ -166,7 +193,7 @@ public void testSyncMapMojo_failIfWar() throws IOException {
   }
 
   @Test
-  public void testSyncMapMojo_failIfJarContainerizationMode() throws IOException {
+  public void testSyncMapTask_failIfJarContainerizationMode() throws IOException {
     Path projectRoot = simpleTestProject.getProjectRoot();
     try {
       generateTemplate(
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/simple/build.gradle b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/simple/build.gradle
index 6dab9e5207..94bbe1963c 100644
--- a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/simple/build.gradle
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/simple/build.gradle
@@ -22,3 +22,4 @@ jib {
     paths = file('src/main/custom-extra-dir')
   }
 }
+
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/build.gradle b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/build.gradle
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0b62c493c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/build.gradle
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+plugins {
+  id 'java'
+  id 'com.google.cloud.tools.jib'
+}
+
+sourceCompatibility = 1.8
+targetCompatibility = 1.8
+
+repositories {
+  mavenCentral()
+}
+
+dependencies {
+  compile files('libs/dependency-1.0.0.jar')
+}
+
+jib {
+  to {
+    image = System.getProperty("_TARGET_IMAGE")
+  }
+  skaffold {
+    watch {
+      buildIncludes = project.file("script.gradle")
+      includes = project.files("other/file.txt")
+      excludes = "src/main/jib/bar/"
+    }
+    sync {
+      excludes = ["build/classes/java/main/com/test", "src/main/jib/foo"]
+    }
+  }
+}
+
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/libs/dependency-1.0.0.jar b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/libs/dependency-1.0.0.jar
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..333ceb39b2
Binary files /dev/null and b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/libs/dependency-1.0.0.jar differ
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/other/file.txt b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/other/file.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/script.gradle b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/script.gradle
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/java/com/test/HelloWorld.java b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/java/com/test/HelloWorld.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cf42e84818
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/java/com/test/HelloWorld.java
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Google LLC.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not
+ * use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of
+ * the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+ * License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
+ * the License.
+ */
+
+package com.test;
+
+public class HelloWorld {
+  public static void main(String[] args) {
+    System.out.println("Hello world");
+  }
+}
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/java/com/test2/GoodbyeWorld.java b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/java/com/test2/GoodbyeWorld.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9703d67bbc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/java/com/test2/GoodbyeWorld.java
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Google LLC.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not
+ * use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of
+ * the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+ * License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
+ * the License.
+ */
+
+package com.test2;
+
+public class GoodbyeWorld {
+  public static void goodbye() {
+    System.out.println("Goodbye, world!");
+  }
+}
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/jib/bar/cat b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/jib/bar/cat
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5d5b306e57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/jib/bar/cat
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+cat
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/jib/foo b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/jib/foo
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1910281566
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/jib/foo
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+foo
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/resources/world b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/resources/world
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..04fea06420
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jib-gradle-plugin/src/test/resources/gradle/projects/skaffold-config/src/main/resources/world
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+world
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/jib-maven-plugin/CHANGELOG.md b/jib-maven-plugin/CHANGELOG.md
index 3c3d318832..7642757274 100644
--- a/jib-maven-plugin/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/jib-maven-plugin/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 ### Added
 - Additionally reads credentials from `~/.docker/.dockerconfigjson` and legacy Docker config (`~/.docker/.dockercfg`). Also searches for `$HOME/.docker/*` (in addition to current `System.get("user.home")/.docker/*`). This may help retrieve credentials, for example, on Kubernetes. ([#2260](https://github.com/GoogleContainerTools/jib/issues/2260))
+- New skaffold configuration options that modify how jib's build config is presented to skaffold ([#2292](https://github.com/GoogleContainerTools/jib/pull/2292)):
+    - `<watch><buildIncludes>`: a list of build files to watch
+    - `<watch><includes>`: a list of project files to watch
+    - `<watch><excludes>`: a list of files to exclude from watching
+    - `<sync><excludes>`: a list of files to exclude from sync'ing
 
 ### Changed
 
diff --git a/jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/FilesMojoV2.java b/jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/FilesMojoV2.java
index da1ea59807..331f11a106 100644
--- a/jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/FilesMojoV2.java
+++ b/jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/FilesMojoV2.java
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.function.Function;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 import org.apache.maven.artifact.Artifact;
@@ -163,6 +164,14 @@ public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException, MojoFailureException {
         resolveExtraDirectories(project).forEach(skaffoldFilesOutput::addInput);
       }
 
+      // See above note on "extraFiles"
+      SkaffoldConfiguration.Watch watch = collectWatchParameters(project);
+      resolveFiles(watch.buildIncludes, project).forEach(skaffoldFilesOutput::addBuild);
+      resolveFiles(watch.includes, project).forEach(skaffoldFilesOutput::addInput);
+      // we don't do any special pre-processing for ignore (input and ignore can overlap with exact
+      // matches)
+      resolveFiles(watch.excludes, project).forEach(skaffoldFilesOutput::addIgnore);
+
       // Grab non-project SNAPSHOT dependencies for this project
       // TODO: this whole sections relies on internal maven API, it could break. We need to explore
       // TODO: better ways to resolve dependencies using the public maven API.
@@ -239,13 +248,10 @@ private List<Path> collectExtraDirectories(MavenProject project) {
       if (pluginConfiguration != null) {
         Xpp3Dom extraDirectoriesConfiguration = pluginConfiguration.getChild("extraDirectories");
         if (extraDirectoriesConfiguration != null) {
-          Xpp3Dom child = extraDirectoriesConfiguration.getChild("paths");
-          if (child != null) {
+          Xpp3Dom paths = extraDirectoriesConfiguration.getChild("paths");
+          if (paths != null) {
             // <extraDirectories><paths><path>...</path><path>...</path></paths></extraDirectories>
-            return Arrays.stream(child.getChildren())
-                .map(Xpp3Dom::getValue)
-                .map(Paths::get)
-                .collect(Collectors.toList());
+            return xpp3ToList(paths, Paths::get);
           }
         }
       }
@@ -256,4 +262,50 @@ private List<Path> collectExtraDirectories(MavenProject project) {
     Path srcMainJib = Paths.get("src", "main", "jib");
     return Collections.singletonList(projectBase.resolve(srcMainJib));
   }
+
+  private SkaffoldConfiguration.Watch collectWatchParameters(MavenProject project) {
+    // Try getting extra directory from project pom
+    SkaffoldConfiguration.Watch watchConfig = new SkaffoldConfiguration.Watch();
+    Plugin jibMavenPlugin = project.getPlugin(MavenProjectProperties.PLUGIN_KEY);
+    if (jibMavenPlugin != null) {
+      Xpp3Dom pluginConfiguration = (Xpp3Dom) jibMavenPlugin.getConfiguration();
+      if (pluginConfiguration != null) {
+        Xpp3Dom skaffold = pluginConfiguration.getChild("skaffold");
+        if (skaffold != null) {
+          Xpp3Dom watch = skaffold.getChild("watch");
+          if (watch != null) {
+            Xpp3Dom buildIncludes = watch.getChild("buildIncludes");
+            if (buildIncludes != null) {
+              watchConfig.buildIncludes = xpp3ToList(buildIncludes, File::new);
+            }
+            Xpp3Dom includes = watch.getChild("includes");
+            if (includes != null) {
+              watchConfig.includes = xpp3ToList(includes, File::new);
+            }
+            Xpp3Dom excludes = watch.getChild("excludes");
+            if (excludes != null) {
+              watchConfig.excludes = xpp3ToList(excludes, File::new);
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+    return watchConfig;
+  }
+
+  private List<Path> resolveFiles(List<File> files, MavenProject project) {
+    return files
+        .stream()
+        .map(File::toPath)
+        .map(path -> path.isAbsolute() ? path : project.getBasedir().toPath().resolve(path))
+        .collect(Collectors.toList());
+  }
+
+  private <T> List<T> xpp3ToList(Xpp3Dom node, Function<String, T> converter) {
+    Preconditions.checkNotNull(node);
+    return Arrays.stream(node.getChildren())
+        .map(Xpp3Dom::getValue)
+        .map(converter)
+        .collect(Collectors.toList());
+  }
 }
diff --git a/jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/SkaffoldConfiguration.java b/jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/SkaffoldConfiguration.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f02572253f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/SkaffoldConfiguration.java
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Google LLC.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not
+ * use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of
+ * the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+ * License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
+ * the License.
+ */
+
+package com.google.cloud.tools.jib.maven.skaffold;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.List;
+import org.apache.maven.plugins.annotations.Parameter;
+
+/** Skaffold specific Jib plugin configuration options. */
+public class SkaffoldConfiguration {
+
+  /** Skaffold specific Jib plugin configuration for files to watch. */
+  public static class Watch {
+    @Parameter List<File> buildIncludes = Collections.emptyList();
+    @Parameter List<File> includes = Collections.emptyList();
+    @Parameter List<File> excludes = Collections.emptyList();
+  }
+
+  /** Skaffold specific Jib plugin configuration for files to sync. */
+  public static class Sync {
+    @Parameter List<File> excludes = Collections.emptyList();
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Watch is unused, but left here to define how to parse it. See {@link
+   * FilesMojoV2#collectWatchParameters}
+   */
+  @Parameter Watch watch = new Watch();
+
+  @Parameter Sync sync = new Sync();
+}
diff --git a/jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/SyncMapMojo.java b/jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/SyncMapMojo.java
index 930ea8dd30..7fd69717c8 100644
--- a/jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/SyncMapMojo.java
+++ b/jib-maven-plugin/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/SyncMapMojo.java
@@ -25,8 +25,12 @@
 import com.google.cloud.tools.jib.plugins.common.InvalidContainerizingModeException;
 import com.google.cloud.tools.jib.plugins.common.PluginConfigurationProcessor;
 import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
+import java.io.File;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoExecutionException;
 import org.apache.maven.plugins.annotations.Mojo;
+import org.apache.maven.plugins.annotations.Parameter;
 import org.apache.maven.plugins.annotations.ResolutionScope;
 
 @Mojo(
@@ -36,6 +40,8 @@ public class SyncMapMojo extends JibPluginConfiguration {
 
   @VisibleForTesting static final String GOAL_NAME = "_skaffold-sync-map";
 
+  @Parameter SkaffoldConfiguration skaffold = new SkaffoldConfiguration();
+
   @Override
   public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException {
     checkJibVersion();
@@ -76,7 +82,16 @@ public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException {
 
       try {
         String syncMapJson =
-            PluginConfigurationProcessor.getSkaffoldSyncMap(configuration, projectProperties);
+            PluginConfigurationProcessor.getSkaffoldSyncMap(
+                configuration,
+                projectProperties,
+                skaffold
+                    .sync
+                    .excludes
+                    .stream()
+                    .map(File::toPath)
+                    .map(Path::toAbsolutePath)
+                    .collect(Collectors.toSet()));
 
         System.out.println();
         System.out.println("BEGIN JIB JSON: SYNCMAP/1");
diff --git a/jib-maven-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/FilesMojoV2Test.java b/jib-maven-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/FilesMojoV2Test.java
index 5dc754b9a8..228dc1a9a1 100644
--- a/jib-maven-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/FilesMojoV2Test.java
+++ b/jib-maven-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/FilesMojoV2Test.java
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ private static void verifyFiles(
       String module,
       List<String> extraCliOptions,
       List<String> buildFiles,
-      List<String> inputFiles)
+      List<String> inputFiles,
+      List<String> ignoreFiles)
       throws VerificationException, IOException {
 
     Verifier verifier = new Verifier(projectRoot.toString());
@@ -70,7 +71,7 @@ private static void verifyFiles(
     SkaffoldFilesOutput output = new SkaffoldFilesOutput(log.get(begin + 1));
     Assert.assertEquals(buildFiles, output.getBuild());
     Assert.assertEquals(inputFiles, output.getInputs());
-    Assert.assertEquals(0, output.getIgnore().size());
+    Assert.assertEquals(ignoreFiles, output.getIgnore());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -86,7 +87,8 @@ public void testFilesMojo_singleModule() throws VerificationException, IOExcepti
         Arrays.asList(
             projectRoot.resolve("src/main/java").toString(),
             projectRoot.resolve("src/main/resources").toString(),
-            projectRoot.resolve("src/main/jib-custom").toString()));
+            projectRoot.resolve("src/main/jib-custom").toString()),
+        Collections.emptyList());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -104,7 +106,8 @@ public void testFilesMojo_singleModuleWithMultipleExtraDirectories()
             projectRoot.resolve("src/main/java").toString(),
             projectRoot.resolve("src/main/resources").toString(),
             projectRoot.resolve("src/main/jib-custom").toString(),
-            projectRoot.resolve("src/main/jib-custom-2").toString()));
+            projectRoot.resolve("src/main/jib-custom-2").toString()),
+        Collections.emptyList());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -123,7 +126,8 @@ public void testFilesMojo_multiModuleSimpleService() throws VerificationExceptio
         Arrays.asList(
             simpleServiceRoot.resolve("src/main/java").toString(),
             simpleServiceRoot.resolve("src/main/resources").toString(),
-            simpleServiceRoot.resolve("src/main/jib").toString()));
+            simpleServiceRoot.resolve("src/main/jib").toString()),
+        Collections.emptyList());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -154,7 +158,8 @@ public void testFilesMojo_multiModuleComplexService() throws VerificationExcepti
             Paths.get(
                     System.getProperty("user.home"),
                     ".m2/repository/com/google/cloud/tools/tiny-test-lib/0.0.1-SNAPSHOT/tiny-test-lib-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar")
-                .toString()));
+                .toString()),
+        Collections.emptyList());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -171,6 +176,29 @@ public void testFilesMojo_extraDirectoriesProperty() throws VerificationExceptio
             projectRoot.resolve("src/main/java").toString(),
             projectRoot.resolve("src/main/resources").toString(),
             Paths.get("/").toAbsolutePath().resolve("some/extra/dir").toString(),
-            Paths.get("/").toAbsolutePath().resolve("another/extra/dir").toString()));
+            Paths.get("/").toAbsolutePath().resolve("another/extra/dir").toString()),
+        Collections.emptyList());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testFilesMojo_skaffoldConfigProperties() throws VerificationException, IOException {
+    Path projectRoot = simpleTestProject.getProjectRoot();
+
+    verifyFiles(
+        projectRoot,
+        "pom-skaffold-config.xml",
+        null,
+        Collections.emptyList(),
+        Arrays.asList(
+            projectRoot.resolve("pom-skaffold-config.xml").toString(),
+            Paths.get("/abs/path/some.xml").toAbsolutePath().toString()),
+        Arrays.asList(
+            projectRoot.resolve("src/main/java").toString(),
+            projectRoot.resolve("src/main/resources").toString(),
+            projectRoot.resolve("src/main/jib-custom").toString(),
+            projectRoot.resolve("file/in/project").toString()),
+        Arrays.asList(
+            projectRoot.resolve("file/to/exclude").toString(),
+            projectRoot.resolve("file/to/also/exclude").toString()));
   }
 }
diff --git a/jib-maven-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/SyncMapMojoTest.java b/jib-maven-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/SyncMapMojoTest.java
index 68e9b545ad..9fd1368136 100644
--- a/jib-maven-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/SyncMapMojoTest.java
+++ b/jib-maven-plugin/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/maven/skaffold/SyncMapMojoTest.java
@@ -61,9 +61,9 @@ private static Path runBuild(Path projectRoot, String module, String pomXml)
     return Paths.get(verifier.getBasedir()).resolve(verifier.getLogFileName());
   }
 
-  private static String getSyncMapJson(Path projectRoot, String module)
+  private static String getSyncMapJson(Path projectRoot, String module, String pomXml)
       throws VerificationException, IOException {
-    Path logFile = runBuild(projectRoot, module, null);
+    Path logFile = runBuild(projectRoot, module, pomXml);
     List<String> outputLines = Files.readAllLines(logFile, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
     Assert.assertEquals(3, outputLines.size()); // we expect ["\n", "<marker>", "<sync-json>"]
     Assert.assertEquals("BEGIN JIB JSON: SYNCMAP/1", outputLines.get(1));
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ private static void assertFilePaths(Path src, AbsoluteUnixPath dest, FileTemplat
   @Test
   public void testSyncMapMojo_simpleTestProjectOutput() throws IOException, VerificationException {
     Path projectRoot = simpleTestProject.getProjectRoot();
-    String json = getSyncMapJson(projectRoot, null);
+    String json = getSyncMapJson(projectRoot, null, null);
     SkaffoldSyncMapTemplate parsed = SkaffoldSyncMapTemplate.from(json);
 
     List<FileTemplate> generated = parsed.getGenerated();
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ public void testSyncMapMojo_simpleTestProjectOutput() throws IOException, Verifi
   public void testSyncMapMojo_multiProjectOutput() throws IOException, VerificationException {
     Path projectRoot = multiTestProject.getProjectRoot();
     Path m2 = Paths.get(System.getProperty("user.home")).resolve(".m2").resolve("repository");
-    String json = getSyncMapJson(projectRoot, "complex-service");
+    String json = getSyncMapJson(projectRoot, "complex-service", null);
     SkaffoldSyncMapTemplate parsed = SkaffoldSyncMapTemplate.from(json);
 
     List<FileTemplate> generated = parsed.getGenerated();
@@ -131,6 +131,29 @@ public void testSyncMapMojo_multiProjectOutput() throws IOException, Verificatio
         direct.get(0));
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void testSyncMapMojo_skaffoldConfig() throws IOException, VerificationException {
+    Path projectRoot = simpleTestProject.getProjectRoot();
+    String json = getSyncMapJson(projectRoot, null, "pom-skaffold-config.xml");
+    SkaffoldSyncMapTemplate parsed = SkaffoldSyncMapTemplate.from(json);
+
+    List<FileTemplate> generated = parsed.getGenerated();
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, generated.size());
+    assertFilePaths(
+        projectRoot.resolve("target/classes/world"),
+        AbsoluteUnixPath.get("/app/resources/world"),
+        generated.get(0));
+    // target/classes/com/test ignored
+
+    List<FileTemplate> direct = parsed.getDirect();
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, direct.size());
+    assertFilePaths(
+        projectRoot.resolve("src/main/jib-custom/bar/cat"),
+        AbsoluteUnixPath.get("/bar/cat"),
+        direct.get(0));
+    // src/main/jib-custom/foo is ignored
+  }
+
   @Test
   public void testSyncMapMojo_failIfPackagingNotJar() throws IOException {
     Path projectRoot = warProject.getProjectRoot();
diff --git a/jib-maven-plugin/src/test/resources/maven/projects/simple/pom-skaffold-config.xml b/jib-maven-plugin/src/test/resources/maven/projects/simple/pom-skaffold-config.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..605544b2dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jib-maven-plugin/src/test/resources/maven/projects/simple/pom-skaffold-config.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+
+    <groupId>com.test</groupId>
+    <artifactId>hello-world</artifactId>
+    <version>1</version>
+
+    <properties>
+        <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
+        <project.reporting.outputEncoding>UTF-8</project.reporting.outputEncoding>
+        <jib-maven-plugin.version>@@PluginVersion@@</jib-maven-plugin.version>
+    </properties>
+
+    <dependencies>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>com.test</groupId>
+            <artifactId>dependency</artifactId>
+            <version>1.0.0</version>
+            <scope>system</scope>
+            <systemPath>${project.basedir}/libs/dependency-1.0.0.jar</systemPath>
+        </dependency>
+    </dependencies>
+
+    <build>
+        <plugins>
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+                <configuration>
+                    <source>1.8</source>
+                    <target>1.8</target>
+                </configuration>
+            </plugin>
+
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>com.google.cloud.tools</groupId>
+                <artifactId>jib-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+                <version>${jib-maven-plugin.version}</version>
+                <configuration>
+                    <extraDirectories>
+                        <paths>
+                            <path>src/main/jib-custom</path>
+                        </paths>
+                    </extraDirectories>
+                    <skaffold>
+                        <watch>
+                            <buildIncludes>
+                                <buildInclude>/abs/path/some.xml</buildInclude>
+                            </buildIncludes>
+                            <includes>
+                                <includes>file/in/project</includes>
+                            </includes>
+                            <excludes>
+                                <excludes>file/to/exclude</excludes>
+                                <excludes>file/to/also/exclude</excludes>
+                            </excludes>
+                        </watch>
+                        <sync>
+                            <excludes>
+                                <exclude>target/classes/com/test</exclude>
+                                <exclude>src/main/jib-custom/foo</exclude>
+                            </excludes>
+                        </sync>
+                    </skaffold>
+                </configuration>
+            </plugin>
+        </plugins>
+    </build>
+</project>
diff --git a/jib-plugins-common/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/plugins/common/PluginConfigurationProcessor.java b/jib-plugins-common/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/plugins/common/PluginConfigurationProcessor.java
index 1fd797209f..19341e3573 100644
--- a/jib-plugins-common/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/plugins/common/PluginConfigurationProcessor.java
+++ b/jib-plugins-common/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/plugins/common/PluginConfigurationProcessor.java
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@
 import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.function.BiFunction;
+import java.util.stream.Stream;
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
 /**
@@ -269,6 +270,7 @@ public static JibBuildRunner createJibBuildRunnerForRegistryImage(
    *
    * @param rawConfiguration the raw configuration from the plugin
    * @param projectProperties an plugin specific implementation of {@link ProjectProperties}
+   * @param excludes a set of paths to exclude, directories include in this list will be expanded
    * @return new json string representation of the Sync Map
    * @throws InvalidImageReferenceException if the image reference is invalid
    * @throws MainClassInferenceException if a main class could not be found
@@ -287,7 +289,7 @@ public static JibBuildRunner createJibBuildRunnerForRegistryImage(
    * @throws InvalidCreationTimeException if configured creation time could not be parsed
    */
   public static String getSkaffoldSyncMap(
-      RawConfiguration rawConfiguration, ProjectProperties projectProperties)
+      RawConfiguration rawConfiguration, ProjectProperties projectProperties, Set<Path> excludes)
       throws IOException, InvalidCreationTimeException, InvalidImageReferenceException,
           IncompatibleBaseImageJavaVersionException, InvalidContainerVolumeException,
           MainClassInferenceException, InvalidAppRootException, InvalidWorkingDirectoryException,
@@ -298,6 +300,7 @@ public static String getSkaffoldSyncMap(
     SkaffoldSyncMapTemplate syncMap = new SkaffoldSyncMapTemplate();
     // since jib has already expanded out directories after processing everything, we just
     // ignore directories and provide only files to watch
+    Set<Path> excludesExpanded = getAllFiles(excludes);
     for (LayerConfiguration layer : jibContainerBuilder.describeContainer().getLayers()) {
       if (CONST_LAYERS.contains(layer.getName())) {
         continue;
@@ -307,18 +310,39 @@ public static String getSkaffoldSyncMap(
             .getLayerEntries()
             .stream()
             .filter(layerEntry -> Files.isRegularFile(layerEntry.getSourceFile()))
+            .filter(
+                layerEntry ->
+                    !excludesExpanded.contains(layerEntry.getSourceFile().toAbsolutePath()))
             .forEach(syncMap::addGenerated);
       } else { // this is a direct layer
         layer
             .getLayerEntries()
             .stream()
             .filter(layerEntry -> Files.isRegularFile(layerEntry.getSourceFile()))
+            .filter(
+                layerEntry ->
+                    !excludesExpanded.contains(layerEntry.getSourceFile().toAbsolutePath()))
             .forEach(syncMap::addDirect);
       }
     }
     return syncMap.getJsonString();
   }
 
+  /** Expand directories to files (excludes directory paths). */
+  static Set<Path> getAllFiles(Set<Path> paths) throws IOException {
+    Set<Path> expanded = new HashSet<>();
+    for (Path path : paths) {
+      if (Files.isRegularFile(path)) {
+        expanded.add(path);
+      } else if (Files.isDirectory(path)) {
+        try (Stream<Path> dirWalk = Files.walk(path)) {
+          dirWalk.filter(Files::isRegularFile).forEach(expanded::add);
+        }
+      }
+    }
+    return expanded;
+  }
+
   @VisibleForTesting
   static JibContainerBuilder processCommonConfiguration(
       RawConfiguration rawConfiguration,
diff --git a/jib-plugins-common/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/plugins/common/PluginConfigurationProcessorTest.java b/jib-plugins-common/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/plugins/common/PluginConfigurationProcessorTest.java
index 34f18a2dae..2c4ad9813a 100644
--- a/jib-plugins-common/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/plugins/common/PluginConfigurationProcessorTest.java
+++ b/jib-plugins-common/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/tools/jib/plugins/common/PluginConfigurationProcessorTest.java
@@ -33,9 +33,11 @@
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
 import com.google.common.io.Resources;
+import java.io.File;
 import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.net.URISyntaxException;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
 import java.nio.file.Paths;
 import java.time.Instant;
@@ -944,4 +946,23 @@ private JibContainerBuilder processCommonConfiguration()
     return PluginConfigurationProcessor.processCommonConfiguration(
         rawConfiguration, ignored -> Optional.empty(), projectProperties, containerizer);
   }
+
+  @Test
+  public void getAllFiles_expandsDirectories() throws IOException {
+    File rootFile = temporaryFolder.newFile("file");
+    File folder = temporaryFolder.newFolder("folder");
+    File folderFile = temporaryFolder.newFile("folder/file2");
+    Assert.assertEquals(
+        ImmutableSet.of(rootFile.toPath().toAbsolutePath(), folderFile.toPath().toAbsolutePath()),
+        PluginConfigurationProcessor.getAllFiles(
+            ImmutableSet.of(rootFile.toPath(), folder.toPath())));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void getAllFiles_doesntBreakForNonExistentFiles() throws IOException {
+    Path testPath = Paths.get("/a/file/that/doesnt/exist");
+    Assert.assertFalse(Files.exists(testPath));
+    Assert.assertEquals(
+        ImmutableSet.of(), PluginConfigurationProcessor.getAllFiles(ImmutableSet.of(testPath)));
+  }
 }