diff --git a/attic/archiver.py b/attic/archiver.py
index 47650c2d4..573021462 100644
--- a/attic/archiver.py
+++ b/attic/archiver.py
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ Type "Yes I am sure" if you understand this and want to continue.\n""")
         t0 = datetime.now()
         repository = self.open_repository(args.archive, exclusive=True)
         manifest, key = Manifest.load(repository)
-        cache = Cache(repository, key, manifest)
+        cache = Cache(repository, key, manifest, do_files=args.cache_files)
         archive = Archive(repository, key, manifest, args.archive.archive, cache=cache,
                           create=True, checkpoint_interval=args.checkpoint_interval,
                           numeric_owner=args.numeric_owner)
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ Type "Yes I am sure" if you understand this and want to continue.\n""")
         """Delete an existing archive"""
         repository = self.open_repository(args.archive, exclusive=True)
         manifest, key = Manifest.load(repository)
-        cache = Cache(repository, key, manifest)
+        cache = Cache(repository, key, manifest, do_files=args.cache_files)
         archive = Archive(repository, key, manifest, args.archive.archive, cache=cache)
         stats = Statistics()
         archive.delete(stats)
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ Type "Yes I am sure" if you understand this and want to continue.\n""")
         """Show archive details such as disk space used"""
         repository = self.open_repository(args.archive)
         manifest, key = Manifest.load(repository)
-        cache = Cache(repository, key, manifest)
+        cache = Cache(repository, key, manifest, do_files=args.cache_files)
         archive = Archive(repository, key, manifest, args.archive.archive, cache=cache)
         stats = archive.calc_stats(cache)
         print('Name:', archive.name)
@@ -319,7 +319,7 @@ Type "Yes I am sure" if you understand this and want to continue.\n""")
         """Prune repository archives according to specified rules"""
         repository = self.open_repository(args.repository, exclusive=True)
         manifest, key = Manifest.load(repository)
-        cache = Cache(repository, key, manifest)
+        cache = Cache(repository, key, manifest, do_files=args.cache_files)
         archives = list(sorted(Archive.list_archives(repository, key, manifest, cache),
                                key=attrgetter('ts'), reverse=True))
         if args.hourly + args.daily + args.weekly + args.monthly + args.yearly == 0 and args.within is None:
@@ -447,6 +447,9 @@ Type "Yes I am sure" if you understand this and want to continue.\n""")
         common_parser.add_argument('-v', '--verbose', dest='verbose', action='store_true',
                             default=False,
                             help='verbose output')
+        common_parser.add_argument('--no-files-cache', dest='cache_files', action='store_false',
+                            default=True,
+                            help='do not use the "files" cache')
 
         # We can't use argparse for "serve" since we don't want it to show up in "Available commands"
         if args:
diff --git a/attic/cache.py b/attic/cache.py
index acbc76653..ce5996564 100644
--- a/attic/cache.py
+++ b/attic/cache.py
@@ -16,13 +16,14 @@ class Cache(object):
     class RepositoryReplay(Error):
         """Cache is newer than repository, refusing to continue"""
 
-    def __init__(self, repository, key, manifest, path=None, sync=True):
+    def __init__(self, repository, key, manifest, path=None, sync=True, do_files=False):
         self.timestamp = None
         self.txn_active = False
         self.repository = repository
         self.key = key
         self.manifest = manifest
         self.path = path or os.path.join(get_cache_dir(), hexlify(repository.id).decode('ascii'))
+        self.do_files = do_files
         if not os.path.exists(self.path):
             self.create()
         self.open()
@@ -83,6 +84,7 @@ class Cache(object):
                 u.feed(data)
                 for path_hash, item in u:
                     item[0] += 1
+                    # in the end, this takes about 240 Bytes per file
                     self.files[path_hash] = msgpack.packb(item)
 
     def begin_txn(self):
@@ -206,6 +208,8 @@ class Cache(object):
             stats.update(-size, -csize, False)
 
     def file_known_and_unchanged(self, path_hash, st):
+        if not self.do_files:
+            return None
         if self.files is None:
             self._read_files()
         entry = self.files.get(path_hash)
@@ -221,6 +225,8 @@ class Cache(object):
             return None
 
     def memorize_file(self, path_hash, st, ids):
+        if not self.do_files:
+            return
         # Entry: Age, inode, size, mtime, chunk ids
         mtime_ns = st_mtime_ns(st)
         self.files[path_hash] = msgpack.packb((0, st.st_ino, st.st_size, int_to_bigint(mtime_ns), ids))