diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Keys.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Keys.scala
index 2a75c9901..8170ecfc7 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Keys.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Keys.scala
@@ -534,6 +534,8 @@ object Keys {
   @deprecated("No longer used", "1.3.0")
   private[sbt] val executeProgress = settingKey[State => TaskProgress]("Experimental task execution listener.").withRank(DTask)
   val lintUnused = inputKey[Unit]("Check for keys unused by other settings and tasks.")
+  val lintIncludeFilter = settingKey[String => Boolean]("Filters key names that should be included in the lint check.")
+  val lintExcludeFilter = settingKey[String => Boolean]("Filters key names that should be excluded in the lint check.")
   val excludeLintKeys = settingKey[Set[Def.KeyedInitialize[_]]]("Keys excluded from lintUnused task")
   val includeLintKeys = settingKey[Set[Def.KeyedInitialize[_]]]("Task keys that are included into lintUnused task")
   val lintUnusedKeysOnLoad = settingKey[Boolean]("Toggles whether or not to check for unused keys during startup")
diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/LintUnused.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/LintUnused.scala
index ae33b6569..bb549918e 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/LintUnused.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/LintUnused.scala
@@ -17,6 +17,14 @@ import sbt.Def._
 
 object LintUnused {
   lazy val lintSettings: Seq[Setting[_]] = Seq(
+    lintIncludeFilter := {
+      val includes = includeLintKeys.value.map(_.scopedKey.key.label)
+      keyName => includes(keyName)
+    },
+    lintExcludeFilter := {
+      val excludes = excludeLintKeys.value.map(_.scopedKey.key.label)
+      keyName => excludes(keyName) || keyName.startsWith("watch")
+    },
     excludeLintKeys := Set(
       aggregate,
       concurrentRestrictions,
@@ -50,8 +58,8 @@ object LintUnused {
     val _ = Def.spaceDelimited().parsed // not used yet
     val state = Keys.state.value
     val log = streams.value.log
-    val includeKeys = (includeLintKeys in Global).value map { _.scopedKey.key.label }
-    val excludeKeys = (excludeLintKeys in Global).value map { _.scopedKey.key.label }
+    val includeKeys = (lintIncludeFilter in Global).value
+    val excludeKeys = (lintExcludeFilter in Global).value
     val result = lintUnused(state, includeKeys, excludeKeys)
     if (result.isEmpty) log.success("ok")
     else lintResultLines(result) foreach { log.warn(_) }
@@ -61,8 +69,8 @@ object LintUnused {
   def lintUnusedFunc(s: State): State = {
     val log = s.log
     val extracted = Project.extract(s)
-    val includeKeys = extracted.get(includeLintKeys in Global) map { _.scopedKey.key.label }
-    val excludeKeys = extracted.get(excludeLintKeys in Global) map { _.scopedKey.key.label }
+    val includeKeys = extracted.get(lintIncludeFilter in Global)
+    val excludeKeys = extracted.get(lintExcludeFilter in Global)
     if (extracted.get(lintUnusedKeysOnLoad in Global)) {
       val result = lintUnused(s, includeKeys, excludeKeys)
       lintResultLines(result) foreach { log.warn(_) }
@@ -103,8 +111,8 @@ object LintUnused {
 
   def lintUnused(
       state: State,
-      includeKeys: Set[String],
-      excludeKeys: Set[String]
+      includeKeys: String => Boolean,
+      excludeKeys: String => Boolean
   ): Seq[(ScopedKey[_], String, Vector[SourcePosition])] = {
     val extracted = Project.extract(state)
     val structure = extracted.structure