diff --git a/ament_cmake_lint_cmake/cmake/ament_cmake_lint_cmake_lint_hook.cmake b/ament_cmake_lint_cmake/cmake/ament_cmake_lint_cmake_lint_hook.cmake
index dda7d439d..34cfebdb3 100644
--- a/ament_cmake_lint_cmake/cmake/ament_cmake_lint_cmake_lint_hook.cmake
+++ b/ament_cmake_lint_cmake/cmake/ament_cmake_lint_cmake_lint_hook.cmake
@@ -18,5 +18,9 @@ file(GLOB_RECURSE _cmake_files FOLLOW_SYMLINKS
 )
 if(_cmake_files)
   message(STATUS "Added test 'lint_cmake' to check CMake code style")
-  ament_lint_cmake()
+  if(DEFINED AMENT_LINT_AUTO_FILE_EXCLUDE)
+    ament_lint_cmake(EXCLUDE ${AMENT_LINT_AUTO_FILE_EXCLUDE})
+  else()
+    ament_lint_cmake()
+  endif()
 endif()
diff --git a/ament_cmake_lint_cmake/cmake/ament_lint_cmake.cmake b/ament_cmake_lint_cmake/cmake/ament_lint_cmake.cmake
index 3360e0a39..7e3d5f61a 100644
--- a/ament_cmake_lint_cmake/cmake/ament_lint_cmake.cmake
+++ b/ament_cmake_lint_cmake/cmake/ament_lint_cmake.cmake
@@ -20,13 +20,15 @@
 # :param MAX_LINE_LENGTH: override the maximum line length,
 #   the default is defined in ament_lint_cmake
 # :type MAX_LINE_LENGTH: integer
+# :param EXCLUDE: an optional list of exclude files or directories for cmake lint check
+# :type EXCLUDE: list
 # :param ARGN: the files or directories to check
 # :type ARGN: list of strings
 #
 # @public
 #
 function(ament_lint_cmake)
-  cmake_parse_arguments(ARG "" "MAX_LINE_LENGTH;TESTNAME" "" ${ARGN})
+  cmake_parse_arguments(ARG "" "MAX_LINE_LENGTH;TESTNAME" "EXCLUDE" ${ARGN})
   if(NOT ARG_TESTNAME)
     set(ARG_TESTNAME "lint_cmake")
   endif()
@@ -41,6 +43,9 @@ function(ament_lint_cmake)
   if(DEFINED ARG_MAX_LINE_LENGTH)
     list(APPEND cmd "--linelength" "${ARG_MAX_LINE_LENGTH}")
   endif()
+  if(ARG_EXCLUDE)
+    list(APPEND cmd "--exclude" "${ARG_EXCLUDE}")
+  endif()
   list(APPEND cmd ${ARG_UNPARSED_ARGUMENTS})
 
   file(MAKE_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/ament_lint_cmake")
diff --git a/ament_cmake_pep257/cmake/ament_cmake_pep257_lint_hook.cmake b/ament_cmake_pep257/cmake/ament_cmake_pep257_lint_hook.cmake
index 520e869e4..f43733dfa 100644
--- a/ament_cmake_pep257/cmake/ament_cmake_pep257_lint_hook.cmake
+++ b/ament_cmake_pep257/cmake/ament_cmake_pep257_lint_hook.cmake
@@ -15,5 +15,9 @@
 file(GLOB_RECURSE _python_files FOLLOW_SYMLINKS "*.py")
 if(_python_files)
   message(STATUS "Added test 'pep257' to check Python code against some of the docstring style conventions in PEP 257")
-  ament_pep257()
+  if(DEFINED AMENT_LINT_AUTO_FILE_EXCLUDE)
+    ament_pep257(EXCLUDE ${AMENT_LINT_AUTO_FILE_EXCLUDE})
+  else()
+    ament_pep257()
+  endif()
 endif()
diff --git a/ament_cmake_pep257/cmake/ament_pep257.cmake b/ament_cmake_pep257/cmake/ament_pep257.cmake
index ece07e4bb..35b68e745 100644
--- a/ament_cmake_pep257/cmake/ament_pep257.cmake
+++ b/ament_cmake_pep257/cmake/ament_pep257.cmake
@@ -17,13 +17,15 @@
 #
 # :param TESTNAME: the name of the test, default: "pep257"
 # :type TESTNAME: string
+# :param EXCLUDE: an optional list of exclude files or directories for cmake pep257 check
+# :type EXCLUDE: list
 # :param ARGN: the files or directories to check
 # :type ARGN: list of strings
 #
 # @public
 #
 function(ament_pep257)
-  cmake_parse_arguments(ARG "" "TESTNAME" "" ${ARGN})
+  cmake_parse_arguments(ARG "" "TESTNAME" "EXCLUDE" ${ARGN})
   if(NOT ARG_TESTNAME)
     set(ARG_TESTNAME "pep257")
   endif()
@@ -35,6 +37,9 @@ function(ament_pep257)
 
   set(result_file "${AMENT_TEST_RESULTS_DIR}/${PROJECT_NAME}/${ARG_TESTNAME}.xunit.xml")
   set(cmd "${ament_pep257_BIN}" "--xunit-file" "${result_file}")
+  if(ARG_EXCLUDE)
+    list(APPEND cmd "--exclude" "${ARG_EXCLUDE}")
+  endif()
   list(APPEND cmd ${ARG_UNPARSED_ARGUMENTS})
 
   file(MAKE_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/ament_pep257")
diff --git a/ament_cmake_xmllint/cmake/ament_cmake_xmllint_lint_hook.cmake b/ament_cmake_xmllint/cmake/ament_cmake_xmllint_lint_hook.cmake
index 2c9456b27..dcf940fd7 100644
--- a/ament_cmake_xmllint/cmake/ament_cmake_xmllint_lint_hook.cmake
+++ b/ament_cmake_xmllint/cmake/ament_cmake_xmllint_lint_hook.cmake
@@ -15,5 +15,10 @@
 file(GLOB_RECURSE _source_files FOLLOW_SYMLINKS "*.xml")
 if(_source_files)
   message(STATUS "Added test 'xmllint' to check XML markup files")
-  ament_xmllint()
+
+  if(DEFINED AMENT_LINT_AUTO_FILE_EXCLUDE)
+    ament_xmllint(EXCLUDE ${AMENT_LINT_AUTO_FILE_EXCLUDE})
+  else()
+    ament_xmllint()
+  endif()
 endif()
diff --git a/ament_cmake_xmllint/cmake/ament_xmllint.cmake b/ament_cmake_xmllint/cmake/ament_xmllint.cmake
index cf42857a1..fb3fa53e3 100644
--- a/ament_cmake_xmllint/cmake/ament_xmllint.cmake
+++ b/ament_cmake_xmllint/cmake/ament_xmllint.cmake
@@ -17,13 +17,15 @@
 #
 # :param TESTNAME: the name of the test, default: "xmllint"
 # :type TESTNAME: string
+# :param EXCLUDE: an optional list of exclude files or directories for xmllint check
+# :type EXCLUDE: list
 # :param ARGN: the files or directories to check
 # :type ARGN: list of strings
 #
 # @public
 #
 function(ament_xmllint)
-  cmake_parse_arguments(ARG "" "MAX_LINE_LENGTH;TESTNAME" "" ${ARGN})
+  cmake_parse_arguments(ARG "" "MAX_LINE_LENGTH;TESTNAME" "EXCLUDE" ${ARGN})
   if(NOT ARG_TESTNAME)
     set(ARG_TESTNAME "xmllint")
   endif()
@@ -35,6 +37,9 @@ function(ament_xmllint)
 
   set(result_file "${AMENT_TEST_RESULTS_DIR}/${PROJECT_NAME}/${ARG_TESTNAME}.xunit.xml")
   set(cmd "${ament_xmllint_BIN}" "--xunit-file" "${result_file}")
+  if(ARG_EXCLUDE)
+    list(APPEND cmd "--exclude" "${ARG_EXCLUDE}")
+  endif()
   list(APPEND cmd ${ARG_UNPARSED_ARGUMENTS})
 
   find_program(xmllint_BIN NAMES "xmllint")
diff --git a/ament_lint_cmake/ament_lint_cmake/main.py b/ament_lint_cmake/ament_lint_cmake/main.py
index aa76fcbd0..f2acbced1 100755
--- a/ament_lint_cmake/ament_lint_cmake/main.py
+++ b/ament_lint_cmake/ament_lint_cmake/main.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 import argparse
+import glob
 import os
 import sys
 import time
@@ -51,6 +52,13 @@ def main(argv=sys.argv[1:]):
     parser.add_argument(
         '--linelength', metavar='N', type=int, default=140,
         help='The maximum line length')
+    parser.add_argument(
+        '--exclude',
+        metavar='filename',
+        nargs='*',
+        default=[],
+        dest='excludes',
+        help='The filenames to exclude.')
     # not using a file handle directly
     # in order to prevent leaving an empty file when something fails early
     parser.add_argument(
@@ -61,7 +69,7 @@ def main(argv=sys.argv[1:]):
     if args.xunit_file:
         start_time = time.time()
 
-    files = get_files(args.paths)
+    files = get_files(args.paths, args.excludes)
     if not files:
         print('No files found', file=sys.stderr)
         return 1
@@ -125,7 +133,12 @@ def custom_error(filename, linenumber, category, message):
     return rc
 
 
-def get_files(paths):
+def get_files(paths, exclude_patterns):
+    excludes = []
+    for exclude_pattern in exclude_patterns:
+        excludes.extend(glob.glob(exclude_pattern))
+    excludes = {os.path.realpath(x) for x in excludes}
+
     files = []
     for path in paths:
         if os.path.isdir(path):
@@ -145,9 +158,12 @@ def get_files(paths):
                         fname_low.endswith('.cmake') or
                         fname_low.endswith('.cmake.in')
                     ):
-                        files.append(os.path.join(dirpath, filename))
+                        fname = os.path.join(dirpath, filename)
+                        if os.path.realpath(fname) not in excludes:
+                            files.append(fname)
         if os.path.isfile(path):
-            files.append(path)
+            if os.path.realpath(path) not in excludes:
+                files.append(path)
     return [os.path.normpath(f) for f in files]
 
 
diff --git a/ament_xmllint/ament_xmllint/main.py b/ament_xmllint/ament_xmllint/main.py
index e1a27a7a0..8dd8fa97a 100755
--- a/ament_xmllint/ament_xmllint/main.py
+++ b/ament_xmllint/ament_xmllint/main.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 import argparse
+import glob
 import os
 import shutil
 import subprocess
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@ def main(argv=sys.argv[1:]):
         '--exclude',
         nargs='*',
         default=[],
+        dest='excludes',
         help='Exclude specific file names and directory names from the check')
     # not using a file handle directly
     # in order to prevent leaving an empty file when something fails early
@@ -62,7 +64,7 @@ def main(argv=sys.argv[1:]):
     if args.xunit_file:
         start_time = time.time()
 
-    files = get_files(args.paths, args.extensions, args.exclude)
+    files = get_files(args.paths, args.extensions, args.excludes)
     if not files:
         print('No files found', file=sys.stderr)
         return 1
@@ -158,7 +160,12 @@ def main(argv=sys.argv[1:]):
     return rc
 
 
-def get_files(paths, extensions, excludes=[]):
+def get_files(paths, extensions, exclude_patterns):
+    excludes = []
+    for exclude_pattern in exclude_patterns:
+        excludes.extend(glob.glob(exclude_pattern))
+    excludes = {os.path.realpath(x) for x in excludes}
+
     files = []
     for path in paths:
         if os.path.isdir(path):
@@ -169,12 +176,12 @@ def get_files(paths, extensions, excludes=[]):
                 # ignore folder starting with . or _
                 dirnames[:] = [d for d in dirnames if d[0] not in ['.', '_']]
                 # ignore excluded folders
-                dirnames[:] = [d for d in dirnames if d not in excludes]
+                dirnames[:] = [d for d in dirnames if os.path.realpath(d) not in excludes]
                 dirnames.sort()
 
                 # select files by extension
                 for filename in sorted(filenames):
-                    if filename in excludes:
+                    if os.path.realpath(os.path.join(dirpath, filename)) in excludes:
                         continue
                     _, ext = os.path.splitext(filename)
                     if ext not in ['.%s' % e for e in extensions]: