diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2ae3cae..4dc25f3 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-## Git
+## Git (0.8.0)
 ### Added
+- `external-sources=true` directive can be added to .shellcheckrc to make
+  shellcheck behave as if `-x` was specified.
 - SC2286-SC2288: Warn when command name ends in a symbol like `/.)'"`
 - SC2289: Warn when command name contains tabs or linefeeds
 - SC2291: Warn about repeated unquoted spaces between words in echo
diff --git a/shellcheck.1.md b/shellcheck.1.md
index d038df2..070c3a4 100644
--- a/shellcheck.1.md
+++ b/shellcheck.1.md
@@ -112,6 +112,9 @@ not warn at all, as `ksh` supports decimals in arithmetic contexts.
     line (plus `/dev/null`). This option allows following any file the script
     may `source`.
 
+    This option may also be enabled using `external-sources=true` in
+    `.shellcheckrc`. This flag takes precedence.
+
 **FILES...**
 
 :   One or more script files to check, or "-" for standard input.
@@ -239,6 +242,14 @@ Valid keys are:
 :   Enable an optional check by name, as listed with **--list-optional**.
     Only file-wide `enable` directives are considered.
 
+**external-sources**
+:   Set to `true` in `.shellcheckrc` to always allow ShellCheck to open
+    arbitrary files from 'source' statements (the way most tools do).
+
+    This option defaults to `false` only due to ShellCheck's origin as a
+    remote service for checking untrusted scripts. It can safely be enabled
+    for normal development.
+
 **source**
 :   Overrides the filename included by a `source`/`.` statement. This can be
     used to tell shellcheck where to look for a file whose name is determined
@@ -270,6 +281,9 @@ Here is an example `.shellcheckrc`:
     source-path=SCRIPTDIR
     source-path=/mnt/chroot
 
+    # Allow opening any 'source'd file, even if not specified as input
+    external-sources=true
+
     # Turn on warnings for unquoted variables with safe values
     enable=quote-safe-variables
 
diff --git a/shellcheck.hs b/shellcheck.hs
index d7e818d..bf70445 100644
--- a/shellcheck.hs
+++ b/shellcheck.hs
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ runFormatter sys format options files = do
 
     process :: FilePath -> IO Status
     process filename = do
-        input <- siReadFile sys filename
+        input <- siReadFile sys Nothing filename
         either (reportFailure filename) check input
       where
         check contents = do
@@ -389,6 +389,7 @@ parseOption flag options =
             throwError SyntaxFailure
         return (Prelude.read num :: Integer)
 
+ioInterface :: Options -> [FilePath] -> IO (SystemInterface IO)
 ioInterface options files = do
     inputs <- mapM normalize files
     cache <- newIORef emptyCache
@@ -402,14 +403,14 @@ ioInterface options files = do
     emptyCache :: Map.Map FilePath String
     emptyCache = Map.empty
 
-    get cache inputs file = do
+    get cache inputs rcSuggestsExternal file = do
         map <- readIORef cache
         case Map.lookup file map of
             Just x  -> return $ Right x
-            Nothing -> fetch cache inputs file
+            Nothing -> fetch cache inputs rcSuggestsExternal file
 
-    fetch cache inputs file = do
-        ok <- allowable inputs file
+    fetch cache inputs rcSuggestsExternal file = do
+        ok <- allowable rcSuggestsExternal inputs file
         if ok
           then (do
             (contents, shouldCache) <- inputFile file
@@ -417,13 +418,16 @@ ioInterface options files = do
                 modifyIORef cache $ Map.insert file contents
             return $ Right contents
             ) `catch` handler
-          else return $ Left (file ++ " was not specified as input (see shellcheck -x).")
+          else
+            if rcSuggestsExternal == Just False
+            then return $ Left (file ++ " was not specified as input, and external files were disabled via directive.")
+            else return $ Left (file ++ " was not specified as input (see shellcheck -x).")
       where
         handler :: IOException -> IO (Either ErrorMessage String)
         handler ex = return . Left $ show ex
 
-    allowable inputs x =
-        if externalSources options
+    allowable rcSuggestsExternal inputs x =
+        if fromMaybe (externalSources options) rcSuggestsExternal
         then return True
         else do
             path <- normalize x
@@ -497,7 +501,7 @@ ioInterface options files = do
             b <- p x
             if b then pure (Just x) else acc
 
-    findSourceFile inputs sourcePathFlag currentScript sourcePathAnnotation original =
+    findSourceFile inputs sourcePathFlag currentScript rcSuggestsExternal sourcePathAnnotation original =
         if isAbsolute original
         then
             let (_, relative) = splitDrive original
@@ -506,7 +510,7 @@ ioInterface options files = do
             find original original
       where
         find filename deflt = do
-            sources <- findM ((allowable inputs) `andM` doesFileExist) $
+            sources <- findM ((allowable rcSuggestsExternal inputs) `andM` doesFileExist) $
                         (adjustPath filename):(map ((</> filename) . adjustPath) $ sourcePathFlag ++ sourcePathAnnotation)
             case sources of
                 Nothing -> return deflt
diff --git a/src/ShellCheck/AST.hs b/src/ShellCheck/AST.hs
index 52b6e17..2cd2f6f 100644
--- a/src/ShellCheck/AST.hs
+++ b/src/ShellCheck/AST.hs
@@ -150,6 +150,7 @@ data Annotation =
     | SourceOverride String
     | ShellOverride String
     | SourcePath String
+    | ExternalSources Bool
     deriving (Show, Eq)
 data ConditionType = DoubleBracket | SingleBracket deriving (Show, Eq)
 
diff --git a/src/ShellCheck/Checker.hs b/src/ShellCheck/Checker.hs
index d81d664..514f97d 100644
--- a/src/ShellCheck/Checker.hs
+++ b/src/ShellCheck/Checker.hs
@@ -156,6 +156,11 @@ checkWithIncludesAndSourcePath includes mapper = getErrors
         siFindSource = mapper
     }
 
+checkWithRcIncludesAndSourcePath rc includes mapper = getErrors
+    (mockRcFile rc $ mockedSystemInterface includes) {
+        siFindSource = mapper
+    }
+
 prop_findsParseIssue = check "echo \"$12\"" == [1037]
 
 prop_commentDisablesParseIssue1 =
@@ -384,7 +389,7 @@ prop_canEnableOptionalsWithRc = result == [2244]
 
 prop_sourcePathRedirectsName = result == [2086]
   where
-    f "dir/myscript" _ "lib" = return "foo/lib"
+    f "dir/myscript" _ _ "lib" = return "foo/lib"
     result = checkWithIncludesAndSourcePath [("foo/lib", "echo $1")] f emptyCheckSpec {
         csScript = "#!/bin/bash\nsource lib",
         csFilename = "dir/myscript",
@@ -393,7 +398,7 @@ prop_sourcePathRedirectsName = result == [2086]
 
 prop_sourcePathAddsAnnotation = result == [2086]
   where
-    f "dir/myscript" ["mypath"] "lib" = return "foo/lib"
+    f "dir/myscript" _ ["mypath"] "lib" = return "foo/lib"
     result = checkWithIncludesAndSourcePath [("foo/lib", "echo $1")] f emptyCheckSpec {
         csScript = "#!/bin/bash\n# shellcheck source-path=mypath\nsource lib",
         csFilename = "dir/myscript",
@@ -402,13 +407,75 @@ prop_sourcePathAddsAnnotation = result == [2086]
 
 prop_sourcePathRedirectsDirective = result == [2086]
   where
-    f "dir/myscript" _ "lib" = return "foo/lib"
-    f _ _ _ = return "/dev/null"
+    f "dir/myscript" _ _ "lib" = return "foo/lib"
+    f _ _ _ _ = return "/dev/null"
     result = checkWithIncludesAndSourcePath [("foo/lib", "echo $1")] f emptyCheckSpec {
         csScript = "#!/bin/bash\n# shellcheck source=lib\nsource kittens",
         csFilename = "dir/myscript",
         csCheckSourced = True
     }
 
+prop_rcCanAllowExternalSources = result == [2086]
+  where
+    f "dir/myscript" (Just True) _ "mylib" = return "resolved/mylib"
+    f a b c d = error $ show ("Unexpected", a, b, c, d)
+    result = checkWithRcIncludesAndSourcePath "external-sources=true" [("resolved/mylib", "echo $1")] f emptyCheckSpec {
+        csScript = "#!/bin/bash\nsource mylib",
+        csFilename = "dir/myscript",
+        csCheckSourced = True
+    }
+
+prop_rcCanDenyExternalSources = result == [2086]
+  where
+    f "dir/myscript" (Just False) _ "mylib" = return "resolved/mylib"
+    f a b c d = error $ show ("Unexpected", a, b, c, d)
+    result = checkWithRcIncludesAndSourcePath "external-sources=false" [("resolved/mylib", "echo $1")] f emptyCheckSpec {
+        csScript = "#!/bin/bash\nsource mylib",
+        csFilename = "dir/myscript",
+        csCheckSourced = True
+    }
+
+prop_rcCanLeaveExternalSourcesUnspecified = result == [2086]
+  where
+    f "dir/myscript" Nothing _ "mylib" = return "resolved/mylib"
+    f a b c d = error $ show ("Unexpected", a, b, c, d)
+    result = checkWithRcIncludesAndSourcePath "" [("resolved/mylib", "echo $1")] f emptyCheckSpec {
+        csScript = "#!/bin/bash\nsource mylib",
+        csFilename = "dir/myscript",
+        csCheckSourced = True
+    }
+
+prop_fileCanDisableExternalSources = result == [2006, 2086]
+  where
+    f "dir/myscript" (Just True) _ "withExternal" = return "withExternal"
+    f "dir/myscript" (Just False) _ "withoutExternal" = return "withoutExternal"
+    f a b c d = error $ show ("Unexpected", a, b, c, d)
+    result = checkWithRcIncludesAndSourcePath "external-sources=true" [("withExternal", "echo $1"), ("withoutExternal", "_=`foo`")] f emptyCheckSpec {
+        csScript = "#!/bin/bash\ntrue\nsource withExternal\n# shellcheck external-sources=false\nsource withoutExternal",
+        csFilename = "dir/myscript",
+        csCheckSourced = True
+    }
+
+prop_fileCannotEnableExternalSources = result == [1144]
+  where
+    f "dir/myscript" Nothing _ "foo" = return "foo"
+    f a b c d = error $ show ("Unexpected", a, b, c, d)
+    result = checkWithRcIncludesAndSourcePath "" [("foo", "true")] f emptyCheckSpec {
+        csScript = "#!/bin/bash\n# shellcheck external-sources=true\nsource foo",
+        csFilename = "dir/myscript",
+        csCheckSourced = True
+    }
+
+prop_fileCannotEnableExternalSources2 = result == [1144]
+  where
+    f "dir/myscript" (Just False) _ "foo" = return "foo"
+    f a b c d = error $ show ("Unexpected", a, b, c, d)
+    result = checkWithRcIncludesAndSourcePath "external-sources=false" [("foo", "true")] f emptyCheckSpec {
+        csScript = "#!/bin/bash\n# shellcheck external-sources=true\nsource foo",
+        csFilename = "dir/myscript",
+        csCheckSourced = True
+    }
+
+
 return []
 runTests = $quickCheckAll
diff --git a/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/CheckStyle.hs b/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/CheckStyle.hs
index f3fea88..c79ac21 100644
--- a/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/CheckStyle.hs
+++ b/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/CheckStyle.hs
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ outputResults cr sys =
     fileGroups = groupWith sourceFile comments
     outputGroup group = do
         let filename = sourceFile (head group)
-        result <- (siReadFile sys) filename
+        result <- siReadFile sys (Just True) filename
         let contents = either (const "") id result
         outputFile filename contents group
 
diff --git a/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/Diff.hs b/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/Diff.hs
index 83fb232..9e31780 100644
--- a/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/Diff.hs
+++ b/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/Diff.hs
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ reportResult foundIssues reportedIssues color result sys = do
     mapM_ output $ M.toList fixmap
   where
     output (name, fix) = do
-        file <- (siReadFile sys) name
+        file <- siReadFile sys (Just True) name
         case file of
             Right contents -> do
                 putStrLn $ formatDoc color $ makeDiff name contents fix
diff --git a/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/GCC.hs b/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/GCC.hs
index 9c5fa5f..5106e4c 100644
--- a/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/GCC.hs
+++ b/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/GCC.hs
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ outputAll cr sys = mapM_ f groups
     f :: [PositionedComment] -> IO ()
     f group = do
         let filename = sourceFile (head group)
-        result <- (siReadFile sys) filename
+        result <- siReadFile sys (Just True) filename
         let contents = either (const "") id result
         outputResult filename contents group
 
diff --git a/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/JSON1.hs b/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/JSON1.hs
index 7335d8c..54aad34 100644
--- a/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/JSON1.hs
+++ b/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/JSON1.hs
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ collectResult ref cr sys = mapM_ f groups
     f :: [PositionedComment] -> IO ()
     f group = do
         let filename = sourceFile (head group)
-        result <- siReadFile sys filename
+        result <- siReadFile sys (Just True) filename
         let contents = either (const "") id result
         let comments' = makeNonVirtual comments contents
         modifyIORef ref (\x -> comments' ++ x)
diff --git a/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/TTY.hs b/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/TTY.hs
index 0d474d7..bb57894 100644
--- a/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/TTY.hs
+++ b/src/ShellCheck/Formatter/TTY.hs
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ outputResult options ref result sys = do
 
 outputForFile color sys comments = do
     let fileName = sourceFile (head comments)
-    result <- (siReadFile sys) fileName
+    result <- siReadFile sys (Just True) fileName
     let contents = either (const "") id result
     let fileLinesList = lines contents
     let lineCount = length fileLinesList
diff --git a/src/ShellCheck/Interface.hs b/src/ShellCheck/Interface.hs
index 87346a1..7528559 100644
--- a/src/ShellCheck/Interface.hs
+++ b/src/ShellCheck/Interface.hs
@@ -73,14 +73,18 @@ import qualified Data.Map as Map
 
 
 data SystemInterface m = SystemInterface {
-    -- | Read a file by filename, or return an error
-    siReadFile :: String -> m (Either ErrorMessage String),
+    -- | Given:
+    --   What annotations say about including external files (if anything)
+    --   A resolved filename from siFindSource
+    --   Read the file or return an error
+    siReadFile :: Maybe Bool -> String -> m (Either ErrorMessage String),
     -- | Given:
     --   the current script,
+    --   what annotations say about including external files (if anything)
     --   a list of source-path annotations in effect,
     --   and a sourced file,
     --   find the sourced file
-    siFindSource :: String -> [String] -> String -> m FilePath,
+    siFindSource :: String -> Maybe Bool -> [String] -> String -> m FilePath,
     -- | Get the configuration file (name, contents) for a filename
     siGetConfig :: String -> m (Maybe (FilePath, String))
 }
@@ -313,11 +317,11 @@ mockedSystemInterface files = SystemInterface {
     siGetConfig = const $ return Nothing
 }
   where
-    rf file = return $
+    rf _ file = return $
         case find ((== file) . fst) files of
             Nothing -> Left "File not included in mock."
             Just (_, contents) -> Right contents
-    fs _ _ file = return file
+    fs _ _ _ file = return file
 
 mockRcFile rcfile mock = mock {
     siGetConfig = const . return $ Just (".shellcheckrc", rcfile)
diff --git a/src/ShellCheck/Parser.hs b/src/ShellCheck/Parser.hs
index 45434a8..b59ebc2 100644
--- a/src/ShellCheck/Parser.hs
+++ b/src/ShellCheck/Parser.hs
@@ -987,9 +987,9 @@ prop_readAnnotation7 = isOk readAnnotation "# shellcheck disable=SC1000,SC2000-S
 readAnnotation = called "shellcheck directive" $ do
     try readAnnotationPrefix
     many1 linewhitespace
-    readAnnotationWithoutPrefix
+    readAnnotationWithoutPrefix True
 
-readAnnotationWithoutPrefix = do
+readAnnotationWithoutPrefix sandboxed = do
     values <- many1 readKey
     optional readAnyComment
     void linefeed <|> eof <|> do
@@ -1035,6 +1035,21 @@ readAnnotationWithoutPrefix = do
                         "This shell type is unknown. Use e.g. sh or bash."
                 return [ShellOverride shell]
 
+            "external-sources" -> do
+                pos <- getPosition
+                value <- many1 letter
+                case value of
+                    "true" ->
+                        if sandboxed
+                        then do
+                            parseNoteAt pos ErrorC 1144 "external-sources can only be enabled in .shellcheckrc, not in individual files."
+                            return []
+                        else return [ExternalSources True]
+                    "false" -> return [ExternalSources False]
+                    _ -> do
+                        parseNoteAt pos ErrorC 1145 "Unknown external-sources value. Expected true/false."
+                        return []
+
             _ -> do
                 parseNoteAt keyPos WarningC 1107 "This directive is unknown. It will be ignored."
                 anyChar `reluctantlyTill` whitespace
@@ -2176,10 +2191,12 @@ readSource t@(T_Redirecting _ _ (T_SimpleCommand cmdId _ (cmd:file':rest'))) = d
                     if filename == "/dev/null" -- always allow /dev/null
                     then return (Right "", filename)
                     else do
+                        allAnnotations <- getCurrentAnnotations True
                         currentScript <- Mr.asks currentFilename
-                        paths <- mapMaybe getSourcePath <$> getCurrentAnnotations True
-                        resolved <- system $ siFindSource sys currentScript paths filename
-                        contents <- system $ siReadFile sys resolved
+                        let paths = mapMaybe getSourcePath allAnnotations
+                        let externalSources = listToMaybe $ mapMaybe getExternalSources allAnnotations
+                        resolved <- system $ siFindSource sys currentScript externalSources paths filename
+                        contents <- system $ siReadFile sys externalSources resolved
                         return (contents, resolved)
                 case input of
                     Left err -> do
@@ -2213,6 +2230,11 @@ readSource t@(T_Redirecting _ _ (T_SimpleCommand cmdId _ (cmd:file':rest'))) = d
             SourcePath x -> Just x
             _ -> Nothing
 
+    getExternalSources t =
+        case t of
+            ExternalSources b -> Just b
+            _ -> Nothing
+
     -- If the word has a single expansion as the directory, try stripping it
     -- This affects `$foo/bar` but not `${foo}-dir/bar` or `/foo/$file`
     stripDynamicPrefix word =
@@ -3202,7 +3224,7 @@ prop_readConfigKVs4 = isOk readConfigKVs "\n\n\n\n\t \n"
 prop_readConfigKVs5 = isOk readConfigKVs "# shellcheck accepts annotation-like comments in rc files\ndisable=1234"
 readConfigKVs = do
     anySpacingOrComment
-    annotations <- many (readAnnotationWithoutPrefix <* anySpacingOrComment)
+    annotations <- many (readAnnotationWithoutPrefix False <* anySpacingOrComment)
     eof
     return $ concat annotations
 anySpacingOrComment =