diff --git a/docs/wiki/Configuration:-Include.md b/docs/wiki/Configuration:-Include.md
index db4817cc..bbf6a955 100644
--- a/docs/wiki/Configuration:-Include.md
+++ b/docs/wiki/Configuration:-Include.md
@@ -114,6 +114,30 @@ window-rule {
 }
 ```
 
+### Optional includes
+
+<sup>Since: next release</sup>
+
+By default, including a nonexistent file will cause an error.
+You can allow nonexistent includes by setting `optional=true`:
+
+```kdl,must-fail
+// Won't fail if this file doesn't exist.
+include optional=true "optional-config.kdl"
+
+// Regular include, will fail if the file doesn't exist.
+include "required-config.kdl"
+```
+
+When an optional include file is missing, niri will emit a warning in the logs on every config reload.
+This reminds you that the file is missing while still loading the config successfully.
+
+The optional file is still watched for changes, so if you create it later, the config will automatically reload and apply the new settings.
+
+Note that `optional` only affects whether a missing file causes an error.
+If the file exists but contains invalid syntax or other errors, those errors will still cause a parsing failure.
+
+
 ### Merging
 
 Most config sections are merged between includes, meaning that you can set only a few properties, and only those properties will change.
diff --git a/niri-config/src/lib.rs b/niri-config/src/lib.rs
index 545ae5a4..b61fe1c1 100644
--- a/niri-config/src/lib.rs
+++ b/niri-config/src/lib.rs
@@ -291,7 +291,51 @@ where
                 }
 
                 "include" => {
-                    let path: PathBuf = utils::parse_arg_node("include", node, ctx)?;
+                    // Parse the path argument
+                    let mut iter_args = node.arguments.iter();
+                    let path_val = iter_args.next().ok_or_else(|| {
+                        DecodeError::missing(
+                            node,
+                            "additional argument for include path is required",
+                        )
+                    })?;
+                    let path: PathBuf = knuffel::traits::DecodeScalar::decode(path_val, ctx)?;
+
+                    // Check for extra arguments
+                    if let Some(val) = iter_args.next() {
+                        ctx.emit_error(DecodeError::unexpected(
+                            &val.literal,
+                            "argument",
+                            "unexpected argument",
+                        ));
+                    }
+
+                    // Parse the optional property
+                    let mut optional = false;
+                    for (name, val) in &node.properties {
+                        match &***name {
+                            "optional" => {
+                                optional = knuffel::traits::DecodeScalar::decode(val, ctx)?;
+                            }
+                            name_str => {
+                                ctx.emit_error(DecodeError::unexpected(
+                                    name,
+                                    "property",
+                                    format!("unexpected property `{}`", name_str.escape_default()),
+                                ));
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+
+                    // Check for unexpected children
+                    for child in node.children() {
+                        ctx.emit_error(DecodeError::unexpected(
+                            child,
+                            "node",
+                            format!("unexpected node `{}`", child.node_name.escape_default()),
+                        ));
+                    }
+
                     let base = ctx.get::<BasePath>().unwrap();
                     let path = base.0.join(path);
 
@@ -369,10 +413,16 @@ where
                             }
                         }
                         Err(err) => {
-                            ctx.emit_error(DecodeError::missing(
-                                node,
-                                format!("failed to read included config from {path:?}: {err}"),
-                            ));
+                            if optional && err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound {
+                                // Warn about missing optional includes
+                                warn!("optional include not found: {path:?}");
+                            } else {
+                                // Report all other errors normally
+                                ctx.emit_error(DecodeError::missing(
+                                    node,
+                                    format!("failed to read included config from {path:?}: {err}"),
+                                ));
+                            }
                         }
                     }
                 }