diff --git a/docs/configuration.md b/docs/configuration.md
index 9bf9dc1e..d172f467 100644
--- a/docs/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/configuration.md
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ The block below shows a sample ```.gitlint``` file. Details about rule config op
 # By default gitlint will ignore squash commits. Set to 'false' to disable.
 # ignore-squash-commits=true
 
+# Ignore any data send to gitlint via stdin
+# ignore-stdin=true
+
 # Enable debug mode (prints more output). Disabled by default.
 # debug=true
 
diff --git a/gitlint/cli.py b/gitlint/cli.py
index bd0b0ee9..f3099b23 100644
--- a/gitlint/cli.py
+++ b/gitlint/cli.py
@@ -128,6 +128,27 @@ def get_stdin_data():
     return False
 
 
+def build_git_context(lint_config, msg_filename, refspec):
+    """ Builds a git context based on passed parameters and order of precedence """
+    # Order of precedence:
+    # 1. Any data specified via --msg-filename
+    if msg_filename:
+        LOG.debug("Attempting to read from --msg-filename.")
+        return GitContext.from_commit_msg(ustr(msg_filename.read()))
+
+    # 2. Any data sent to stdin (unless stdin is being ignored)
+    if not lint_config.ignore_stdin:
+        stdin_input = get_stdin_data()
+        if stdin_input:
+            LOG.debug("Stdin data: %r", stdin_input)
+            LOG.debug("Stdin detected and not ignored. Will be used as input.")
+            return GitContext.from_commit_msg(stdin_input)
+
+    # 3. Fallback to reading from local repository
+    LOG.debug("No --msg-filename flag, no or empty data passed to stdin. Attempting to read from the local repo.")
+    return GitContext.from_local_repository(lint_config.target, refspec)
+
+
 @click.group(invoke_without_command=True, context_settings={'max_content_width': 120},
              epilog="When no COMMAND is specified, gitlint defaults to 'gitlint lint'.")
 @click.option('--target', type=click.Path(exists=True, resolve_path=True, file_okay=False, readable=True),
@@ -170,7 +191,6 @@ def cli(  # pylint: disable=too-many-arguments
         # store it in the context (click allows storing an arbitrary object in ctx.obj).
         config, config_builder = build_config(ctx, target, config, c, extra_path,
                                               ignore, contrib, ignore_stdin, verbose, silent, debug)
-
         LOG.debug(u"Configuration\n%s", ustr(config))
 
         ctx.obj = (config, config_builder, commits, msg_filename)
@@ -189,26 +209,10 @@ def cli(  # pylint: disable=too-many-arguments
 def lint(ctx):
     """ Lints a git repository [default command] """
     lint_config = ctx.obj[0]
+    refspec = ctx.obj[2]
     msg_filename = ctx.obj[3]
 
-    # Let's determine where our input data is coming from:
-    # Order of precedence:
-    # 1. Any data specified via --msg-filename
-    # 2. Any data sent to stdin
-    # 3. Fallback to reading from local repository
-    stdin_input = get_stdin_data()
-    if stdin_input:
-        LOG.debug("Stdin data: %r", stdin_input)
-
-    if msg_filename:
-        LOG.debug("Attempting to read from --msg-filename.")
-        gitcontext = GitContext.from_commit_msg(ustr(msg_filename.read()))
-    elif stdin_input and not lint_config.ignore_stdin:
-        LOG.debug("Stdin detected and not ignored. Will be used as input.")
-        gitcontext = GitContext.from_commit_msg(stdin_input)
-    else:
-        LOG.debug("No --msg-filename flag, no or empty data passed to stdin. Attempting to read from the local repo.")
-        gitcontext = GitContext.from_local_repository(lint_config.target, ctx.obj[2])
+    gitcontext = build_git_context(lint_config, msg_filename, refspec)
 
     number_of_commits = len(gitcontext.commits)
     # Exit if we don't have commits in the specified range. Use a 0 exit code, since a popular use-case is one
diff --git a/gitlint/config.py b/gitlint/config.py
index 1ac08496..2d892bbd 100644
--- a/gitlint/config.py
+++ b/gitlint/config.py
@@ -281,6 +281,7 @@ def __eq__(self, other):
                self.ignore_merge_commits == other.ignore_merge_commits and \
                self.ignore_fixup_commits == other.ignore_fixup_commits and \
                self.ignore_squash_commits == other.ignore_squash_commits and \
+               self.ignore_stdin == other.ignore_stdin and \
                self.debug == other.debug and \
                self.ignore == other.ignore and \
                self._config_path == other._config_path  # noqa
@@ -295,6 +296,7 @@ def __str__(self):
         return_str += u"ignore-merge-commits: {0}\n".format(self.ignore_merge_commits)
         return_str += u"ignore-fixup-commits: {0}\n".format(self.ignore_fixup_commits)
         return_str += u"ignore-squash-commits: {0}\n".format(self.ignore_squash_commits)
+        return_str += u"ignore-stdin: {0}\n".format(self.ignore_stdin)
         return_str += u"verbosity: {0}\n".format(self.verbosity)
         return_str += u"debug: {0}\n".format(self.debug)
         return_str += u"target: {0}\n".format(self.target)
diff --git a/gitlint/files/gitlint b/gitlint/files/gitlint
index 44ed23e2..c12d2bf9 100644
--- a/gitlint/files/gitlint
+++ b/gitlint/files/gitlint
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@
 # By default gitlint will ignore squash commits. Set to 'false' to disable.
 # ignore-squash-commits=true
 
+# Ignore any data send to gitlint via stdin
+# ignore-stdin=true
+
 # Enable debug mode (prints more output). Disabled by default.
 # debug=true
 
diff --git a/gitlint/tests/expected/debug_configuration_output1 b/gitlint/tests/expected/debug_configuration_output1
index 82ba2abb..33c7609e 100644
--- a/gitlint/tests/expected/debug_configuration_output1
+++ b/gitlint/tests/expected/debug_configuration_output1
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ ignore: title-trailing-whitespace,B2
 ignore-merge-commits: False
 ignore-fixup-commits: True
 ignore-squash-commits: True
+ignore-stdin: False
 verbosity: 1
 debug: True
 target: {target}
diff --git a/gitlint/tests/test_cli.py b/gitlint/tests/test_cli.py
index 75528f66..b952b5c9 100644
--- a/gitlint/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/gitlint/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ def test_input_stream(self, _):
 
     @patch('gitlint.cli.get_stdin_data', return_value="Should be ignored\n")
     @patch('gitlint.git.sh')
-    def test_lint_ignore_stdin(self, sh, _):
+    def test_lint_ignore_stdin(self, sh, stdin_data):
         """ Test for ignoring stdin when --ignore-stdin flag is enabled"""
         sh.git.side_effect = self.GIT_CONFIG_SIDE_EFFECTS + [
             "6f29bf81a8322a04071bb794666e48c443a90360",
@@ -214,6 +214,9 @@ def test_lint_ignore_stdin(self, sh, _):
             self.assertEqual(stderr.getvalue(), u'3: B5 Body message is too short (11<20): "commït-body"\n')
             self.assertEqual(result.exit_code, 1)
 
+        # Assert that we didn't even try to get the stdin data
+        self.assertEqual(stdin_data.call_count, 0)
+
     @patch('gitlint.cli.get_stdin_data', return_value=False)
     def test_msg_filename(self, _):
         expected_output = u"3: B6 Body message is missing\n"
@@ -472,8 +475,8 @@ def test_install_hook(self, _, install_hook):
         result = self.cli.invoke(cli.cli, ["install-hook"])
         expected_path = os.path.join(u"/hür", u"dur", hooks.COMMIT_MSG_HOOK_DST_PATH)
         expected = u"Successfully installed gitlint commit-msg hook in {0}\n".format(expected_path)
-        self.assertEqual(result.exit_code, 0)
         self.assertEqual(result.output, expected)
+        self.assertEqual(result.exit_code, 0)
         expected_config = config.LintConfig()
         expected_config.target = os.path.realpath(os.getcwd())
         install_hook.assert_called_once_with(expected_config)
diff --git a/qa/expected/debug_output1 b/qa/expected/debug_output1
index 04e632d6..05b9f4df 100644
--- a/qa/expected/debug_output1
+++ b/qa/expected/debug_output1
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ ignore: title-trailing-punctuation,B2
 ignore-merge-commits: True
 ignore-fixup-commits: True
 ignore-squash-commits: True
+ignore-stdin: False
 verbosity: 2
 debug: True
 target: {target}