diff --git a/src/builder.rs b/src/builder.rs
index a26eb31d..52a6caf6 100644
--- a/src/builder.rs
+++ b/src/builder.rs
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ pub struct Builder<W: Write> {
     mode: HeaderMode,
     follow: bool,
     finished: bool,
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    skip_unsupported: bool,
     obj: Option<W>,
 }
 
@@ -27,6 +29,8 @@ impl<W: Write> Builder<W> {
             mode: HeaderMode::Complete,
             follow: true,
             finished: false,
+            #[cfg(unix)]
+            skip_unsupported: false,
             obj: Some(obj),
         }
     }
@@ -44,6 +48,13 @@ impl<W: Write> Builder<W> {
         self.follow = follow;
     }
 
+    /// Skip unsupported file types (e.g. UNIX sockets) rather than returning
+    /// with an error.
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    pub fn skip_unsupported_file_types(&mut self, skip: bool) {
+        self.skip_unsupported = skip
+    }
+
     /// Gets shared reference to the underlying object.
     pub fn get_ref(&self) -> &W {
         self.obj.as_ref().unwrap()
@@ -237,7 +248,17 @@ impl<W: Write> Builder<W> {
     pub fn append_path<P: AsRef<Path>>(&mut self, path: P) -> io::Result<()> {
         let mode = self.mode.clone();
         let follow = self.follow;
-        append_path_with_name(self.get_mut(), path.as_ref(), None, mode, follow)
+        #[cfg(unix)]
+        let skip_unsupported = self.skip_unsupported;
+        append_path_with_name(
+            self.get_mut(),
+            path.as_ref(),
+            None,
+            mode,
+            follow,
+            #[cfg(unix)]
+            skip_unsupported,
+        )
     }
 
     /// Adds a file on the local filesystem to this archive under another name.
@@ -275,12 +296,16 @@ impl<W: Write> Builder<W> {
     ) -> io::Result<()> {
         let mode = self.mode.clone();
         let follow = self.follow;
+        #[cfg(unix)]
+        let skip_unsupported = self.skip_unsupported;
         append_path_with_name(
             self.get_mut(),
             path.as_ref(),
             Some(name.as_ref()),
             mode,
             follow,
+            #[cfg(unix)]
+            skip_unsupported,
         )
     }
 
@@ -381,12 +406,16 @@ impl<W: Write> Builder<W> {
     {
         let mode = self.mode.clone();
         let follow = self.follow;
+        #[cfg(unix)]
+        let skip_unsupported = self.skip_unsupported;
         append_dir_all(
             self.get_mut(),
             path.as_ref(),
             src_path.as_ref(),
             mode,
             follow,
+            #[cfg(unix)]
+            skip_unsupported,
         )
     }
 
@@ -426,6 +455,7 @@ fn append_path_with_name(
     name: Option<&Path>,
     mode: HeaderMode,
     follow: bool,
+    #[cfg(unix)] skip_unsupported: bool,
 ) -> io::Result<()> {
     let stat = if follow {
         fs::metadata(path).map_err(|err| {
@@ -460,7 +490,7 @@ fn append_path_with_name(
     } else {
         #[cfg(unix)]
         {
-            append_special(dst, path, &stat, mode)
+            append_special(dst, path, &stat, mode, skip_unsupported)
         }
         #[cfg(not(unix))]
         {
@@ -475,6 +505,7 @@ fn append_special(
     path: &Path,
     stat: &fs::Metadata,
     mode: HeaderMode,
+    skip_unsupported: bool,
 ) -> io::Result<()> {
     use ::std::os::unix::fs::{FileTypeExt, MetadataExt};
 
@@ -482,10 +513,13 @@ fn append_special(
     let entry_type;
     if file_type.is_socket() {
         // sockets can't be archived
-        return Err(other(&format!(
-            "{}: socket can not be archived",
-            path.display()
-        )));
+        return match skip_unsupported {
+            true => Ok(()),
+            false => Err(other(&format!(
+                "{}: socket can not be archived",
+                path.display()
+            ))),
+        };
     } else if file_type.is_fifo() {
         entry_type = EntryType::Fifo;
     } else if file_type.is_char_device() {
@@ -623,6 +657,7 @@ fn append_dir_all(
     src_path: &Path,
     mode: HeaderMode,
     follow: bool,
+    #[cfg(unix)] skip_unsupported: bool,
 ) -> io::Result<()> {
     let mut stack = vec![(src_path.to_path_buf(), true, false)];
     while let Some((src, is_dir, is_symlink)) = stack.pop() {
@@ -646,7 +681,7 @@ fn append_dir_all(
             {
                 let stat = fs::metadata(&src)?;
                 if !stat.is_file() {
-                    append_special(dst, &dest, &stat, mode)?;
+                    append_special(dst, &dest, &stat, mode, skip_unsupported)?;
                     continue;
                 }
             }
diff --git a/tests/all.rs b/tests/all.rs
index a7954e1f..87001d5c 100644
--- a/tests/all.rs
+++ b/tests/all.rs
@@ -23,6 +23,15 @@ macro_rules! t {
     };
 }
 
+macro_rules! te {
+    ($e:expr) => {
+        match $e {
+            Err(e) => e,
+            Ok(_) => panic!("{} was expected to return with error", stringify!($e)),
+        }
+    };
+}
+
 macro_rules! tar {
     ($e:expr) => {
         &include_bytes!(concat!("archives/", $e))[..]
@@ -1368,6 +1377,7 @@ fn read_only_directory_containing_files() {
 fn tar_directory_containing_special_files() {
     use std::env;
     use std::ffi::CString;
+    use std::os::unix::net::UnixListener;
 
     let td = t!(TempBuilder::new().prefix("tar-rs").tempdir());
     let fifo = td.path().join("fifo");
@@ -1381,10 +1391,21 @@ fn tar_directory_containing_special_files() {
         }
     }
 
+    let socket = td.path().join("socket");
+    match UnixListener::bind(socket) {
+        Ok(_) => {}
+        Err(e) => panic!("Failed to create and bind to a UNIX named socket: {}", e),
+    }
+
     t!(env::set_current_dir(td.path()));
     let mut ar = Builder::new(Vec::new());
+    // Default behavior is expected to reject UNIX named sockets, so we need to test it first.
     // append_path has a different logic for processing files, so we need to test it as well
+    te!(ar.append_path("socket"));
+    te!(ar.append_dir_all("special", td.path()));
+    ar.skip_unsupported_file_types(true);
     t!(ar.append_path("fifo"));
+    t!(ar.append_path("socket"));
     t!(ar.append_dir_all("special", td.path()));
     // unfortunately, block device file cannot be created by non-root users
     // as a substitute, just test the file that exists on most Unix systems