diff --git a/gix-config-value/Cargo.toml b/gix-config-value/Cargo.toml
index 16eae9faae9..aa1cdd2bfd8 100644
--- a/gix-config-value/Cargo.toml
+++ b/gix-config-value/Cargo.toml
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ rust-version = "1.82"
 include = ["src/**/*", "LICENSE-*"]
 
 [lib]
-doctest = false
+doctest = true
 
 [features]
 ## Data structures implement `serde::Serialize` and `serde::Deserialize`.
diff --git a/gix-config-value/src/path.rs b/gix-config-value/src/path.rs
index 8646a19de79..64b4c828959 100644
--- a/gix-config-value/src/path.rs
+++ b/gix-config-value/src/path.rs
@@ -108,7 +108,30 @@ impl AsRef<BStr> for Path<'_> {
 
 impl<'a> From<Cow<'a, BStr>> for Path<'a> {
     fn from(value: Cow<'a, BStr>) -> Self {
-        Path { value }
+        /// The prefix used to mark a path as optional in Git configuration files.
+        const OPTIONAL_PREFIX: &[u8] = b":(optional)";
+
+        if value.starts_with(OPTIONAL_PREFIX) {
+            // Strip the prefix while preserving the Cow variant for efficiency:
+            // - Borrowed data remains borrowed (no allocation)
+            // - Owned data is modified in-place using drain (no extra allocation)
+            let stripped = match value {
+                Cow::Borrowed(b) => Cow::Borrowed(&b[OPTIONAL_PREFIX.len()..]),
+                Cow::Owned(mut b) => {
+                    b.drain(..OPTIONAL_PREFIX.len());
+                    Cow::Owned(b)
+                }
+            };
+            Path {
+                value: stripped,
+                is_optional: true,
+            }
+        } else {
+            Path {
+                value,
+                is_optional: false,
+            }
+        }
     }
 }
 
@@ -125,8 +148,8 @@ impl<'a> Path<'a> {
     ///    This location is not known at compile time and therefore need to be
     ///    optionally provided by the caller through `git_install_dir`.
     ///
-    /// Any other, non-empty path value is returned unchanged and error is returned in case of an empty path value or if required input
-    /// wasn't provided.
+    /// Any other, non-empty path value is returned unchanged and error is returned in case of an empty path value or if the required
+    /// input wasn't provided.
     pub fn interpolate(
         self,
         interpolate::Context {
diff --git a/gix-config-value/src/types.rs b/gix-config-value/src/types.rs
index 232a55f3f92..e313960e32a 100644
--- a/gix-config-value/src/types.rs
+++ b/gix-config-value/src/types.rs
@@ -41,8 +41,35 @@ pub struct Boolean(pub bool);
 /// Any value that can be interpreted as a path to a resource on disk.
 ///
 /// Git represents file paths as byte arrays, modeled here as owned or borrowed byte sequences.
+///
+/// ## Optional Paths
+///
+/// Paths can be marked as optional by prefixing them with `:(optional)` in the configuration.
+/// This indicates that it's acceptable if the file doesn't exist, which is useful for
+/// configuration values like `blame.ignoreRevsFile` that may only exist in some repositories.
+///
+/// ```
+/// use std::borrow::Cow;
+/// use gix_config_value::Path;
+/// use bstr::ByteSlice;
+///
+/// // Regular path - file is expected to exist
+/// let path = Path::from(Cow::Borrowed(b"/etc/gitconfig".as_bstr()));
+/// assert!(!path.is_optional);
+///
+/// // Optional path - it's okay if the file doesn't exist
+/// let path = Path::from(Cow::Borrowed(b":(optional)~/.gitignore".as_bstr()));
+/// assert!(path.is_optional);
+/// assert_eq!(path.value.as_ref(), b"~/.gitignore"); // prefix is stripped
+/// ```
 #[derive(Clone, Eq, PartialEq, Ord, PartialOrd, Hash, Debug)]
 pub struct Path<'a> {
     /// The path string, un-interpolated
     pub value: std::borrow::Cow<'a, bstr::BStr>,
+    /// Whether this path was prefixed with `:(optional)`, indicating it's acceptable if the file doesn't exist.
+    ///
+    /// Optional paths indicate that it's acceptable if the file doesn't exist.
+    /// This is typically used for configuration like `blame.ignorerevsfile` where
+    /// the file might not exist in all repositories.
+    pub is_optional: bool,
 }
diff --git a/gix-config-value/tests/value/path.rs b/gix-config-value/tests/value/path.rs
index 999c07b06f9..911e1b9db72 100644
--- a/gix-config-value/tests/value/path.rs
+++ b/gix-config-value/tests/value/path.rs
@@ -127,3 +127,119 @@ mod interpolate {
         std::env::current_dir().unwrap().join(name).into()
     }
 }
+
+mod optional_prefix {
+    use std::borrow::Cow;
+
+    use crate::{b, cow_str};
+    use bstr::ByteSlice;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn path_without_optional_prefix_is_not_optional() {
+        let path = gix_config_value::Path::from(Cow::Borrowed(b("/some/path")));
+        assert!(!path.is_optional, "path without prefix should not be optional");
+        assert_eq!(path.value.as_ref(), b"/some/path");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn path_with_optional_prefix_is_optional() {
+        let path = gix_config_value::Path::from(cow_str(":(optional)/some/path"));
+        assert!(path.is_optional, "path with :(optional) prefix should be optional");
+        assert_eq!(path.value.as_ref(), b"/some/path", "prefix should be stripped");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn optional_prefix_with_relative_path() {
+        let path = gix_config_value::Path::from(cow_str(":(optional)relative/path"));
+        assert!(path.is_optional);
+        assert_eq!(path.value.as_ref(), b"relative/path");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn optional_prefix_with_tilde_expansion() {
+        let path = gix_config_value::Path::from(cow_str(":(optional)~/config/file"));
+        assert!(path.is_optional);
+        assert_eq!(
+            path.value.as_ref(),
+            b"~/config/file",
+            "tilde should be preserved for interpolation"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn optional_prefix_with_prefix_substitution() {
+        let path = gix_config_value::Path::from(cow_str(":(optional)%(prefix)/share/git"));
+        assert!(path.is_optional);
+        assert_eq!(
+            path.value.as_ref(),
+            b"%(prefix)/share/git",
+            "prefix should be preserved for interpolation"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn optional_prefix_with_windows_path() {
+        let path = gix_config_value::Path::from(cow_str(r":(optional)C:\Users\file"));
+        assert!(path.is_optional);
+        assert_eq!(path.value.as_ref(), br"C:\Users\file");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn optional_prefix_followed_by_empty_path() {
+        let path = gix_config_value::Path::from(cow_str(":(optional)"));
+        assert!(path.is_optional);
+        assert_eq!(path.value.as_ref(), b"", "empty path after prefix is valid");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn partial_optional_string_is_not_treated_as_prefix() {
+        let path = gix_config_value::Path::from(cow_str(":(opt)ional/path"));
+        assert!(
+            !path.is_optional,
+            "incomplete prefix should not be treated as optional marker"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(path.value.as_ref(), b":(opt)ional/path");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn optional_prefix_case_sensitive() {
+        let path = gix_config_value::Path::from(cow_str(":(OPTIONAL)/some/path"));
+        assert!(!path.is_optional, "prefix should be case-sensitive");
+        assert_eq!(path.value.as_ref(), b":(OPTIONAL)/some/path");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn optional_prefix_with_spaces() {
+        let path = gix_config_value::Path::from(cow_str(":(optional) /path/with/space"));
+        assert!(path.is_optional);
+        assert_eq!(
+            path.value.as_ref(),
+            b" /path/with/space",
+            "space after prefix should be preserved"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn borrowed_path_stays_borrowed_after_prefix_stripping() {
+        // Verify that we don't unnecessarily allocate when stripping the prefix from borrowed data
+        let borrowed_input: &[u8] = b":(optional)/some/path";
+        let path = gix_config_value::Path::from(Cow::Borrowed(borrowed_input.as_bstr()));
+
+        assert!(path.is_optional);
+        assert_eq!(path.value.as_ref(), b"/some/path");
+        // Verify it's still borrowed (no unnecessary allocation)
+        assert!(matches!(path.value, Cow::Borrowed(_)));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn owned_path_stays_owned_after_prefix_stripping() {
+        // Verify that owned data remains owned after prefix stripping
+        let owned_input = bstr::BString::from(":(optional)/some/path");
+        let path = gix_config_value::Path::from(Cow::Owned(owned_input));
+
+        assert!(path.is_optional);
+        assert_eq!(path.value.as_ref(), b"/some/path");
+        // Verify it's still owned
+        assert!(matches!(path.value, Cow::Owned(_)));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/gix/src/config/cache/access.rs b/gix/src/config/cache/access.rs
index 16bb2ce182b..42d2e9e9fea 100644
--- a/gix/src/config/cache/access.rs
+++ b/gix/src/config/cache/access.rs
@@ -544,7 +544,19 @@ pub(crate) fn trusted_file_path<'config>(
     let install_dir = crate::path::install_dir().ok();
     let home = home_dir(environment);
     let ctx = config::cache::interpolate_context(install_dir.as_deref(), home.as_deref());
-    Some(path.interpolate(ctx))
+
+    let is_optional = path.is_optional;
+    let res = path.interpolate(ctx);
+    if is_optional {
+        if let Ok(path) = &res {
+            // As opposed to Git, for a lack of the right error variant, we ignore everything that can't
+            // be stat'ed, instead of just checking if it doesn't exist via error code.
+            if path.metadata().is_err() {
+                return None;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    Some(res)
 }
 
 pub(crate) fn home_dir(environment: crate::open::permissions::Environment) -> Option<PathBuf> {
diff --git a/gix/src/config/snapshot/access.rs b/gix/src/config/snapshot/access.rs
index 91cbfc84d8b..22ee3dd9f81 100644
--- a/gix/src/config/snapshot/access.rs
+++ b/gix/src/config/snapshot/access.rs
@@ -54,6 +54,12 @@ impl<'repo> Snapshot<'repo> {
     /// Return the trusted and fully interpolated path at `key`, or `None` if there is no such value
     /// or if no value was found in a trusted file.
     /// An error occurs if the path could not be interpolated to its final value.
+    ///
+    /// ### Optional paths
+    ///
+    /// The path can be prefixed with `:(optional)` which means it won't be returned if the interpolated
+    /// path couldn't be accessed. Note also that this is different from Git, which ignores it only if
+    /// it doesn't exist.
     pub fn trusted_path(
         &self,
         key: impl gix_config::AsKey,
diff --git a/gix/tests/gix/repository/config/config_snapshot/mod.rs b/gix/tests/gix/repository/config/config_snapshot/mod.rs
index 60ac133b926..822e0b8fa13 100644
--- a/gix/tests/gix/repository/config/config_snapshot/mod.rs
+++ b/gix/tests/gix/repository/config/config_snapshot/mod.rs
@@ -33,6 +33,33 @@ fn commit_auto_rollback() -> crate::Result {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+mod trusted_path {
+    use crate::util::named_repo;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn optional_is_respected() -> crate::Result {
+        let mut repo: gix::Repository = named_repo("make_basic_repo.sh")?;
+        repo.config_snapshot_mut().set_raw_value(&"my.path", "does-not-exist")?;
+
+        let actual = repo
+            .config_snapshot()
+            .trusted_path("my.path")
+            .transpose()?
+            .expect("is set");
+        assert_eq!(
+            actual.as_ref(),
+            "does-not-exist",
+            "the path isn't evaluated by default, and may not exist"
+        );
+
+        repo.config_snapshot_mut()
+            .set_raw_value(&"my.path", ":(optional)does-not-exist")?;
+        let actual = repo.config_snapshot().trusted_path("my.path").transpose()?;
+        assert_eq!(actual, None, "non-existing paths aren't returned to the caller");
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn snapshot_mut_commit_and_forget() -> crate::Result {
     let mut repo: gix::Repository = named_repo("make_basic_repo.sh")?;
diff --git a/gix/tests/gix/repository/excludes.rs b/gix/tests/gix/repository/excludes.rs
index 60f70beed96..ce0ac39bb4e 100644
--- a/gix/tests/gix/repository/excludes.rs
+++ b/gix/tests/gix/repository/excludes.rs
@@ -27,3 +27,19 @@ fn empty_core_excludes() -> crate::Result {
         .expect("empty paths are now just skipped");
     Ok(())
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn missing_core_excludes_is_ignored() -> crate::Result {
+    let mut repo = named_subrepo_opts(
+        "make_basic_repo.sh",
+        "empty-core-excludes",
+        gix::open::Options::default().strict_config(true),
+    )?;
+    repo.config_snapshot_mut()
+        .set_value(&gix::config::tree::Core::EXCLUDES_FILE, "definitely-missing")?;
+
+    let index = repo.index_or_empty()?;
+    repo.excludes(&index, None, Source::WorktreeThenIdMappingIfNotSkipped)
+        .expect("the call works as missing excludes files are ignored");
+    Ok(())
+}