diff --git a/docs/guide/getting-started/configuration.md b/docs/guide/getting-started/configuration.md
index 2c649945e..da7602391 100644
--- a/docs/guide/getting-started/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/guide/getting-started/configuration.md
@@ -91,6 +91,19 @@ Prevent specific commands from being rewritten by the hook:
 exclude_commands = ["git rebase", "git cherry-pick", "docker exec"]
 ```
 
+Patterns match against the full command after stripping env prefixes (`sudo`, `VAR=val`), so `"psql"` excludes both `psql -h localhost` and `PGPASSWORD=x psql -h localhost`.
+
+Subcommand patterns work too: `"git push"` excludes `git push origin main` but not `git status`.
+
+Patterns starting with `^` are treated as regex:
+
+```toml
+[hooks]
+exclude_commands = ["^curl", "^wget", "git rebase"]
+```
+
+Invalid regex patterns fall back to prefix matching.
+
 Or for a single invocation:
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/hooks/README.md b/hooks/README.md
index 62875c028..6a6744281 100644
--- a/hooks/README.md
+++ b/hooks/README.md
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ Example: `cargo fmt --all && cargo test` becomes `rtk cargo fmt --all && rtk car
 ### Override Controls
 
 - **`RTK_DISABLED=1`**: Per-command override (`RTK_DISABLED=1 git status` runs raw)
-- **`exclude_commands`**: In `~/.config/rtk/config.toml`, list commands to never rewrite
+- **`exclude_commands`**: In `~/.config/rtk/config.toml`, list commands to never rewrite. Matches against the full command after stripping env prefixes. Subcommand patterns work (`"git push"` excludes `git push origin main`). Patterns starting with `^` are treated as regex.
 - **Already-RTK**: `rtk git status` passes through unchanged (no `rtk rtk git`)
 
 ## Exit Code Contract
diff --git a/src/discover/registry.rs b/src/discover/registry.rs
index ee5f7a7be..3e371c09c 100644
--- a/src/discover/registry.rs
+++ b/src/discover/registry.rs
@@ -447,6 +447,8 @@ pub fn rewrite_command(cmd: &str, excluded: &[String]) -> Option<String> {
         return None;
     }
 
+    let compiled = compile_exclude_patterns(excluded);
+
     // Simple (non-compound) already-RTK command — return as-is.
     // For compound commands that start with "rtk" (e.g. "rtk git add . && cargo test"),
     // fall through to rewrite_compound so the remaining segments get rewritten.
@@ -459,11 +461,11 @@ pub fn rewrite_command(cmd: &str, excluded: &[String]) -> Option<String> {
         return Some(trimmed.to_string());
     }
 
-    rewrite_compound(trimmed, excluded)
+    rewrite_compound(trimmed, &compiled)
 }
 
 /// Rewrite a compound command (with `&&`, `||`, `;`, `|`) by rewriting each segment.
-fn rewrite_compound(cmd: &str, excluded: &[String]) -> Option<String> {
+fn rewrite_compound(cmd: &str, excluded: &[ExcludePattern]) -> Option<String> {
     let tokens = tokenize(cmd);
     let mut result = String::with_capacity(cmd.len() + 32);
     let mut any_changed = false;
@@ -595,11 +597,54 @@ const SHELL_PREFIX_BUILTINS: &[&str] = &["noglob", "command", "builtin", "exec",
 
 const MAX_PREFIX_DEPTH: usize = 10;
 
-fn rewrite_segment(seg: &str, excluded: &[String]) -> Option<String> {
+enum ExcludePattern {
+    Regex(Regex),
+    Prefix(String),
+}
+
+fn compile_exclude_patterns(patterns: &[String]) -> Vec<ExcludePattern> {
+    patterns
+        .iter()
+        .filter_map(|pattern| {
+            let trimmed = pattern.trim();
+            if trimmed.is_empty() || trimmed == "^" {
+                eprintln!(
+                    "rtk: warning: ignoring trivial exclude_commands pattern '{}'",
+                    pattern
+                );
+                return None;
+            }
+            let anchored = if trimmed.starts_with('^') {
+                trimmed.to_string()
+            } else {
+                format!(r"^{}($|\s)", regex::escape(trimmed))
+            };
+            Some(match Regex::new(&anchored) {
+                Ok(re) => ExcludePattern::Regex(re),
+                Err(e) => {
+                    eprintln!(
+                        "rtk: warning: invalid exclude_commands pattern '{}': {}",
+                        pattern, e
+                    );
+                    ExcludePattern::Prefix(pattern.clone())
+                }
+            })
+        })
+        .collect()
+}
+
+fn rewrite_segment(seg: &str, excluded: &[ExcludePattern]) -> Option<String> {
     rewrite_segment_inner(seg, excluded, 0)
 }
 
-fn rewrite_segment_inner(seg: &str, excluded: &[String], depth: usize) -> Option<String> {
+fn is_excluded(cmd: &str, excluded: &[ExcludePattern]) -> bool {
+    excluded.iter().any(|pat| match pat {
+        ExcludePattern::Regex(re) => re.is_match(cmd),
+        ExcludePattern::Prefix(prefix) => cmd.starts_with(prefix.as_str()),
+    })
+}
+
+fn rewrite_segment_inner(seg: &str, excluded: &[ExcludePattern], depth: usize) -> Option<String> {
     let trimmed = seg.trim();
     if trimmed.is_empty() {
         return None;
@@ -647,9 +692,9 @@ fn rewrite_segment_inner(seg: &str, excluded: &[String], depth: usize) -> Option
     // Use classify_command for correct ignore/prefix handling
     let rtk_equivalent = match classify_command(cmd_part) {
         Classification::Supported { rtk_equivalent, .. } => {
-            // Check if the base command is excluded from rewriting (#243)
-            let base = cmd_part.split_whitespace().next().unwrap_or("");
-            if excluded.iter().any(|e| e == base) {
+            let stripped = ENV_PREFIX.replace(cmd_part, "");
+            let cmd_clean = stripped.trim();
+            if is_excluded(cmd_clean, excluded) {
                 return None;
             }
             rtk_equivalent
@@ -2853,6 +2898,57 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_exclude_env_prefixed_command() {
+        let excluded = vec!["psql".to_string()];
+        assert_eq!(
+            rewrite_command("PGPASSWORD=postgres psql -h localhost", &excluded),
+            None
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_exclude_subcommand_pattern() {
+        let excluded = vec!["git push".to_string()];
+        assert_eq!(rewrite_command("git push origin main", &excluded), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_exclude_regex_pattern() {
+        let excluded = vec!["^curl".to_string()];
+        assert_eq!(rewrite_command("curl http://example.com", &excluded), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_exclude_invalid_regex_fallback() {
+        let excluded = vec!["curl[".to_string()];
+        assert!(rewrite_command("curl http://example.com", &excluded).is_some());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_exclude_does_not_substring_match() {
+        let excluded = vec!["go".to_string()];
+        assert!(rewrite_command("golangci-lint run ./...", &excluded).is_some());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_exclude_does_not_match_hyphenated_command() {
+        let excluded = vec!["golangci".to_string()];
+        assert!(rewrite_command("golangci-lint run ./...", &excluded).is_some());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_exclude_empty_pattern_ignored() {
+        let excluded = vec!["".to_string()];
+        assert!(rewrite_command("git status", &excluded).is_some());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_exclude_bare_anchor_ignored() {
+        let excluded = vec!["^".to_string()];
+        assert!(rewrite_command("git status", &excluded).is_some());
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_all_patterns_are_valid_regex() {
         use regex::Regex;