diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index ff4e64fe..6d419c3a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ PAGER ?= less
 # build dir for debian package
 BUILDDIR:=/home/calvin/packages/official
 DEB_ORIG_TARGET:=$(BUILDDIR)/linkchecker_$(VERSION).orig.tar.gz
+# options to run the pep8 utility
+PEP8OPTS:=--repeat --ignore=E211,E501 --exclude=dns
 
 
 .PHONY: all
@@ -135,6 +137,10 @@ pyflakes:
           grep -v "undefined name '_'" | \
 	  grep -v "undefined name '_n'" | cat
 
+.PHONY: pep8
+pep8:
+	pep8 $(PEP8OPTS) $(PY_FILES_DIRS)
+
 .PHONY: reindent
 reindent:
 	$(PYTHON) config/reindent.py -r -v linkcheck