diff --git a/doc/PKGBUILD.5.txt b/doc/PKGBUILD.5.txt
index 24e1a125..4d761214 100644
--- a/doc/PKGBUILD.5.txt
+++ b/doc/PKGBUILD.5.txt
@@ -231,6 +231,9 @@ version. Appending the version yourself disables auto detection.
 	*zipman*;;
 		Compress man and info pages with gzip.
 
+	*upx*;;
+		Compress binary executable files using UPX.
+
 	*ccache*;;
 		Allow the use of ccache during build. More useful in its negative
 		form `!ccache` with select packages that have problems building
diff --git a/doc/makepkg.conf.5.txt b/doc/makepkg.conf.5.txt
index 3ce4759f..48f5ef56 100644
--- a/doc/makepkg.conf.5.txt
+++ b/doc/makepkg.conf.5.txt
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ Options
 	Specify a key to use for gpg signing instead of the default key in the
 	keyring. Can be overridden with makepkg's `--key` option.
 
-**OPTIONS=(**strip !docs libtool emptydirs zipman**)**::
+**OPTIONS=(**strip docs libtool emptydirs zipman purge !upx**)**::
 	This array contains options that affect the default packaging. They are
 	equivalent to options that can be placed in the PKGBUILD; the defaults are
 	shown here. All options should always be left in the array; to enable or
@@ -146,6 +146,10 @@ Options
 		Remove files specified by the `PURGE_TARGETS` variable from the
 		package.
 
+	*upx*;;
+		Compress binary executable files using UPX.  Additional options
+		can be passed to UPX by specifying the `UPXFLAGS` variable.
+
 **INTEGRITY_CHECK=(**check1 ...**)**::
 	File integrity checks to use. Multiple checks may be specified; this
 	affects both generation and checking. The current valid options are:
diff --git a/etc/makepkg.conf.in b/etc/makepkg.conf.in
index 9a790fcf..42ae9405 100644
--- a/etc/makepkg.conf.in
+++ b/etc/makepkg.conf.in
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ BUILDENV=(fakeroot !distcc color !ccache check !sign)
 #   These are default values for the options=() settings
 #########################################################################
 #
-# Default: OPTIONS=(strip docs libtool emptydirs zipman purge)
+# Default: OPTIONS=(strip docs libtool emptydirs zipman purge !upx)
 #  A negated option will do the opposite of the comments below.
 #
 #-- strip:     Strip symbols from binaries/libraries
@@ -69,8 +69,9 @@ BUILDENV=(fakeroot !distcc color !ccache check !sign)
 #-- emptydirs: Leave empty directories in packages
 #-- zipman:    Compress manual (man and info) pages in MAN_DIRS with gzip
 #-- purge:     Remove files specified by PURGE_TARGETS
+#-- upx:       Compress binary executable files using UPX
 #
-OPTIONS=(strip docs libtool emptydirs zipman purge)
+OPTIONS=(strip docs libtool emptydirs zipman purge !upx)
 
 #-- File integrity checks to use. Valid: md5, sha1, sha256, sha384, sha512
 INTEGRITY_CHECK=(md5)
diff --git a/scripts/makepkg.sh.in b/scripts/makepkg.sh.in
index 78cd4cfc..b0247bdf 100644
--- a/scripts/makepkg.sh.in
+++ b/scripts/makepkg.sh.in
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ startdir="$PWD"
 srcdir="$startdir/src"
 pkgdir="$startdir/pkg"
 
-packaging_options=('strip' 'docs' 'libtool' 'emptydirs' 'zipman' 'purge')
+packaging_options=('strip' 'docs' 'libtool' 'emptydirs' 'zipman' 'purge' 'upx')
 other_options=('ccache' 'distcc' 'buildflags' 'makeflags')
 splitpkg_overrides=('pkgver' 'pkgrel' 'pkgdesc' 'arch' 'license' 'groups' \
                     'depends' 'optdepends' 'provides' 'conflicts' 'replaces' \
@@ -940,6 +940,17 @@ tidy_install() {
 		msg2 "$(gettext "Removing empty directories...")"
 		find . -depth -type d -empty -delete
 	fi
+
+	if [[ $(check_option upx) = "y" ]]; then
+		msg2 "$(gettext "Compressing binaries with %s...")" "UPX"
+		local binary
+		find . -type f -perm -u+w 2>/dev/null | while read binary ; do
+			if [[ $(file -bi "$binary") = *'application/x-executable'* ]]; then
+				upx $UPXFLAGS "$binary" &>/dev/null ||
+						warning "$(gettext "Could not compress binary : %s")" "${binary/$pkgdir\//}"
+			fi
+		done
+	fi
 }
 
 find_libdepends() {