diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 291e6a6..d08eab0 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -37,16 +37,18 @@ func main() {
 	var includeDirFlags stringSlice
 	var excludeDirFlags stringSlice
 	var verbose bool
+	var dryRun bool
 
 	flag.Var(&nameFlags, "name", "Match exact filename (can be specified multiple times)")
 	flag.Var(&matchFlags, "match", "Match directory pattern (can be specified multiple times)")
 	flag.Var(&includeDirFlags, "include-dir", "Only traverse directories matching pattern (can be specified multiple times)")
 	flag.Var(&excludeDirFlags, "exclude-dir", "Skip directories matching pattern (can be specified multiple times)")
 	flag.BoolVar(&verbose, "verbose", false, "Enable verbose output for debugging")
+	flag.BoolVar(&dryRun, "dry-run", false, "Show what files would be collected without creating archive")
 
 	// Custom usage message
 	flag.Usage = func() {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Usage: %s [--name <filename>]... [--match <pattern>]... [--include-dir <pattern>]... [--exclude-dir <pattern>]... <source-dir> <output-archive>\n\n", os.Args[0])
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Usage: %s [--name <filename>]... [--match <pattern>]... [--include-dir <pattern>]... [--exclude-dir <pattern>]... [--dry-run] [--verbose] <source-dir> <output-archive>\n\n", os.Args[0])
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Collects files recursively matching specific criteria and archives them.\n\n")
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Options:\n")
 		flag.PrintDefaults()
@@ -55,6 +57,7 @@ func main() {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  %s --match 'aet-*/' ./ backup.zip\n", os.Args[0])
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  %s --name .mise.toml --name README.md --match 'test-*' ./ backup.tgz\n", os.Args[0])
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  %s --include-dir src --exclude-dir 'temp-*' --name '*.go' ./ backup.tgz\n", os.Args[0])
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  %s --dry-run --name .mise.toml ./ backup.tgz\n", os.Args[0])
 	}
 
 	flag.Parse()
@@ -77,11 +80,14 @@ func main() {
 	sourceDir := args[0]
 	outputPath := args[1]
 
-	// Determine archive format
-	format := collector.GetArchiveFormat(outputPath)
-	if format == "" {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: Unsupported archive format. Use .tar.gz, .tgz, or .zip\n")
-		os.Exit(exitInvalidArgs)
+	// Determine archive format (skip validation in dry-run mode)
+	var format string
+	if !dryRun {
+		format = collector.GetArchiveFormat(outputPath)
+		if format == "" {
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: Unsupported archive format. Use .tar.gz, .tgz, or .zip\n")
+			os.Exit(exitInvalidArgs)
+		}
 	}
 
 	// Create matchers
@@ -141,6 +147,17 @@ func main() {
 		os.Exit(exitArchiveError)
 	}
 
+	// Handle dry-run mode
+	if dryRun {
+		fmt.Printf("DRY RUN: Found %d files that would be collected:\n", len(files))
+		for _, file := range files {
+			fmt.Printf("  %s\n", file.Path)
+		}
+		fmt.Printf("\nDRY RUN: Would create archive: %s\n", outputPath)
+		fmt.Printf("DRY RUN: No archive created (use without --dry-run to create archive)\n")
+		os.Exit(exitSuccess)
+	}
+
 	// Report number of files found
 	fmt.Printf("Found %d files to archive\n", len(files))
 
diff --git a/test.sh b/test.sh
index 9e49a23..23a4ee6 100755
--- a/test.sh
+++ b/test.sh
@@ -249,6 +249,37 @@ verify_output_contains "found: README.md"
 verify_output_contains "found: docs/README.md"
 verify_output_contains "found: src/main.go"
 
+# Test 23: Dry-run shows files that would be collected without creating archive
+run_test "dry-run shows files without creating archive" \
+    "./collect --dry-run --name 'README.md' --name 'main.go' test/ test-dry-run.tgz"
+verify_output_contains "DRY RUN: Found 3 files that would be collected:"
+verify_output_contains "  README.md"
+verify_output_contains "  docs/README.md"
+verify_output_contains "  src/main.go"
+verify_output_contains "DRY RUN: Would create archive: test-dry-run.tgz"
+verify_output_contains "DRY RUN: No archive created"
+
+# Verify that dry-run didn't actually create the archive
+echo -n "  Verifying no archive was created... "
+if [ ! -f "test-dry-run.tgz" ]; then
+    echo -e "${GREEN}OK${NC}"
+else
+    echo -e "${RED}FAILED${NC}"
+    echo "    Archive was created when it shouldn't have been"
+    ((TESTS_FAILED++))
+fi
+
+# Test 24: Dry-run with verbose shows both found messages and dry-run output
+run_test "dry-run with verbose shows comprehensive output" \
+    "./collect --dry-run --verbose --name 'main.go' test/ test-dry-run-verbose.tgz"
+verify_output_contains "found: src/main.go"
+verify_output_contains "DRY RUN: Found 1 files that would be collected:"
+verify_output_contains "  src/main.go"
+
+# Test 25: Dry-run with no matching files
+run_test "dry-run with no matching files" \
+    "./collect --dry-run --name 'nonexistent.file' test/ test-dry-run-empty.tgz" 1
+
 # Summary
 echo -e "\n${YELLOW}=== Test Summary ===${NC}"
 echo -e "Tests passed: ${GREEN}$TESTS_PASSED${NC}"