diff --git a/cmd/restic/cmd_backup.go b/cmd/restic/cmd_backup.go
index e0f901738..3db9bb50c 100644
--- a/cmd/restic/cmd_backup.go
+++ b/cmd/restic/cmd_backup.go
@@ -143,8 +143,8 @@ func (opts *BackupOptions) AddFlags(f *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	f.StringArrayVar(&opts.FilesFromRaw, "files-from-raw", nil, "read the files to backup from `file` (can be combined with file args; can be specified multiple times)")
 	f.StringVar(&opts.TimeStamp, "time", "", "`time` of the backup (ex. '2012-11-01 22:08:41') (default: now)")
 	f.BoolVar(&opts.WithAtime, "with-atime", false, "store the atime for all files and directories")
-	f.BoolVar(&opts.IgnoreInode, "ignore-inode", false, "ignore inode number and ctime changes when checking for modified files")
-	f.BoolVar(&opts.IgnoreCtime, "ignore-ctime", false, "ignore ctime changes when checking for modified files")
+	f.BoolVar(&opts.IgnoreInode, "ignore-inode", false, "ignore inode number and ctime changes when checking for modified files (default: $RESTIC_IGNORE_INODE or false)")
+	f.BoolVar(&opts.IgnoreCtime, "ignore-ctime", false, "ignore ctime changes when checking for modified files (default: $RESTIC_IGNORE_CTIME or false)")
 	f.BoolVarP(&opts.DryRun, "dry-run", "n", false, "do not upload or write any data, just show what would be done")
 	f.BoolVar(&opts.NoScan, "no-scan", false, "do not run scanner to estimate size of backup")
 	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
@@ -157,6 +157,10 @@ func (opts *BackupOptions) AddFlags(f *pflag.FlagSet) {
 
 	opts.readConcurrencyFlag = f.Lookup("read-concurrency")
 
+	// parse read inode and ctime from env, on error the default value will be used
+	opts.IgnoreInode, _ = strconv.ParseBool(os.Getenv("RESTIC_IGNORE_INODE"))
+	opts.IgnoreCtime, _ = strconv.ParseBool(os.Getenv("RESTIC_IGNORE_CTIME"))
+
 	// parse host from env, if not exists or empty the default value will be used
 	if host := os.Getenv("RESTIC_HOST"); host != "" {
 		opts.Host = host
diff --git a/doc/075_scripting.rst b/doc/075_scripting.rst
index 1ed51ad82..511959299 100644
--- a/doc/075_scripting.rst
+++ b/doc/075_scripting.rst
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ environment variables, which are listed below.
     RESTIC_PROGRESS_FPS                 Frames per second by which the progress bar is updated
     RESTIC_PACK_SIZE                    Target size for pack files
     RESTIC_READ_CONCURRENCY             Concurrency for file reads
+    RESTIC_IGNORE_CTIME                 Ignore ctime changes when comparing files (replaces --ignore-ctime)
+    RESTIC_IGNORE_INODE                 Ignore inode changes when comparing files (replaces --ignore-inode)
 
     RESTIC_FROM_REPOSITORY              Source repository for copy (replaces --from-repo)
     RESTIC_FROM_REPOSITORY_FILE         File containing source repository for copy (replaces --from-repository-file)