diff --git a/ytplaylist/cli.py b/ytplaylist/cli.py
index 61ced11..ce4d907 100644
--- a/ytplaylist/cli.py
+++ b/ytplaylist/cli.py
@@ -27,7 +27,8 @@ def main():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(prog="yt-playlist")
     parser.add_argument("-c", "--config", default="yt-playlist-config.json", help="Path to config file")
     parser.add_argument("-d", "--debug", action="store_true", help="Enable debug logging and show binary output")
-    parser.add_argument("-y", "--yes", "--non-interactive", dest="yes", action="store_true", help="Run non-interactively (auto-confirm prompts)")
+    parser.add_argument("-p", "--prune", dest="prune", action="store_true", help="Enable pruning: delete files not present in the playlist")
+    parser.add_argument("-y", "--yes", "--non-interactive", dest="yes", action="store_true", help="Run non-interactively (auto-confirm prompts, used with --prune)")
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     configure_logging(args.debug)
@@ -40,5 +41,6 @@ def main():
     manager = PlaylistManager(cfg, debug=args.debug)
     # support non-interactive mode for CI
     setattr(cfg, "non_interactive", bool(args.yes))
+    setattr(cfg, "prune", bool(args.prune))
     logger.debug("Starting PlaylistManager with debug=%s", args.debug)
     manager.run()
diff --git a/ytplaylist/downloader.py b/ytplaylist/downloader.py
index 421e17d..50c0a5c 100644
--- a/ytplaylist/downloader.py
+++ b/ytplaylist/downloader.py
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ class PlaylistDownloader:
             self.debug = bool(config.debug)
         # non-interactive mode for CI/automated runs
         self.non_interactive = bool(getattr(config, "non_interactive", False))
+        # prune controls whether cleanup actually deletes files; default False
+        self.prune = bool(getattr(config, "prune", False))
 
         self.url = playlist.get("url")
         self.skip = False
@@ -359,6 +361,10 @@ class PlaylistDownloader:
             for f in to_delete:
                 self.logger.warning("  %s", f.name)
 
+            if not self.prune:
+                self.logger.info("Prune disabled; no files will be deleted in '%s'.", folder)
+                return
+
             try:
                 if self.non_interactive:
                     confirm = "y"