diff --git a/Documentation/git-ls-files.adoc b/Documentation/git-ls-files.adoc
index 2b175388e1..11323b4ba9 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-ls-files.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/git-ls-files.adoc
@@ -127,6 +127,10 @@ OPTIONS
 --exclude-standard::
 	Add the standard Git exclusions: .git/info/exclude, .gitignore
 	in each directory, and the user's global exclusion file.
++
+With `--others`, an enabled untracked cache can be updated in the index
+after a complete traversal. Use `--no-optional-locks` (see linkgit:git[1])
+to disable this optional index update.
 
 --error-unmatch::
 	If any <file> does not appear in the index, treat this as an
diff --git a/builtin/ls-files.c b/builtin/ls-files.c
index b044520f9e..e74ffa344d 100644
--- a/builtin/ls-files.c
+++ b/builtin/ls-files.c
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 #include "quote.h"
 #include "dir.h"
 #include "gettext.h"
+#include "lockfile.h"
 #include "object-name.h"
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "parse-options.h"
@@ -597,6 +598,8 @@ int cmd_ls_files(int argc,
 	struct dir_struct dir = DIR_INIT;
 	struct pattern_list *pl;
 	struct string_list exclude_list = STRING_LIST_INIT_NODUP;
+	struct lock_file index_lock = LOCK_INIT;
+	int index_fd = -1;
 	struct option builtin_ls_files_options[] = {
 		/* Think twice before adding "--nul" synonym to this */
 		OPT_SET_INT('z', NULL, &line_terminator,
@@ -678,14 +681,13 @@ int cmd_ls_files(int argc,
 		prefix_len = strlen(prefix);
 	repo_config(repo, git_default_config, NULL);
 
-	if (repo_read_index(repo) < 0)
-		die("index file corrupt");
-
 	argc = parse_options(argc, argv, prefix, builtin_ls_files_options,
 			ls_files_usage, 0);
-	pl = add_pattern_list(&dir, EXC_CMDL, "--exclude option");
-	for (i = 0; i < exclude_list.nr; i++) {
-		add_pattern(exclude_list.items[i].string, "", 0, pl, --exclude_args);
+	/* Even an empty command-line exclude list would disable the cache. */
+	if (exclude_list.nr) {
+		pl = add_pattern_list(&dir, EXC_CMDL, "--exclude option");
+		for (i = 0; i < exclude_list.nr; i++)
+			add_pattern(exclude_list.items[i].string, "", 0, pl, --exclude_args);
 	}
 
 	if (format && (show_stage || show_others || show_killed ||
@@ -747,6 +749,25 @@ int cmd_ls_files(int argc,
 		max_prefix = common_prefix(&pathspec);
 	max_prefix_len = get_common_prefix_len(max_prefix);
 
+	/*
+	 * Do not save an index pruned by a pathspec or changed by --with-tree.
+	 * With index.skipHash, the checksum cannot detect concurrent index
+	 * changes. Lock the index before reading it.
+	 */
+	if (show_others && !dir.flags && dir.exclude_per_dir &&
+	    !max_prefix && !with_tree && use_optional_locks() &&
+	    !dir.internal.unmanaged_exclude_files && !exclude_list.nr &&
+	    repo->settings.core_untracked_cache != UNTRACKED_CACHE_REMOVE)
+		index_fd = repo_hold_locked_index(repo, &index_lock, 0);
+	if (repo_read_index(repo) < 0)
+		die("index file corrupt");
+	if (show_others && !dir.flags && dir.exclude_per_dir && !with_tree)
+		dir.untracked = repo->index->untracked;
+	if (index_fd >= 0 && !dir.untracked) {
+		rollback_lock_file(&index_lock);
+		index_fd = -1;
+	}
+
 	prune_index(repo->index, max_prefix, max_prefix_len);
 
 	/* Treat unmatching pathspec elements as errors */
@@ -784,6 +805,13 @@ int cmd_ls_files(int argc,
 		ret = 1;
 	}
 
+	if (index_fd >= 0) {
+		if (!ret && dir.untracked)
+			repo_update_index_if_able(repo, &index_lock);
+		else
+			rollback_lock_file(&index_lock);
+	}
+
 	string_list_clear(&exclude_list, 0);
 	dir_clear(&dir);
 	free(max_prefix);
diff --git a/dir.c b/dir.c
index 425fe2af67..949f06c8f7 100644
--- a/dir.c
+++ b/dir.c
@@ -1209,7 +1209,8 @@ static int add_patterns(const char *fname, const char *base, int baselen,
 		close(fd);
 		if (oid_stat) {
 			int pos;
-			if (oid_stat->valid &&
+			/* Racy stat checks need the index timestamp. */
+			if (istate && oid_stat->valid &&
 			    !match_stat_data_racy(istate, &oid_stat->stat, &st))
 				; /* no content change, oid_stat->oid still good */
 			else if (istate &&
@@ -1321,18 +1322,15 @@ struct pattern_list *add_pattern_list(struct dir_struct *dir,
 }
 
 /*
- * Used to set up core.excludesfile and .git/info/exclude lists.
+ * Only the standard exclude files have object IDs saved in the untracked
+ * cache. Other files have no oid_stat and must disable use of the cache.
  */
 static void add_patterns_from_file_1(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *fname,
 				     struct oid_stat *oid_stat)
 {
 	struct pattern_list *pl;
-	/*
-	 * catch setup_standard_excludes() that's called before
-	 * dir->untracked is assigned. That function behaves
-	 * differently when dir->untracked is non-NULL.
-	 */
-	if (!dir->untracked)
+
+	if (!oid_stat)
 		dir->internal.unmanaged_exclude_files++;
 	pl = add_pattern_list(dir, EXC_FILE, fname);
 	if (add_patterns(fname, "", 0, pl, NULL, 0, oid_stat) < 0)
@@ -1341,7 +1339,6 @@ static void add_patterns_from_file_1(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *fname,
 
 void add_patterns_from_file(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *fname)
 {
-	dir->internal.unmanaged_exclude_files++; /* see validate_untracked_cache() */
 	add_patterns_from_file_1(dir, fname, NULL);
 }
 
@@ -3009,10 +3006,7 @@ static struct untracked_cache_dir *validate_untracked_cache(struct dir_struct *d
 
 	/*
 	 * We only support $GIT_COMMON_DIR/info/exclude and core.excludesfile
-	 * as the global ignore rule files. Any other additions
-	 * (e.g. from command line) invalidate the cache. This
-	 * condition also catches running setup_standard_excludes()
-	 * before setting dir->untracked!
+	 * as the global ignore rule files. Other exclude files bypass the cache.
 	 */
 	if (dir->internal.unmanaged_exclude_files)
 		return NULL;
@@ -3511,17 +3505,21 @@ void setup_standard_excludes(struct dir_struct *dir)
 
 	dir->exclude_per_dir = ".gitignore";
 
+	/*
+	 * Option parsing may precede reading the index. Record the object IDs
+	 * even before the untracked cache is available for validation.
+	 */
 	/* core.excludesfile defaulting to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/git/ignore */
 	if (excludes_file && !access_or_warn(excludes_file, R_OK, 0))
 		add_patterns_from_file_1(dir, excludes_file,
-					 dir->untracked ? &dir->internal.ss_excludes_file : NULL);
+					 &dir->internal.ss_excludes_file);
 
 	/* per repository user preference */
 	if (startup_info->have_repository) {
 		const char *path = git_path_info_exclude();
 		if (!access_or_warn(path, R_OK, 0))
 			add_patterns_from_file_1(dir, path,
-						 dir->untracked ? &dir->internal.ss_info_exclude : NULL);
+						 &dir->internal.ss_info_exclude);
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/t/perf/p3010-ls-files.sh b/t/perf/p3010-ls-files.sh
index ae14449432..bdf398906f 100755
--- a/t/perf/p3010-ls-files.sh
+++ b/t/perf/p3010-ls-files.sh
@@ -28,4 +28,19 @@ test_perf 'ls-files --modified with pathspec' '
 		-- "$pathspec" >/dev/null
 '
 
+test_perf 'ls-files --others with pathspec and no untracked cache' '
+	git -c core.fsmonitor=false -c core.untrackedCache=false \
+		ls-files --cached --others --exclude-standard -- "$pathspec" >/dev/null
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'populate the untracked cache with ls-files' '
+	git config core.untrackedCache true &&
+	git -c core.fsmonitor=false ls-files --others --exclude-standard >/dev/null
+'
+
+test_perf 'ls-files --others with pathspec and untracked cache' '
+	git -c core.fsmonitor=false ls-files --cached --others \
+		--exclude-standard -- "$pathspec" >/dev/null
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t3001-ls-files-others-exclude.sh b/t/t3001-ls-files-others-exclude.sh
index 29a0a25b30..5ca80932ac 100755
--- a/t/t3001-ls-files-others-exclude.sh
+++ b/t/t3001-ls-files-others-exclude.sh
@@ -306,4 +306,24 @@ test_expect_success 'ls-files with "**" patterns and no slashes' '
 	test_must_be_empty actual
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'ls-files preserves repeated and ordered exclude options' '
+	test_create_repo exclude-options &&
+	(
+		cd exclude-options &&
+		touch keep info-hidden global-hidden &&
+		echo info-hidden >.git/info/exclude &&
+		echo global-hidden >.git/global-ignore &&
+		git config core.excludesFile .git/global-ignore &&
+		echo "!info-hidden" >.git/custom-ignore &&
+		echo keep >../expect &&
+		git ls-files --others --exclude-from=.git/custom-ignore \
+			--exclude-standard --exclude-standard >../actual &&
+		test_cmp ../expect ../actual &&
+		git ls-files --others --exclude-standard \
+			--exclude-from=.git/custom-ignore >../actual &&
+		printf "%s\n" info-hidden keep >../expect &&
+		test_cmp ../expect ../actual
+	)
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t7063-status-untracked-cache.sh b/t/t7063-status-untracked-cache.sh
index 2efbb93b71..70eed91dd7 100755
--- a/t/t7063-status-untracked-cache.sh
+++ b/t/t7063-status-untracked-cache.sh
@@ -1016,6 +1016,9 @@ test_expect_success 'untracked cache handles nested repository changes' '
 		echo "?? nested/" >../expect &&
 		test_cmp ../expect ../actual &&
 		rm -rf nested/.git &&
+		git ls-files --others --exclude-standard >../actual &&
+		echo nested/file >../expect &&
+		test_cmp ../expect ../actual &&
 		git status -uall --porcelain >../actual &&
 		echo "?? nested/file" >../expect &&
 		test_cmp ../expect ../actual &&
@@ -1048,4 +1051,98 @@ test_expect_success 'filtered status retains complete untracked listings' '
 	)
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'ls-files expands cached directories and filters wildcard results' '
+	test_create_repo ls-files-cache &&
+	(
+		cd ls-files-cache &&
+		git config core.untrackedCache true &&
+		mkdir tracked untracked empty ignored-only &&
+		touch tracked/pyproject.toml untracked/pyproject.toml &&
+		touch untracked/other ignored-only/file &&
+		echo ignored-only/file >.gitignore &&
+		echo "*.toml selected" >.gitattributes &&
+		git add .gitignore .gitattributes tracked &&
+		git init nested.git &&
+		test-tool chmtime =-300 . tracked untracked empty ignored-only &&
+		git status -unormal --porcelain >/dev/null &&
+		# Complete the partial listing, then reuse it without opening directories.
+		for opened in 1 0
+		do
+			: >"$TRASH_DIRECTORY/ls-files.trace" &&
+			GIT_TRACE2_PERF="$TRASH_DIRECTORY/ls-files.trace" \
+				git ls-files --cached --others --exclude-standard -z \
+				-- "**/pyproject.toml" >../actual &&
+			printf "%s\0" untracked/pyproject.toml tracked/pyproject.toml \
+				>../expect &&
+			test_cmp ../expect ../actual &&
+			test_grep "read_directo.*opendir:$opened\$" \
+				"$TRASH_DIRECTORY/ls-files.trace" &&
+			test_grep "read_directo.*gitignore-invalidation:0\$" \
+				"$TRASH_DIRECTORY/ls-files.trace" || return 1
+		done &&
+		for pathspec in "*.git/" ":(glob)**/*.toml" \
+			":(exclude)untracked/" ":(attr:selected)**/*.toml"
+		do
+			GIT_DISABLE_UNTRACKED_CACHE=1 git ls-files --others \
+				--exclude-standard -- "$pathspec" >../expect &&
+			git ls-files --others --exclude-standard \
+				-- "$pathspec" >../actual &&
+			test_cmp ../expect ../actual || return 1
+		done
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'ls-files cache is reused after status -unormal' '
+	test_create_repo persistent-cache &&
+	(
+		cd persistent-cache &&
+		mkdir tracked untracked &&
+		touch tracked/a tracked/b untracked/a untracked/b &&
+		git add tracked &&
+		git commit -m initial &&
+		git config core.untrackedCache true &&
+		test-tool chmtime =-300 . tracked untracked &&
+		git ls-files --others --exclude-standard >../actual &&
+		printf "%s\n" untracked/a untracked/b >../expect &&
+		test_cmp ../expect ../actual &&
+		git status --porcelain >../actual &&
+		echo "?? untracked/" >../status-expect &&
+		test_cmp ../status-expect ../actual &&
+		GIT_TRACE2_PERF="$TRASH_DIRECTORY/persistent.trace" \
+			git ls-files --others --exclude-standard >../actual &&
+		test_cmp ../expect ../actual &&
+		test_grep "read_directo.*opendir:0\$" "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/persistent.trace"
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'ls-files respects optional locks and a busy index lock' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -f persistent-cache/.git/index.lock" &&
+	(
+		cd persistent-cache &&
+		touch untracked/new &&
+		cp .git/index ../saved-index &&
+		git --no-optional-locks ls-files --others --exclude-standard >../actual &&
+		test_cmp_bin ../saved-index .git/index &&
+		printf "%s\n" untracked/a untracked/b untracked/new >../expect &&
+		test_cmp ../expect ../actual &&
+		touch .git/index.lock &&
+		git ls-files --others --exclude-standard >../actual &&
+		test_cmp ../expect ../actual &&
+		test_cmp_bin ../saved-index .git/index
+	)
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'ls-files does not write the index with a pathspec prefix or --with-tree' '
+	(
+		cd persistent-cache &&
+		cp .git/index ../saved-index &&
+		git ls-files --cached --others --exclude-standard -- tracked/a >../actual &&
+		test_cmp_bin ../saved-index .git/index &&
+		git rm --cached tracked/b &&
+		cp .git/index ../saved-index &&
+		git ls-files --cached --others --exclude-standard --with-tree=HEAD >../actual &&
+		test_cmp_bin ../saved-index .git/index
+	)
+'
+
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t7519-status-fsmonitor.sh b/t/t7519-status-fsmonitor.sh
index 93973ed25a..8feca101ab 100755
--- a/t/t7519-status-fsmonitor.sh
+++ b/t/t7519-status-fsmonitor.sh
@@ -477,4 +477,48 @@ test_expect_success 'status succeeds with sparse index' '
 	)
 '
 
+test_expect_success UNTRACKED_CACHE 'ls-files saves the fsmonitor token with index.skipHash' '
+	test_create_repo ls-files-fsmonitor &&
+	(
+		# index.skipHash gives shared indexes a null OID, so they cannot
+		# be reloaded.
+		sane_unset GIT_TEST_SPLIT_INDEX &&
+		cd ls-files-fsmonitor &&
+		touch tracked &&
+		git add tracked &&
+		git commit -m initial &&
+		git config core.untrackedCache true &&
+		git config index.skipHash true &&
+		git config core.fsmonitor .git/hooks/fsmonitor-test &&
+		test_hook --setup fsmonitor-test <<-\EOF &&
+		printf "initial-token\0/\0"
+		EOF
+		mkdir untracked &&
+		touch untracked/first &&
+		git status --porcelain >/dev/null &&
+		test_hook --clobber fsmonitor-test <<-\EOF &&
+		test -f .git/index.lock || exit 1
+		printf "%s\n" "$2" >.git/query-token
+		printf "next-token\0"
+		if test "$2" != next-token
+		then
+			printf "untracked/second\0"
+		fi
+		EOF
+		touch untracked/second &&
+		git ls-files --others --exclude-standard >../actual &&
+		printf "%s\n" untracked/first untracked/second >../expect &&
+		test_cmp ../expect ../actual &&
+		echo initial-token >../token-expect &&
+		test_cmp ../token-expect .git/query-token &&
+		GIT_TRACE2_PERF="$TRASH_DIRECTORY/ls-files-fsmonitor.trace" \
+			git ls-files --others --exclude-standard >../actual &&
+		test_cmp ../expect ../actual &&
+		echo next-token >../token-expect &&
+		test_cmp ../token-expect .git/query-token &&
+		test_grep "read_directo.*opendir:0\$" \
+			"$TRASH_DIRECTORY/ls-files-fsmonitor.trace"
+	)
+'
+
 test_done