@@ -87,6 +87,8 @@ Repo
   of the active branch.
 * tree method now requires a Ref instance as input and defaults to the active_branche
   instead of master
+* is_dirty now takes additional arguments allowing fine-grained control about what is 
+  considered dirty
 * Removed the following methods:
   - 'log' method as it as effectively the same as the 'commits' method
   - 'commits_since' as it is just a flag given to rev-list in Commit.iter_items
 
@@ -32,8 +32,6 @@ Index
 Repo
 ----
 * Nice fetch/pull handling, at least supported/wired throuhg to the git command
-* is_dirty should be improved to allow options what to diff with: 
-  working tree|index|head - also it should use raw mode to prevent patch generation
 * repo.bare is set according to the path it is initialized with, although it 
   should be read from the configuration in fact. Check uses of repo.bare.
 * Blame: Read the blame format making assumptions about its structure, 
 
@@ -370,23 +370,33 @@ def _set_alternates(self, alts):
 	alternates = property(_get_alternates, _set_alternates, doc="Retrieve a list of alternates paths or set a list paths to be used as alternates")
 
 	@property
-	def is_dirty(self):
+	def is_dirty(self, index=True, working_tree=True, untracked_files=False):
 		"""
-		Return the status of the index.
-
 		Returns
-			``True``, if the index has any uncommitted changes,
-			otherwise ``False``
-
-		NOTE
-			Working tree changes that have not been staged will not be detected ! 
+			``True``, the repository is considered dirty. By default it will react
+			like a git-status without untracked files, hence it is dirty if the 
+			index or the working copy have changes.
 		"""
 		if self.bare:
 			# Bare repositories with no associated working directory are
 			# always consired to be clean.
 			return False
-
-		return len(self.git.diff('HEAD', '--').strip()) > 0
+		
+		# start from the one which is fastest to evaluate
+		default_args = ('--abbrev=40', '--full-index', '--raw')
+		if index: 
+			if len(self.git.diff('HEAD', '--cached', *default_args)):
+				return True
+		# END index handling
+		if working_tree:
+			if len(self.git.diff('HEAD', *default_args)):
+				return True
+		# END working tree handling
+		if untracked_files:
+			if len(self.untracked_files):
+				return True
+		# END untracked files
+		return False
 
 	@property
 	def untracked_files(self):
 
@@ -160,19 +160,17 @@ def test_is_dirty_with_bare_repository(self):
 		self.repo.bare = True
 		assert_false(self.repo.is_dirty)
 
-	@patch_object(Git, '_call_process')
-	def test_is_dirty_with_clean_working_dir(self, git):
-		self.repo.bare = False
-		git.return_value = ''
-		assert_false(self.repo.is_dirty)
-		assert_equal(git.call_args, (('diff', 'HEAD', '--'), {}))
-
-	@patch_object(Git, '_call_process')
-	def test_is_dirty_with_dirty_working_dir(self, git):
+	def test_is_dirty(self):
 		self.repo.bare = False
-		git.return_value = '''-aaa\n+bbb'''
-		assert_true(self.repo.is_dirty)
-		assert_equal(git.call_args, (('diff', 'HEAD', '--'), {}))
+		for index in (0,1):
+			for working_tree in (0,1):
+				for untracked_files in (0,1):
+					assert self.repo.is_dirty in (True, False)
+				# END untracked files
+			# END working tree
+		# END index
+		self.repo.bare = True
+		assert self.repo.is_dirty == False
 
 	@patch_object(Git, '_call_process')
 	def test_active_branch(self, git):