diff --git a/src/metaentry.c b/src/metaentry.c
index da28723..8987813 100644
--- a/src/metaentry.c
+++ b/src/metaentry.c
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ mentries_print(const struct metahash *mhash)
 
 /* Creates a metaentry for the file/dir/etc at path */
 struct metaentry *
-mentry_create(const char *path)
+mentry_create(const char *path, msettings *st)
 {
 #if !defined(NO_XATTR) || !(NO_XATTR+0)
 	ssize_t lsize, vsize;
@@ -214,15 +214,17 @@ mentry_create(const char *path)
 	}
 
 	pbuf = xgetpwuid(sbuf.st_uid);
-	if (!pbuf) {
-		msg(MSG_ERROR, "getpwuid failed for %s: uid %i not found\n",
+	if (!pbuf && !st->owner) {
+		msg(MSG_ERROR, "getpwuid failed for %s: uid %i not found, "
+		    "you can use `--owner' (`-O') to manually specify it.\n",
 		    path, (int)sbuf.st_uid);
 		return NULL;
 	}
 
 	gbuf = xgetgrgid(sbuf.st_gid);
-	if (!gbuf) {
-		msg(MSG_ERROR, "getgrgid failed for %s: gid %i not found\n",
+	if (!gbuf && !st->group) {
+		msg(MSG_ERROR, "getgrgid failed for %s: gid %i not found, "
+		    "you can use `--group' (`-G') to manually specify it.\n",
 		    path, (int)sbuf.st_gid);
 		return NULL;
 	}
@@ -230,8 +232,8 @@ mentry_create(const char *path)
 	mentry = mentry_alloc();
 	mentry->path = xstrdup(path);
 	mentry->pathlen = strlen(mentry->path);
-	mentry->owner = xstrdup(pbuf->pw_name);
-	mentry->group = xstrdup(gbuf->gr_name);
+	mentry->owner = pbuf ? xstrdup(pbuf->pw_name) : st->owner;
+	mentry->group = gbuf ? xstrdup(gbuf->gr_name) : st->group;
 	mentry->mode = sbuf.st_mode & 0177777;
 	mentry->mtime = sbuf.st_mtim.tv_sec;
 	mentry->mtimensec = sbuf.st_mtim.tv_nsec;
@@ -359,7 +361,7 @@ mentries_recurse(const char *path, struct metahash *mhash, msettings *st)
 		return;
 	}
 
-	mentry = mentry_create(path);
+	mentry = mentry_create(path, st);
 	if (!mentry)
 		return;
 
diff --git a/src/metaentry.h b/src/metaentry.h
index d5f209d..0fbcfe7 100644
--- a/src/metaentry.h
+++ b/src/metaentry.h
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ struct metahash {
 };
 
 /* Create a metaentry for the file/dir/etc at path */
-struct metaentry *mentry_create(const char *path);
+struct metaentry *mentry_create(const char *path, msettings *st);
 
 /* Recurses opath and adds metadata entries to the metaentry list */
 void mentries_recurse_path(const char *opath, struct metahash **mhash,
diff --git a/src/metastore.c b/src/metastore.c
index d85f0bc..0a2fefa 100644
--- a/src/metastore.c
+++ b/src/metastore.c
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@
 /* metastore settings */
 static struct metasettings settings = {
 	.metafile = METAFILE,
+	.owner = NULL,
+	.group = NULL,
 	.do_mtime = false,
 	.do_emptydirs = false,
 	.do_removeemptydirs = false,
@@ -285,7 +287,7 @@ compare_fix(struct metaentry *real, struct metaentry *stored, int cmp)
  * recreating them.
  */
 static void
-fixup_emptydirs(void)
+fixup_emptydirs(msettings *st)
 {
 	struct metaentry *entry;
 	struct metaentry *cur;
@@ -363,7 +365,7 @@ fixup_emptydirs(void)
 		}
 		msg(MSG_QUIET, "ok\n");
 
-		new = mentry_create(cur->path);
+		new = mentry_create(cur->path, st);
 		if (!new) {
 			msg(MSG_QUIET, "Failed to get metadata for %s\n", cur->path);
 			continue;
@@ -462,6 +464,8 @@ usage(const char *arg0, const char *message)
 "  -E, --remove-empty-dirs  Remove extra empty directories\n"
 "  -g, --git                Do not omit .git directories\n"
 "  -f, --file=FILE          Set metadata file (" METAFILE " by default)\n"
+"  -O, --owner              Owner to use when internal check fails.\n"
+"  -G, --group              Group to use when internal check fails.\n"
 	    );
 
 	exit(message ? EXIT_FAILURE : EXIT_SUCCESS);
@@ -482,6 +486,8 @@ static struct option long_options[] = {
 	{ "remove-empty-dirs", no_argument,       NULL, 'E' },
 	{ "git",               no_argument,       NULL, 'g' },
 	{ "file",              required_argument, NULL, 'f' },
+	{ "owner",             required_argument, NULL, 'O' },
+	{ "group",             required_argument, NULL, 'G' },
 	{ NULL, 0, NULL, 0 }
 };
 
@@ -498,7 +504,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 	i = 0;
 	while (1) {
 		int option_index = 0;
-		c = getopt_long(argc, argv, "csadVhvqmeEgf:",
+		c = getopt_long(argc, argv, "csadVhvqmeEgf:O:G:",
 		                long_options, &option_index);
 		if (c == -1)
 			break;
@@ -517,11 +523,14 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 			                              break;
 		case 'g': /* git */               settings.do_git = true;        break;
 		case 'f': /* file */              settings.metafile = optarg;    break;
+		case 'O': /* owner */             settings.owner = optarg;       break;
+		case 'G': /* group */             settings.group = optarg;       break;
 		default:
 			usage(argv[0], "unknown option");
 		}
 	}
 
+
 	/* Make sure only one action is specified */
 	if (i != 1)
 		usage(argv[0], "incorrect option(s)");
@@ -573,7 +582,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 	case ACTION_APPLY:
 		mentries_compare(real, stored, compare_fix, &settings);
 		if (settings.do_emptydirs)
-			fixup_emptydirs();
+			fixup_emptydirs(&settings);
 		if (settings.do_removeemptydirs)
 			fixup_newemptydirs();
 		break;
diff --git a/src/settings.h b/src/settings.h
index b6baa50..8b5ca3f 100644
--- a/src/settings.h
+++ b/src/settings.h
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 /* Data structure to hold metastore settings */
 struct metasettings {
 	char *metafile;          /* path to the file containing the metadata */
+        char *owner;             /* user-provided owner. */
+        char *group;             /* user-provided group. */
 	bool do_mtime;           /* should mtimes be corrected? */
 	bool do_emptydirs;       /* should empty dirs be recreated? */
 	bool do_removeemptydirs; /* should new empty dirs be removed? */