diff --git a/bindings/python/docs/source/database.rst b/bindings/python/docs/source/database.rst
index 5f1cdc14..079dc754 100644
--- a/bindings/python/docs/source/database.rst
+++ b/bindings/python/docs/source/database.rst
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 
    .. automethod:: get_directory
 
-   .. automethod:: add_message
+   .. automethod:: index_file
 
    .. automethod:: remove_message
 
diff --git a/bindings/python/notmuch/database.py b/bindings/python/notmuch/database.py
index 8f918069..a2c025eb 100644
--- a/bindings/python/notmuch/database.py
+++ b/bindings/python/notmuch/database.py
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ class Database(object):
         """Does this database need to be upgraded before writing to it?
 
         If this function returns `True` then no functions that modify the
-        database (:meth:`add_message`,
+        database (:meth:`index_file`,
         :meth:`Message.add_tag`, :meth:`Directory.set_mtime`,
         etc.) will work unless :meth:`upgrade` is called successfully first.
 
@@ -399,12 +399,13 @@ class Database(object):
         # return the Directory, init it with the absolute path
         return Directory(abs_dirpath, dir_p, self)
 
-    _add_message = nmlib.notmuch_database_add_message
-    _add_message.argtypes = [NotmuchDatabaseP, c_char_p,
+    _index_file = nmlib.notmuch_database_index_file
+    _index_file.argtypes = [NotmuchDatabaseP, c_char_p,
+                             c_void_p,
                              POINTER(NotmuchMessageP)]
-    _add_message.restype = c_uint
+    _index_file.restype = c_uint
 
-    def add_message(self, filename, sync_maildir_flags=False):
+    def index_file(self, filename, sync_maildir_flags=False):
         """Adds a new message to the database
 
         :param filename: should be a path relative to the path of the
@@ -455,7 +456,7 @@ class Database(object):
         """
         self._assert_db_is_initialized()
         msg_p = NotmuchMessageP()
-        status = self._add_message(self._db, _str(filename), byref(msg_p))
+        status = self._index_file(self._db, _str(filename), c_void_p(None), byref(msg_p))
 
         if not status in [STATUS.SUCCESS, STATUS.DUPLICATE_MESSAGE_ID]:
             raise NotmuchError(status)
@@ -467,6 +468,11 @@ class Database(object):
             msg.maildir_flags_to_tags()
         return (msg, status)
 
+    def add_message(self, filename, sync_maildir_flags=False):
+        """Deprecated alias for :meth:`index_file`
+        """
+        self.index_file(self, filename, sync_maildir_flags=sync_maildir_flags)
+
     _remove_message = nmlib.notmuch_database_remove_message
     _remove_message.argtypes = [NotmuchDatabaseP, c_char_p]
     _remove_message.restype = c_uint
diff --git a/bindings/python/notmuch/directory.py b/bindings/python/notmuch/directory.py
index 7f86b1ac..b30c9e35 100644
--- a/bindings/python/notmuch/directory.py
+++ b/bindings/python/notmuch/directory.py
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ class Directory(object):
 
         * Read the mtime of a directory from the filesystem
 
-        * Call :meth:`Database.add_message` for all mail files in
+        * Call :meth:`Database.index_file` for all mail files in
           the directory
 
         * Call notmuch_directory_set_mtime with the mtime read from the
diff --git a/bindings/python/notmuch/message.py b/bindings/python/notmuch/message.py
index fc177eb2..cce377d0 100644
--- a/bindings/python/notmuch/message.py
+++ b/bindings/python/notmuch/message.py
@@ -566,7 +566,7 @@ class Message(Python3StringMixIn):
         logical OR operator.)
 
         As a convenience, you can set the sync_maildir_flags parameter in
-        :meth:`Database.add_message` to implicitly call this.
+        :meth:`Database.index_file` to implicitly call this.
 
         :returns: a :class:`STATUS`. In short, you want to see
             notmuch.STATUS.SUCCESS here. See there for details."""
diff --git a/bindings/ruby/database.c b/bindings/ruby/database.c
index 12e6bab7..416eb709 100644
--- a/bindings/ruby/database.c
+++ b/bindings/ruby/database.c
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ notmuch_rb_database_add_message (VALUE self, VALUE pathv)
     SafeStringValue (pathv);
     path = RSTRING_PTR (pathv);
 
-    ret = notmuch_database_add_message (db, path, &message);
+    ret = notmuch_database_index_file (db, path, NULL, &message);
     notmuch_rb_status_raise (ret);
     return rb_assoc_new (Data_Wrap_Struct (notmuch_rb_cMessage, NULL, NULL, message),
         (ret == NOTMUCH_STATUS_DUPLICATE_MESSAGE_ID) ? Qtrue : Qfalse);
diff --git a/contrib/go/src/notmuch/notmuch.go b/contrib/go/src/notmuch/notmuch.go
index 2d684311..89093b2d 100644
--- a/contrib/go/src/notmuch/notmuch.go
+++ b/contrib/go/src/notmuch/notmuch.go
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ func (self *Database) GetVersion() uint {
 /* Does this database need to be upgraded before writing to it?
  *
  * If this function returns TRUE then no functions that modify the
- * database (notmuch_database_add_message, notmuch_message_add_tag,
+ * database (notmuch_database_index_file, notmuch_message_add_tag,
  * notmuch_directory_set_mtime, etc.) will work unless the function
  * notmuch_database_upgrade is called successfully first. */
 func (self *Database) NeedsUpgrade() bool {
diff --git a/lib/add-message.cc b/lib/add-message.cc
index 711ed9fa..7b5cb702 100644
--- a/lib/add-message.cc
+++ b/lib/add-message.cc
@@ -458,9 +458,10 @@ _notmuch_database_link_message (notmuch_database_t *notmuch,
 }
 
 notmuch_status_t
-notmuch_database_add_message (notmuch_database_t *notmuch,
-			      const char *filename,
-			      notmuch_message_t **message_ret)
+notmuch_database_index_file (notmuch_database_t *notmuch,
+			     const char *filename,
+			     notmuch_param_t unused (*indexopts),
+			     notmuch_message_t **message_ret)
 {
     notmuch_message_file_t *message_file;
     notmuch_message_t *message = NULL;
@@ -575,3 +576,14 @@ notmuch_database_add_message (notmuch_database_t *notmuch,
 
     return ret;
 }
+
+notmuch_status_t
+notmuch_database_add_message (notmuch_database_t *notmuch,
+			      const char *filename,
+			      notmuch_message_t **message_ret)
+{
+    return notmuch_database_index_file (notmuch, filename,
+					NULL,
+					message_ret);
+
+}
diff --git a/lib/notmuch.h b/lib/notmuch.h
index 02586a91..a64efc17 100644
--- a/lib/notmuch.h
+++ b/lib/notmuch.h
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ typedef struct _notmuch_param notmuch_param_t;
  * The database will not yet have any data in it
  * (notmuch_database_create itself is a very cheap function). Messages
  * contained within 'path' can be added to the database by calling
- * notmuch_database_add_message.
+ * notmuch_database_index_file.
  *
  * In case of any failure, this function returns an error status and
  * sets *database to NULL (after printing an error message on stderr).
@@ -562,6 +562,10 @@ notmuch_database_get_directory (notmuch_database_t *database,
  * terms from the identified file to the existing message's index, and
  * adds 'filename' to the list of filenames known for the message.
  *
+ * 'indexopts' can be NULL (meaning, use the indexing defaults from
+ * the database), or can be an explicit choice of indexing options
+ * that should govern the indexing of this specific 'filename'.
+ *
  * If 'message' is not NULL, then, on successful return
  * (NOTMUCH_STATUS_SUCCESS or NOTMUCH_STATUS_DUPLICATE_MESSAGE_ID) '*message'
  * will be initialized to a message object that can be used for things
@@ -593,8 +597,25 @@ notmuch_database_get_directory (notmuch_database_t *database,
  *
  * NOTMUCH_STATUS_UPGRADE_REQUIRED: The caller must upgrade the
  * 	database to use this function.
+ *
+ * @since libnotmuch 5.1 (notmuch 0.26)
  */
 notmuch_status_t
+notmuch_database_index_file (notmuch_database_t *database,
+			     const char *filename,
+			     notmuch_param_t *indexopts,
+			     notmuch_message_t **message);
+
+/**
+ * Deprecated alias for notmuch_database_index_file called with
+ * NULL indexopts.
+ *
+ * @deprecated Deprecated as of libnotmuch 5.1 (notmuch 0.26). Please
+ * use notmuch_database_index_file instead.
+ *
+ */
+NOTMUCH_DEPRECATED(5,1)
+notmuch_status_t
 notmuch_database_add_message (notmuch_database_t *database,
 			      const char *filename,
 			      notmuch_message_t **message);
@@ -1401,7 +1422,7 @@ notmuch_message_get_filenames (notmuch_message_t *message);
  * Re-index the e-mail corresponding to 'message' using the supplied index options
  *
  * Returns the status of the re-index operation.  (see the return
- * codes documented in notmuch_database_add_message)
+ * codes documented in notmuch_database_index_file)
  *
  * After reindexing, the user should discard the message object passed
  * in here by calling notmuch_message_destroy, since it refers to the
@@ -1584,7 +1605,7 @@ notmuch_message_remove_all_tags (notmuch_message_t *message);
  *
  * A client can ensure that notmuch database tags remain synchronized
  * with maildir flags by calling this function after each call to
- * notmuch_database_add_message. See also
+ * notmuch_database_index_file. See also
  * notmuch_message_tags_to_maildir_flags for synchronizing tag changes
  * back to maildir flags.
  */
@@ -1946,7 +1967,7 @@ notmuch_tags_destroy (notmuch_tags_t *tags);
  *
  *   o Read the mtime of a directory from the filesystem
  *
- *   o Call add_message for all mail files in the directory
+ *   o Call index_file for all mail files in the directory
  *
  *   o Call notmuch_directory_set_mtime with the mtime read from the
  *     filesystem.
diff --git a/notmuch-insert.c b/notmuch-insert.c
index 2590e836..648bd944 100644
--- a/notmuch-insert.c
+++ b/notmuch-insert.c
@@ -384,7 +384,7 @@ add_file (notmuch_database_t *notmuch, const char *path, tag_op_list_t *tag_ops,
     notmuch_message_t *message;
     notmuch_status_t status;
 
-    status = notmuch_database_add_message (notmuch, path, &message);
+    status = notmuch_database_index_file (notmuch, path, NULL, &message);
     if (status == NOTMUCH_STATUS_SUCCESS) {
 	status = tag_op_list_apply (message, tag_ops, 0);
 	if (status) {
diff --git a/notmuch-new.c b/notmuch-new.c
index 16b4d022..a4829327 100644
--- a/notmuch-new.c
+++ b/notmuch-new.c
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ add_file (notmuch_database_t *notmuch, const char *filename,
     if (status)
 	goto DONE;
 
-    status = notmuch_database_add_message (notmuch, filename, &message);
+    status = notmuch_database_index_file (notmuch, filename, NULL, &message);
     switch (status) {
     /* Success. */
     case NOTMUCH_STATUS_SUCCESS:
diff --git a/test/T070-insert.sh b/test/T070-insert.sh
index 380934a6..e56a9d21 100755
--- a/test/T070-insert.sh
+++ b/test/T070-insert.sh
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ cat <<EOF > index-file-$code.gdb
 set breakpoint pending on
 set logging file index-file-$code.log
 set logging on
-break notmuch_database_add_message
+break notmuch_database_index_file
 commands
 return NOTMUCH_STATUS_$code
 continue
@@ -212,13 +212,13 @@ done
 gen_insert_msg
 
 for code in  FILE_NOT_EMAIL READ_ONLY_DATABASE UPGRADE_REQUIRED PATH_ERROR; do
-    test_begin_subtest "EXIT_FAILURE when add_message returns $code"
+    test_begin_subtest "EXIT_FAILURE when index_file returns $code"
     test_expect_code 1 \
          "${TEST_GDB} --batch-silent --return-child-result \
 	     -ex 'set args insert < $gen_msg_filename' \
 	     -x index-file-$code.gdb notmuch"
 
-    test_begin_subtest "success exit with --keep when add_message returns $code"
+    test_begin_subtest "success exit with --keep when index_file returns $code"
     test_expect_code 0 \
          "${TEST_GDB} --batch-silent --return-child-result \
 	     -ex 'set args insert --keep < $gen_msg_filename' \
@@ -226,13 +226,13 @@ for code in  FILE_NOT_EMAIL READ_ONLY_DATABASE UPGRADE_REQUIRED PATH_ERROR; do
 done
 
 for code in OUT_OF_MEMORY XAPIAN_EXCEPTION ; do
-    test_begin_subtest "EX_TEMPFAIL when add_message returns $code"
+    test_begin_subtest "EX_TEMPFAIL when index_file returns $code"
     test_expect_code 75 \
          "${TEST_GDB} --batch-silent --return-child-result \
 	     -ex 'set args insert < $gen_msg_filename' \
 	     -x index-file-$code.gdb notmuch"
 
-    test_begin_subtest "success exit with --keep when add_message returns $code"
+    test_begin_subtest "success exit with --keep when index_file returns $code"
     test_expect_code 0 \
          "${TEST_GDB} --batch-silent --return-child-result \
 	     -ex 'set args insert --keep < $gen_msg_filename' \
diff --git a/test/T560-lib-error.sh b/test/T560-lib-error.sh
index 34d15698..a50eca80 100755
--- a/test/T560-lib-error.sh
+++ b/test/T560-lib-error.sh
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ int main (int argc, char** argv)
    if (stat != NOTMUCH_STATUS_SUCCESS) {
      fprintf (stderr, "error opening database: %d\n", stat);
    }
-   stat = notmuch_database_add_message (db, "/dev/null", NULL);
+   stat = notmuch_database_index_file (db, "/dev/null", NULL, NULL);
    if (stat)
        fputs (notmuch_database_status_string (db), stderr);
 
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ int main (int argc, char** argv)
    if (stat != NOTMUCH_STATUS_SUCCESS) {
      fprintf (stderr, "error opening database: %d\n", stat);
    }
-   stat = notmuch_database_add_message (db, "./nonexistent", NULL);
+   stat = notmuch_database_index_file (db, "./nonexistent", NULL, NULL);
    if (stat) {
        char *status_string = notmuch_database_status_string (db);
        if (status_string) fputs (status_string, stderr);