diff --git a/doc/man1/notmuch.rst b/doc/man1/notmuch.rst
index 0401c91b..3acfbdb4 100644
--- a/doc/man1/notmuch.rst
+++ b/doc/man1/notmuch.rst
@@ -51,9 +51,16 @@ Supported global options for ``notmuch`` include
 	Specify the configuration file to use. This overrides any
 	configuration file specified by ${NOTMUCH\_CONFIG}.
 
+    ``--uuid=HEX``
+       Enforce that the database UUID (a unique identifier which
+       persists until e.g. the database is compacted)
+       is HEX; exit with an error if it is not. This is useful to
+       detect rollover in modification counts on messages. You can
+       find this UUID using e.g. ``notmuch count --lastmod``
+
 All global options except ``--config`` can also be specified after the
-command. For example, ``notmuch subcommand --version`` is equivalent to
-``notmuch --version subcommand``.
+command. For example, ``notmuch subcommand --uuid=HEX`` is
+equivalent to ``notmuch --uuid=HEX subcommand``.
 
 COMMANDS
 ========
diff --git a/notmuch-client.h b/notmuch-client.h
index 78680aa1..4a4f86c4 100644
--- a/notmuch-client.h
+++ b/notmuch-client.h
@@ -466,7 +466,11 @@ notmuch_database_dump (notmuch_database_t *notmuch,
 		       notmuch_bool_t gzip_output);
 
 #include "command-line-arguments.h"
+
+extern char *notmuch_requested_db_uuid;
 extern const notmuch_opt_desc_t  notmuch_shared_options [];
+void notmuch_exit_if_unmatched_db_uuid (notmuch_database_t *notmuch);
+
 void notmuch_process_shared_options (const char* subcommand_name);
 int notmuch_minimal_options (const char* subcommand_name,
 			     int argc, char **argv);
diff --git a/notmuch-compact.c b/notmuch-compact.c
index 5be551d4..93737216 100644
--- a/notmuch-compact.c
+++ b/notmuch-compact.c
@@ -46,6 +46,11 @@ notmuch_compact_command (notmuch_config_t *config, int argc, char *argv[])
     if (opt_index < 0)
 	return EXIT_FAILURE;
 
+    if (notmuch_requested_db_uuid) {
+	fprintf (stderr, "Error: --uuid not implemented for compact\n");
+	return EXIT_FAILURE;
+    }
+
     notmuch_process_shared_options (argv[0]);
 
     if (! quiet)
diff --git a/notmuch-config.c b/notmuch-config.c
index 93482787..d252bb25 100644
--- a/notmuch-config.c
+++ b/notmuch-config.c
@@ -878,6 +878,10 @@ notmuch_config_command (notmuch_config_t *config, int argc, char *argv[])
     if (opt_index < 0)
 	return EXIT_FAILURE;
 
+    if (notmuch_requested_db_uuid)
+	fprintf (stderr, "Warning: ignoring --uuid=%s\n",
+		 notmuch_requested_db_uuid);
+
     /* skip at least subcommand argument */
     argc-= opt_index;
     argv+= opt_index;
diff --git a/notmuch-count.c b/notmuch-count.c
index 182710a6..f26e726a 100644
--- a/notmuch-count.c
+++ b/notmuch-count.c
@@ -189,6 +189,8 @@ notmuch_count_command (notmuch_config_t *config, int argc, char *argv[])
 			       NOTMUCH_DATABASE_MODE_READ_ONLY, &notmuch))
 	return EXIT_FAILURE;
 
+    notmuch_exit_if_unmatched_db_uuid (notmuch);
+
     query_str = query_string_from_args (config, argc-opt_index, argv+opt_index);
     if (query_str == NULL) {
 	fprintf (stderr, "Out of memory.\n");
diff --git a/notmuch-dump.c b/notmuch-dump.c
index fab22bdd..24fc2f23 100644
--- a/notmuch-dump.c
+++ b/notmuch-dump.c
@@ -215,6 +215,8 @@ notmuch_dump_command (notmuch_config_t *config, int argc, char *argv[])
 			       NOTMUCH_DATABASE_MODE_READ_WRITE, &notmuch))
 	return EXIT_FAILURE;
 
+    notmuch_exit_if_unmatched_db_uuid (notmuch);
+
     char *output_file_name = NULL;
     int opt_index;
 
diff --git a/notmuch-insert.c b/notmuch-insert.c
index c277d620..5205c17a 100644
--- a/notmuch-insert.c
+++ b/notmuch-insert.c
@@ -536,6 +536,8 @@ notmuch_insert_command (notmuch_config_t *config, int argc, char *argv[])
 			       NOTMUCH_DATABASE_MODE_READ_WRITE, &notmuch))
 	return EXIT_FAILURE;
 
+    notmuch_exit_if_unmatched_db_uuid (notmuch);
+
     /* Write the message to the Maildir new directory. */
     newpath = maildir_write_new (config, STDIN_FILENO, maildir);
     if (! newpath) {
diff --git a/notmuch-new.c b/notmuch-new.c
index ee786a3b..514e06a4 100644
--- a/notmuch-new.c
+++ b/notmuch-new.c
@@ -1009,10 +1009,11 @@ notmuch_new_command (notmuch_config_t *config, int argc, char *argv[])
 		fputs (status_string, stderr);
 		free (status_string);
 	    }
-
 	    return EXIT_FAILURE;
 	}
 
+	notmuch_exit_if_unmatched_db_uuid (notmuch);
+
 	if (notmuch_database_needs_upgrade (notmuch)) {
 	    time_t now = time (NULL);
 	    struct tm *gm_time = gmtime (&now);
diff --git a/notmuch-reply.c b/notmuch-reply.c
index 4464741f..7c5c28f4 100644
--- a/notmuch-reply.c
+++ b/notmuch-reply.c
@@ -831,6 +831,8 @@ notmuch_reply_command (notmuch_config_t *config, int argc, char *argv[])
 			       NOTMUCH_DATABASE_MODE_READ_ONLY, &notmuch))
 	return EXIT_FAILURE;
 
+    notmuch_exit_if_unmatched_db_uuid (notmuch);
+
     query = notmuch_query_create (notmuch, query_string);
     if (query == NULL) {
 	fprintf (stderr, "Out of memory\n");
diff --git a/notmuch-restore.c b/notmuch-restore.c
index 2a534dc4..9abc64fd 100644
--- a/notmuch-restore.c
+++ b/notmuch-restore.c
@@ -165,6 +165,8 @@ notmuch_restore_command (notmuch_config_t *config, int argc, char *argv[])
     }
 
     notmuch_process_shared_options (argv[0]);
+    notmuch_exit_if_unmatched_db_uuid (notmuch);
+
     name_for_error = input_file_name ? input_file_name : "stdin";
 
     if (! accumulate)
diff --git a/notmuch-search.c b/notmuch-search.c
index b89a17e5..3076c3f6 100644
--- a/notmuch-search.c
+++ b/notmuch-search.c
@@ -583,6 +583,8 @@ _notmuch_search_prepare (search_context_t *ctx, notmuch_config_t *config, int ar
 	return EXIT_FAILURE;
     }
 
+    notmuch_exit_if_unmatched_db_uuid (ctx->notmuch);
+
     query_str = query_string_from_args (ctx->notmuch, argc, argv);
     if (query_str == NULL) {
 	fprintf (stderr, "Out of memory.\n");
diff --git a/notmuch-setup.c b/notmuch-setup.c
index 7dd5822a..9aaf9286 100644
--- a/notmuch-setup.c
+++ b/notmuch-setup.c
@@ -148,6 +148,10 @@ notmuch_setup_command (notmuch_config_t *config,
     if (notmuch_minimal_options ("setup", argc, argv) < 0)
 	return EXIT_FAILURE;
 
+    if (notmuch_requested_db_uuid)
+	fprintf (stderr, "Warning: ignoring --uuid=%s\n",
+		 notmuch_requested_db_uuid);
+
     if (notmuch_config_is_new (config))
 	welcome_message_pre_setup ();
 
diff --git a/notmuch-show.c b/notmuch-show.c
index b80933ad..6ef33085 100644
--- a/notmuch-show.c
+++ b/notmuch-show.c
@@ -1213,6 +1213,8 @@ notmuch_show_command (notmuch_config_t *config, int argc, char *argv[])
 			       NOTMUCH_DATABASE_MODE_READ_ONLY, &notmuch))
 	return EXIT_FAILURE;
 
+    notmuch_exit_if_unmatched_db_uuid (notmuch);
+
     query = notmuch_query_create (notmuch, query_string);
     if (query == NULL) {
 	fprintf (stderr, "Out of memory\n");
diff --git a/notmuch-tag.c b/notmuch-tag.c
index 38d99aa9..7ae98f6c 100644
--- a/notmuch-tag.c
+++ b/notmuch-tag.c
@@ -261,6 +261,8 @@ notmuch_tag_command (notmuch_config_t *config, int argc, char *argv[])
 			       NOTMUCH_DATABASE_MODE_READ_WRITE, &notmuch))
 	return EXIT_FAILURE;
 
+    notmuch_exit_if_unmatched_db_uuid (notmuch);
+
     if (notmuch_config_get_maildir_synchronize_flags (config))
 	tag_flags |= TAG_FLAG_MAILDIR_SYNC;
 
diff --git a/notmuch.c b/notmuch.c
index 9580c3fe..ce6c5756 100644
--- a/notmuch.c
+++ b/notmuch.c
@@ -47,10 +47,12 @@ static int
 _help_for (const char *topic);
 
 static notmuch_bool_t print_version = FALSE, print_help = FALSE;
+char *notmuch_requested_db_uuid = NULL;
 
 const notmuch_opt_desc_t notmuch_shared_options [] = {
     { NOTMUCH_OPT_BOOLEAN, &print_version, "version", 'v', 0 },
     { NOTMUCH_OPT_BOOLEAN, &print_help, "help", 'h', 0 },
+    { NOTMUCH_OPT_STRING, &notmuch_requested_db_uuid, "uuid", 'u', 0 },
     {0, 0, 0, 0, 0}
 };
 
@@ -218,6 +220,22 @@ be supported in the future.\n", notmuch_format_version);
     }
 }
 
+void
+notmuch_exit_if_unmatched_db_uuid (notmuch_database_t *notmuch)
+{
+    const char *uuid = NULL;
+
+    if (!notmuch_requested_db_uuid)
+	return;
+    IGNORE_RESULT (notmuch_database_get_revision (notmuch, &uuid));
+
+    if (strcmp (notmuch_requested_db_uuid, uuid) != 0){
+	fprintf (stderr, "Error: requested database revision %s does not match %s\n",
+		 notmuch_requested_db_uuid, uuid);
+	exit (1);
+    }
+}
+
 static void
 exec_man (const char *page)
 {
diff --git a/test/T570-revision-tracking.sh b/test/T570-revision-tracking.sh
index 4fff6896..20b44cbe 100755
--- a/test/T570-revision-tracking.sh
+++ b/test/T570-revision-tracking.sh
@@ -46,4 +46,31 @@ notmuch tag +a-random-tag-8743632 '*'
 after=$(notmuch count --lastmod '*' | cut -f3)
 result=$(($before < $after))
 test_expect_equal 1 ${result}
+
+notmuch count --lastmod '*' | cut -f2 > UUID
+
+test_expect_success 'search succeeds with correct uuid' \
+		    "notmuch search --uuid=$(cat UUID) '*'"
+
+test_expect_success 'uuid works as global option ' \
+		    "notmuch --uuid=$(cat UUID) search '*'"
+
+test_expect_code 1 'uuid works as global option II' \
+		    "notmuch --uuid=this-is-no-uuid search '*'"
+
+test_expect_code 1 'search fails with incorrect uuid' \
+		 "notmuch search --uuid=this-is-no-uuid '*'"
+
+test_expect_success 'show succeeds with correct uuid' \
+		    "notmuch show --uuid=$(cat UUID) '*'"
+
+test_expect_code 1 'show fails with incorrect uuid' \
+		 "notmuch show --uuid=this-is-no-uuid '*'"
+
+test_expect_success 'tag succeeds with correct uuid' \
+		    "notmuch tag --uuid=$(cat UUID) +test '*'"
+
+test_expect_code 1 'tag fails with incorrect uuid' \
+		 "notmuch tag --uuid=this-is-no-uuid '*' +test2"
+
 test_done
diff --git a/test/random-corpus.c b/test/random-corpus.c
index b377eb40..d74271d9 100644
--- a/test/random-corpus.c
+++ b/test/random-corpus.c
@@ -119,6 +119,8 @@ const notmuch_opt_desc_t notmuch_shared_options[] = {
 	{ 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 }
 };
 
+char *notmuch_requested_db_uuid = NULL;
+
 void
 notmuch_process_shared_options (unused (const char *dummy))
 {