diff --git a/src/tmpfiles.c b/src/tmpfiles.c
index 3a54abde..8e410aaf 100644
--- a/src/tmpfiles.c
+++ b/src/tmpfiles.c
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
+#include <time.h>
 #ifdef _LIBITE_LITE
 # include <libite/lite.h>
 #else
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@
 int debug;
 
 int create_flag = 0;
+int clean_flag = 0;
 int remove_flag = 0;
 
 static int is_dir_empty(const char *path)
@@ -261,6 +263,82 @@ static void write_arg(FILE *fp, char *arg)
 	fputs(arg, fp);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Parse age string and return age in seconds.
+ * Returns 0 on invalid/empty age ("-" or NULL).
+ * Examples: "10d" = 864000, "1w" = 604800, "2h" = 7200
+ */
+static time_t parse_age(const char *age)
+{
+	time_t val;
+	char *end;
+
+	if (!age || !strcmp(age, "-") || !strcmp(age, "0"))
+		return 0;
+
+	errno = 0;
+	val = strtoul(age, &end, 10);
+	if (errno || end == age)
+		return 0;
+
+	switch (*end) {
+	case 'w':
+		val *= 7;
+		/* fallthrough */
+	case 'd':
+		val *= 24;
+		/* fallthrough */
+	case 'h':
+		val *= 60;
+		/* fallthrough */
+	case 'm':
+		val *= 60;
+		/* fallthrough */
+	case 's':
+	case '\0':
+		break;
+	default:
+		return 0;	/* unknown suffix */
+	}
+
+	return val;
+}
+
+/* Globals for do_clean() callback - nftw doesn't support user data */
+static time_t clean_age;
+static time_t clean_now;
+
+static int do_clean(const char *fpath, const struct stat *sb, int tflag, struct FTW *ftw)
+{
+	int is_dir;
+
+	/* Skip the root directory itself */
+	if (ftw->level == 0)
+		return 0;
+
+	is_dir = (tflag == FTW_D || tflag == FTW_DP);
+
+	/*
+	 * Conservative cleanup matching systemd-tmpfiles behavior:
+	 * - Files: keep if ANY of atime, ctime, mtime is recent
+	 * - Directories: keep if ANY of atime, mtime is recent (ctime
+	 *   excluded because cleanup itself updates directory ctime)
+	 */
+	if (clean_now - sb->st_mtime < clean_age)
+		return 0;	/* mtime is too new, keep it */
+
+	if (clean_now - sb->st_atime < clean_age)
+		return 0;	/* atime is too new, keep it */
+
+	if (!is_dir && clean_now - sb->st_ctime < clean_age)
+		return 0;	/* ctime is too new, keep it (files only) */
+
+	if (remove(fpath) && errno != ENOENT && errno != EBUSY)
+		warn("Failed cleaning %s", fpath);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
 /*
  * The configuration format is one line per path, containing type, path,
  * mode, ownership, age, and argument fields. The lines are separated by
@@ -312,7 +390,6 @@ static void tmpfiles(char *line)
 		group = "root";
 
 	age = strtok(NULL, "\t ");
-	(void)age;		/* unused atm. */
 	arg = strtok(NULL, "\n");
 
 	strc = stat(path, &st);
@@ -349,7 +426,7 @@ static void tmpfiles(char *line)
 			break;
 		case 'X':
 		case 'x':
-			dbg("Unsupported x/X command, ignoring %s, no support for clean at runtime.", path);
+			/* handled by clean_flag (--clean) */
 			break;
 		case 'Z':
 		case 'z':
@@ -360,6 +437,32 @@ static void tmpfiles(char *line)
 		}
 	}
 
+	/* age-based cleanup logic */
+	if (clean_flag) {
+		time_t max_age = parse_age(age);
+
+		/* Only process if age is specified */
+		if (max_age > 0) {
+			switch (type[0]) {
+			case 'd':
+			case 'D':
+			case 'e':
+				if (!fisdir(path))
+					break;
+				clean_age = max_age;
+				clean_now = time(NULL);
+				nftw(path, do_clean, 20, FTW_DEPTH | FTW_PHYS);
+				break;
+			case 'x':
+			case 'X':
+				/* exclusion patterns - not yet implemented */
+				break;
+			default:
+				break;
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	// file & directory creation logic
 	if (create_flag) {
 		switch (type[0]) {
@@ -505,7 +608,7 @@ static void tmpfiles(char *line)
 			break;
 		case 'X':
 		case 'x':
-			dbg("Unsupported x/X command, ignoring %s, no support for clean at runtime.", path);
+			/* handled by clean_flag (--clean) */
 			break;
 		case 'Z':
 			opts = "-R";
@@ -538,6 +641,7 @@ static int usage(int rc)
 		"Usage: tmpfiles [COMMAND...]\n"
 		"\n"
 		"Commands:\n"
+		"  -C, --clean               Clean files and directories based on age\n"
 		"  -c, --create              Create files and directories\n"
 		"  -d, --debug               Show developer debug messages\n"
 		"  -r, --remove              Remove files and directories marked for removal\n"
@@ -550,6 +654,7 @@ static int usage(int rc)
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
 	struct option long_options[] = {
+		{ "clean",      0, NULL, 'C' },
 		{ "create",     0, NULL, 'c' },
 		{ "debug",      0, NULL, 'd' },
 		{ "remove",     0, NULL, 'r' },
@@ -559,8 +664,12 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
 	int c;
 
-	while ((c = getopt_long(argc, argv, "cdrh?", long_options, NULL)) != EOF) {
+	while ((c = getopt_long(argc, argv, "Ccdrh?", long_options, NULL)) != EOF) {
 		switch(c) {
+		case 'C':
+			clean_flag = 1;
+			break;
+
 		case 'c':
 			create_flag = 1;
 			break;
@@ -582,8 +691,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		}
 	}
 
-	if (create_flag + remove_flag == 0) {
-		fprintf(stderr, "You need to specify at least one of --create or --remove.\n");
+	if (create_flag + clean_flag + remove_flag == 0) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "You need to specify at least one of --clean, --create, or --remove.\n");
 		return 1;
 	}