diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 5587448b69..a09ffab9b4 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -44,6 +44,10 @@ authors:
 	printf "Commits|Author\n-------|---------------------------------------------------\n" > AUTHORS
 	git shortlog -sne >> AUTHORS
 
+.PHONY: clean # clean files generated by automated tasks
+clean:
+	rm -rf awesome-selfhosted
+
 .PHONY: help # generate list of targets with descriptions
 help:
 	@grep '^.PHONY: .* #' Makefile | sed 's/\.PHONY: \(.*\) # \(.*\)/\1	\2/' | expand -t20
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 197d7b3733..b71b370cf9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ awesome_lint        check data against awesome-selfhosted guidelines
 export              export markdown singlepage document from yaml data
 url_check           check URLs for dead links or other connection problems
 authors             update the AUTHORS file
+clean               clean files generated by automated tasks
 help                generate list of targets with descriptions
 ```