diff --git a/custom/conf/app.ini.sample b/custom/conf/app.ini.sample
index f0829f37b3d..b0aafb8b316 100644
--- a/custom/conf/app.ini.sample
+++ b/custom/conf/app.ini.sample
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ DISABLED_REPO_UNITS =
 ; External wiki and issue tracker can't be enabled by default as it requires additional settings.
 ; Disabled repo units will not be added to new repositories regardless if it is in the default list.
 DEFAULT_REPO_UNITS = repo.code,repo.releases,repo.issues,repo.pulls,repo.wiki
+; Prefix archive files by placing them in a directory named after the repository
+PREFIX_ARCHIVE_FILES = true
 
 [repository.editor]
 ; List of file extensions for which lines should be wrapped in the CodeMirror editor
diff --git a/docs/content/doc/advanced/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md b/docs/content/doc/advanced/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md
index 1c03fce3d03..e7b87c5272d 100644
--- a/docs/content/doc/advanced/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md
+++ b/docs/content/doc/advanced/config-cheat-sheet.en-us.md
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ Values containing `#` or `;` must be quoted using `` ` `` or `"""`.
 - `DEFAULT_CLOSE_ISSUES_VIA_COMMITS_IN_ANY_BRANCH`:  **false**: Close an issue if a commit on a non default branch marks it as closed.
 - `ENABLE_PUSH_CREATE_USER`:  **false**: Allow users to push local repositories to Gitea and have them automatically created for a user.
 - `ENABLE_PUSH_CREATE_ORG`:  **false**: Allow users to push local repositories to Gitea and have them automatically created for an org.
+- `PREFIX_ARCHIVE_FILES`: **true**: Prefix archive files by placing them in a directory named after the repository.
 
 ### Repository - Pull Request (`repository.pull-request`)
 
diff --git a/modules/git/commit_archive.go b/modules/git/commit_archive.go
index e13825a9628..c7d1d06c468 100644
--- a/modules/git/commit_archive.go
+++ b/modules/git/commit_archive.go
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 // Copyright 2015 The Gogs Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Copyright 2020 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
 // Use of this source code is governed by a MIT-style
 // license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
 
@@ -20,18 +21,43 @@ const (
 	TARGZ
 )
 
-// CreateArchive create archive content to the target path
-func (c *Commit) CreateArchive(target string, archiveType ArchiveType) error {
-	var format string
-	switch archiveType {
+// String converts an ArchiveType to string
+func (a ArchiveType) String() string {
+	switch a {
 	case ZIP:
-		format = "zip"
+		return "zip"
 	case TARGZ:
-		format = "tar.gz"
-	default:
-		return fmt.Errorf("unknown format: %v", archiveType)
+		return "tar.gz"
+	}
+	return "unknown"
+}
+
+// CreateArchiveOpts represents options for creating an archive
+type CreateArchiveOpts struct {
+	Format ArchiveType
+	Prefix bool
+}
+
+// CreateArchive create archive content to the target path
+func (c *Commit) CreateArchive(target string, opts CreateArchiveOpts) error {
+	if opts.Format.String() == "unknown" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("unknown format: %v", opts.Format)
 	}
 
-	_, err := NewCommand("archive", "--prefix="+filepath.Base(strings.TrimSuffix(c.repo.Path, ".git"))+"/", "--format="+format, "-o", target, c.ID.String()).RunInDir(c.repo.Path)
+	args := []string{
+		"archive",
+	}
+	if opts.Prefix {
+		args = append(args, "--prefix="+filepath.Base(strings.TrimSuffix(c.repo.Path, ".git"))+"/")
+	}
+
+	args = append(args,
+		"--format="+opts.Format.String(),
+		"-o",
+		target,
+		c.ID.String(),
+	)
+
+	_, err := NewCommand(args...).RunInDir(c.repo.Path)
 	return err
 }
diff --git a/modules/setting/repository.go b/modules/setting/repository.go
index 807b29b2d88..8af3eaaf469 100644
--- a/modules/setting/repository.go
+++ b/modules/setting/repository.go
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ var (
 		EnablePushCreateOrg                     bool
 		DisabledRepoUnits                       []string
 		DefaultRepoUnits                        []string
+		PrefixArchiveFiles                      bool
 
 		// Repository editor settings
 		Editor struct {
@@ -102,6 +103,7 @@ var (
 		EnablePushCreateOrg:                     false,
 		DisabledRepoUnits:                       []string{},
 		DefaultRepoUnits:                        []string{},
+		PrefixArchiveFiles:                      true,
 
 		// Repository editor settings
 		Editor: struct {
diff --git a/routers/repo/repo.go b/routers/repo/repo.go
index 0bd9f1d56b7..6b6b22f3a1d 100644
--- a/routers/repo/repo.go
+++ b/routers/repo/repo.go
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 // Copyright 2014 The Gogs Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Copyright 2020 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
 // Use of this source code is governed by a MIT-style
 // license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
 
@@ -507,7 +508,10 @@ func Download(ctx *context.Context) {
 
 	archivePath = path.Join(archivePath, base.ShortSha(commit.ID.String())+ext)
 	if !com.IsFile(archivePath) {
-		if err := commit.CreateArchive(archivePath, archiveType); err != nil {
+		if err := commit.CreateArchive(archivePath, git.CreateArchiveOpts{
+			Format: archiveType,
+			Prefix: setting.Repository.PrefixArchiveFiles,
+		}); err != nil {
 			ctx.ServerError("Download -> CreateArchive "+archivePath, err)
 			return
 		}