diff --git a/doc/aerc-config.5.scd b/doc/aerc-config.5.scd
index 690b49a..f0b9b7a 100644
--- a/doc/aerc-config.5.scd
+++ b/doc/aerc-config.5.scd
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ Note that many of these configuration options are written for you, such as
 
 *folders*
 	Specifies the comma separated list of folders to display in the sidebar.
-	Supports regex patterns.
+	Names prefixed with ~ are interpreted as regular expressions.
 
 	Default: all folders
 
diff --git a/widgets/dirlist.go b/widgets/dirlist.go
index c84f839..68ba61c 100644
--- a/widgets/dirlist.go
+++ b/widgets/dirlist.go
@@ -161,12 +161,17 @@ func (dirlist *DirectoryList) Prev() {
 }
 
 func folderMatches(folder string, pattern string) bool {
-	r, err := regexp.Compile(pattern)
-	if err != nil {
+	if len(pattern) == 0 {
 		return false
 	}
-
-	return r.Match([]byte(folder))
+	if pattern[0] == '~' {
+		r, err := regexp.Compile(pattern)
+		if err != nil {
+			return false
+		}
+		return r.Match([]byte(folder))
+	}
+	return pattern == folder
 }
 
 // filterDirsByFoldersConfig sets dirlist.dirs to the filtered subset of the