diff --git a/src/dwarfs/scanner.cpp b/src/dwarfs/scanner.cpp
index 5dfe5017..323a7365 100644
--- a/src/dwarfs/scanner.cpp
+++ b/src/dwarfs/scanner.cpp
@@ -335,10 +335,6 @@ void scanner_<LoggerPolicy>::scan(filesystem_writer& fsw,
 
             case entry::E_FILE:
               prog.files_found++;
-              wg_.add_job([=, this, &prog] {
-                pe->scan(*os_, prog);
-                prog.files_scanned++;
-              });
               break;
 
             case entry::E_LINK:
@@ -374,6 +370,18 @@ void scanner_<LoggerPolicy>::scan(filesystem_writer& fsw,
     }
   }
 
+  // now scan all files
+  // TODO: automatically adjust # of worker threads based on load
+  root->walk([&](entry* ep) {
+    wg_.add_job([=, this, &prog] {
+      if (ep->type() == entry::E_FILE) {
+        prog.current.store(ep);
+        ep->scan(*os_, prog);
+        prog.files_scanned++;
+      }
+    });
+  });
+
   log_.info() << "waiting for background scanners...";
   wg_.wait();