diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..16b3c50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# Top-level runtime data and backups
+data/
+archives/
+
+# Local env files
+.env
+.env.*
+!.env.example
+app/.env
+app/.env.*
+!app/.env.example
+
+# Python caches and local tooling
+**/__pycache__/
+*.py[cod]
+.pytest_cache/
+.mypy_cache/
+.ruff_cache/
+.venv/
+venv/
+*.log
+.DS_Store