diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..15a348d41aadf7b133b90fa993bc5ffc3b09388a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# ignore all build folders
+/build*/
+# ignore backup files
+*~
+# ignore Python files
+*.pyc
+# ignore files generated during python setup.py sdist
+MANIFEST
+_skbuild/
+dist
+# ignore macOS filesystem
+.DS_Store
+