diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3b7dcb279d53034ec09218ce24fb11334d15b0d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# ignore all build folders
+/build*/
+build/
+# ignore backup files
+*~
+# ignore python files
+*.pyc
+
+