diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f52f1311
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# lsp keeps state here
+.cache
+# typical build directory
+build
+# lsp: symlink to file in build directory (established manually)
+compile_commands.json