diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..eff45bd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# clangd working space (see emacs+lsp)
+.cache
+# typical cmake build directory (source-tree-nephew)
+build*/*
+# symlink to builddir/compile_commands.json;  should be set manually in dev sandbox
+compile_commands.json