diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87a4409
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# Python bytecode and caches
+__pycache__/
+*.py[cod]
+*$py.class
+
+# Virtual environments
+.venv/
+venv/
+env/
+ENV/
+
+# Packaging and test artifacts
+build/
+dist/
+*.egg-info/
+.pytest_cache/
+.mypy_cache/
+.ruff_cache/
+.coverage
+htmlcov/
+
+# Jupyter
+.ipynb_checkpoints/
+
+# Environment files and local secrets
+.env
+.env.*
+!.env.example
+
+# Editors and operating systems
+.idea/
+.vscode/
+*.code-workspace
+.DS_Store
+Thumbs.db
+Desktop.ini
+
+# Local logs and temporary files
+*.log
+*.tmp
+*.temp
+*.swp
+*~
+
+# Data Files
+documents/
+
+# Database exports (keep hand-written schemas and queries)
+dump.sql
+dump-*.sql
+**/dump.sql
+**/dump-*.sql