diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bbfe908
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# Local data + secrets
+media/
+*.sqlite*
+.env
+
+# Python bytecode / build artefacts -- never commit these.
+__pycache__/
+*.py[cod]
+*$py.class
+*.so
+.Python
+build/
+dist/
+*.egg-info/
+.installed.cfg
+*.egg
+.pytest_cache/
+.mypy_cache/
+.ruff_cache/
+.coverage
+.coverage.*
+htmlcov/
+
+# Virtualenv
+.venv/
+venv/
+env/
+
+# Django collectstatic output (regenerated by the Containerfile)
+staticfiles/
+
+# Tailwind CLI binary + auto-generated source.css (re-downloaded by build)
+.django_tailwind_cli/
+
+# IDE / editor cruft
+.vscode/
+.idea/
+*.swp
+*.swo
+.DS_Store
+
+# Logs
+*.log