diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e7381a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+__pycache__/
+*.py[cod]
+*$py.class
+*.egg-info/
+dist/
+.DS_Store
+build/
+.eggs/
+*.egg
+.venv/
+venv/
+env/
+.env
+.env.*
+*.pt
+*.bin
+*.safetensors
+wandb/
+outputs/
+results/
+.ruff_cache/
+.pytest_cache/
+.mypy_cache/
+*.log
+*.ckpt
+.vscode/
+.idea/
+
+# Secrets & credentials
+credentials*
+secrets*
+*.pem
+*.key
+*.p12
+*.pfx
+*.db
+*.sqlite
+
+# Docs not for release
+LAUNCH_CHECKLIST.md
+PIPELINE_EFFICIENCY_AUDIT.md
+CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
+CHANGELOG.md
+SENSITIVE_DATA_AUDIT.md
+EFFICIENCY_AUDIT.md
+docs/SENSITIVE_DATA_AUDIT.md
+docs/EFFICIENCY_AUDIT.md