diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0f5b084
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# Python helper caches
+__pycache__/
+*.py[cod]
+
+# Local Python tooling environments
+.venv/
+venv/