diff --git a/compiler/.gitignore b/compiler/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b4459c051
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compiler/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+
+# populated by npm
+node_modules/
+
+# compiled TypeScript code from src/
+/lib/
+
+# local development helpers
+Makefile
+/*.bolt
+/*.c