diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5fafdc8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Build directories (never commit) - recreated by CMake
+build/
+build_*/
+build_linux/
+build_win/
+build_mailio/
+build_asan/
+CMakeCache.txt
+CMakeFiles/
+
+# Qt / IDE local settings
+.qtcreator/
+*.user
+
+# Test binaries / temp
+/test_*
+
+# OS files
+.DS_Store
+Thumbs.db
\ No newline at end of file