diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aa7191a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+node_modules/
+target/
+
+# Large research data files (tracked in Git LFS or kept local-only)
+research/*.pdf
+research/*.ndjson