diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87083f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# VIM swap files
+*.swp
+# Mac metadata files
+.DS_Store
+# vendor/ directory from Composer
+vendor/
+# don't complain about the machine-specific test_constants.php file
+bin/constants.php
+# ignore the output file
+output.pdf