diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aff73b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# the files I don't want to push
+~$*
+.snakemake
+*.pptx
+
+# OS generated files 
+.DS_Store
+
+# folders
+
+data/
+output/
+plots/
+