diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1af0454
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Python cache files
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+*.pyo
+*.pyd
+
+# Virtual environment folders
+env/
+venv/
+
+# Git files
+.git/
+.gitignore
+
+# Editor files
+.vscode/
+.idea/
+
+# Tests and docs if you don’t need them in the image
+tests/
+docs/
+
+# OS files
+.DS_Store
+
+# Environment files (sometimes used locally)
+.env