diff --git a/python/.gitignore b/python/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4ed144ceac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# linter/tooling cache
+.mypy_cache/
+.cache/
+
+# python packaging
+build/
+dist/
+qemu.egg-info/
+
+# editor config
+.idea/
+.vscode/
+
+# virtual environments (pipenv et al)
+.venv/