diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 94260e41..30590b4d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -158,3 +158,6 @@ docs/~$Introduction-AutopilotMonitor.pptx
 # Web build stamp: generated by scripts/generate-version.js on every build (buildUtc
 # changes each run) and served at /version.json from the static export.
 src/Web/autopilot-monitor-web/public/version.json
+
+# Local IME reference working files - machine-local only, never committed.
+ime-files/