diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6d3e1b8bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# bazel produces these as symlinks, not directories
+bazel-bin
+bazel-cel-cpp
+bazel-genfiles
+bazel-out
+bazel-testlogs