diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 0b818c78..14ffd41e 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,10 +1,39 @@
+# Build output
 /build
 /build-windows
-/deps-windows
 scripts/build
+
+# Dependencies
+/deps-windows
 scripts/deps
+
+# IDE / editor
 /CMakeLists.txt.user
 /.idea
-/src/backend/opencl/cl/cn/cryptonight_gen.cl
 .vscode
 /.qtcreator
+
+# Mining config (contains pool/wallet settings — copy config.example.json)
+src/config.json
+
+# Build artifacts (safety net)
+*.o
+*.a
+*.so
+*.dll
+*.exe
+
+# Logs
+*.log
+
+# Dependency tarballs
+*.tar.gz
+
+# Generated OpenCL
+/src/backend/opencl/cl/cn/cryptonight_gen.cl
+
+# OS files
+.DS_Store
+Thumbs.db
+*.swp
+*~
diff --git a/src/config.json b/src/config.example.json
similarity index 100%
rename from src/config.json
rename to src/config.example.json