diff --git a/.changeset/self-ignore-generated.md b/.changeset/self-ignore-generated.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d25e5a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/self-ignore-generated.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+"lectio-docs": patch
+---
+
+Generated `.lectio/` and `dist/` directories now self-ignore: `lectio` writes a
+`.gitignore` inside each, so they stay out of the consumer's `git status`
+without the CLI ever modifying the repo's root `.gitignore`.
diff --git a/apps/site-builder/bin/lectio.mjs b/apps/site-builder/bin/lectio.mjs
index c2046ad..7a12374 100644
--- a/apps/site-builder/bin/lectio.mjs
+++ b/apps/site-builder/bin/lectio.mjs
@@ -101,6 +101,12 @@ const { buildSearchIndex } = await import('@eventuras/lectio-docs/build-index');
 await collect({ rootDir, config, configDir: cwd });
 const contentDir = resolve(cwd, config.output);
 
+// A self-ignoring .gitignore in each generated dir keeps them out of the
+// consumer's git without ever touching their root .gitignore. `*` ignores the
+// whole dir (including this file), so nothing here shows up in `git status`.
+const selfIgnore = '# Generated by lectio — safe to delete\n*\n';
+writeFileSync(join(contentDir, '.gitignore'), selfIgnore);
+
 // --- 3. materialize this package's site app --------------------------------
 // Copy app/ + wiring out of the package. Once installed, the package lives
 // under node_modules, where RR won't apply its app-source transforms — copying
@@ -220,4 +226,5 @@ if (build.status !== 0) process.exit(build.status ?? 1);
 const outDir = resolve(cwd, 'dist');
 rmSync(outDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
 cpSync(join(siteDir, 'build', 'client'), outDir, { recursive: true });
+writeFileSync(join(outDir, '.gitignore'), selfIgnore);
 console.log(`\nDocs site built → ${outDir}`);