diff --git a/.stow-local-ignore b/.stow-local-ignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..365612e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.stow-local-ignore
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# This file replaces stow's built-in ignore list, so the defaults are repeated here
+RCS
+.+,v
+CVS
+\.\#.+
+\.cvsignore
+\.svn
+_darcs
+\.hg
+\.git
+\.gitignore
+\.gitmodules
+.+~
+\#.*\#
+^/README.*
+^/LICENSE.*
+^/COPYING
+
+# Repository files that do not belong in $HOME
+^/\.stow-local-ignore
+^/\.gitconfig\.local\.example