diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b50dea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# Docker ignore file for Aether API
+environment/
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+*.pyo
+*.pyd
+.Python
+env/
+venv/
+.venv/
+pip-log.txt
+pip-delete-this-directory.txt
+.pytest_cache/
+.coverage
+htmlcov/
+.git
+.gitignore
+.dockerignore
+documentation/
+tests/
+logs/
+temp/
+# Don't ignore requirements.txt or Dockerfile!